Team Spirit coach Sergey “hally” Shavaev commented on the team`s results at the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 for CS2. In a new vlog from the club, he discussed the problems the team faced during the tournament and talked about potential solutions.
According to hally, the team first and foremost did not meet their own expectations, nor those of their fans and supporters. He noted that the team had an ideal schedule towards the end of the season, having won PGL Astana 2025, which allowed them time to fix aspects of their game and refresh their strategies. They worked extensively on this.
Analyzing the match against MOUZ, particularly the Dust2 map which Spirit usually wins consistently, hally admitted to making several crucial mistakes that led to their loss, including two of his own tactical pauses and one opponent pause where Spirit pushed aggressively into a stack position unsuccessfully. He felt they could have traded more effectively in that situation but failed to do so.
Looking at Nuke and Mirage, especially considering Spirit had won more rounds on the T-side against MOUZ on Nuke previously, hally observed chaotic and disorganized actions on their attack rounds during the Major match. He stated the team did not play according to their practice level. He highlighted that control from certain team members disappeared, emphasizing the need to acknowledge this and take responsibility. He warned that if they continue playing T-sides without control, such matches will recur, which he deemed a negative trend.
Regarding how to fix these issues, hally mentioned having ideas but stressed the importance of addressing them calmly, not emotionally. He plans to talk with the players, specifically certain individuals, to work through the problems that, while not constant, are occurring and posing difficulties.
When asked if the players struggled with emotions, hally confirmed this was another issue they faced. He noted that some players get overwhelmed by emotions, while others seem to lack them, leading to chaos on the server and the team deviating from their trained way of playing CS.
Hally recalled the period after Astana and leading up to their time in America, including three official matches and practice games, which showed the team was in very good form. He admitted that he rarely says this, but without any doubt, he felt they were in a position to win the Major. They had every chance for victory, but this potential vanished during the official match.
Shavaev also summarized the first half of 2025. He acknowledged some positive moments, including reaching the playoffs at every tournament they attended. However, he questioned whether this was truly positive after winning a Major six months prior. He stated that Team Spirit aims for titles everywhere they compete, with the exception being the current dominance of Vitality. Even against Vitality, he felt they had chances to win in matches like the one in Lisbon.
Having won a Major and experienced the top spot, hally said the team constantly strives to win tournaments. In the past season (first half of 2025), they reached all playoffs and won two titles. He did not consider this a large number. He felt winning three titles, such as a Major or IEM Katowice, would have been satisfactory, but acknowledged that this was not the reality of their current ambitions.
The BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 took place from June 3-22 in the USA. 32 teams competed for a $1.25 million prize pool. Team Spirit finished 5-8th at the tournament, losing to MOUZ in the first round of the playoffs.
Finley Holt