Team Spirit extended their winning streak at the Major after recovering from an opening-map defeat against Aurora. Prior to this matchup, Team Spirit had structural dominance in the tournament, conceding only 19 rounds across six maps total. Aurora disrupted this run on the opening map before Team Spirit adjusted to secure a 2-1 series victory.
Aurora stun the tournament favorites on Dust2
The series opened on Dust2, a map selected by Team Spirit. Operating on the defensive side, the Turkish roster of Aurora established an immediate advantage by winning the first eight rounds. Team Spirit struggled to find openings, with star rifle player Danil “donk” Kryshkovets holding a 2-9 kill-death ratio during the initial stretch.
Aurora concluded the first half with a 10-2 lead. The severe deficit forced Team Spirit to adapt without the physical presence of their two coaches, who were unable to attend the event in Cologne.
Team Spirit initiated a comeback attempt during their defensive half, narrowing the scoreline to 8-10. Aurora halted this momentum by executing a swift attack on the B bombsite, eliminating donk and Myroslav “zont1x” Plakhotia to break the defensive economy. donk finished the map with an unusually low tally of 11 kills as Aurora secured a 13-9 victory on the map pick of Team Spirit.
Team Spirit respond with dominant run on Anubis and Nuke
Team Spirit answered immediately on Anubis. donk secured four eliminations in the pistol round to set the pace for his team. The squad controlled the opening eight rounds of the map before Aurora managed to secure a single defensive point. The first half concluded 10-2 in favor of Team Spirit, who finalized a 13-4 victory to force a deciding map.
The series concluded on Nuke, where Team Spirit maintained their momentum. High-impact performances from tN1r, donk, and Dmitriy “sh1ro” Sokolov neutralized the offensive strategies of Aurora. Despite an early round where Wicadia nearly converted a 1v5 situation for Aurora, Team Spirit maintained tactical control throughout the map. Team Spirit secured a 13-5 victory on Nuke to close out the series.
