Eleven months after losing his place to magixx, the IGL who led Spirit to the Shanghai Major is a free agent, and he has already said he will not play again.
Team Spirit have parted ways with Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakov, ending a spell of more than seven years. The organisation said goodbye on X at and called him “our legend”.
chopper had been on Spirit’s bench since 18 December 2025, when he and zweih were moved out and magixx took over the calling with zont1x back in the lineup. Spirit did not say what comes next for him, but chopper answered that himself in October.
“As a player, I’m done”
On 21 October chopper wrote on his Telegram channel that his playing days are over, Hawk Live reported:
I won’t be playing anymore. In the future, I’ll consider coaching, but as a player, I’m done. I’m completely burned out from my pro career.
That leaves coaching as the only door he has left open. He has not announced any new role.
Seven years at Spirit
chopper joined Spirit from Vega Squadron on 3 March 2019, together with iDISBALANCE. Apart from three months on the bench between November 2021 and February 2022, he led the team until December 2025.
In its farewell, Spirit pointed to three trophies above the rest:
- the world title at the Perfect World Shanghai Major in December 2024
- IEM Katowice
- IEM Cologne 2025
“Many of the values that make the very foundation of Team Spirit today were built under your leadership and together with you,” the organisation wrote.
In November 2021 chopper wrote on X that he would not give up before he had won one, and three years later in Shanghai he did.
Spirit without him
Spirit go to the PGL Major Singapore with the lineup that replaced chopper, and they are invited straight to Stage 3 as No. 4 in the VRS.
tN1R
