Team Spirit has announced changes to its Counter-Strike 2 roster following the conclusion of the StarLadder Budapest Major and an internal review of its results across the 2025 season.
According to an announcement from the organisation, Leonid ‘chopper’ Vishnyakov and Ivan ‘zweih’ Gogin have been removed from the team’s starting lineup with immediate effect.
Myroslav ‘zont1x’ Plakhotia will return to his original role within the roster after a period away from competition. Team Spirit stated that zont1x had taken time to rest and address personal matters and is now ready to resume competitive play.
In addition, Boris ‘magixx’ Vorobyev has been appointed as the team’s new in-game leader (IGL). The organisation said it has full confidence in magixx as he transitions into the leadership role, after being taken off of the main roster earlier this year, with preparations for the upcoming season set to begin shortly.
Team Spirit’s 2025 Season
The roster changes follow a mixed but relatively successful year for Team Spirit at the top level of Counter-Strike 2 competition. Most recently, the team finished third to fourth at the StarLadder Budapest Major, exiting the tournament with a 0–2 loss in the semifinals and earning $80,000 (~£63,000) in prize money.
Earlier in the season, Team Spirit secured several notable victories, including first-place finishes at Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2025 and PGL Astana 2025. The organisation also claimed the BLAST Bounty Fall 2025 title and won the BLAST Bounty Spring 2025 earlier in the year.
However, the team also recorded a number of mid-table and early eliminations at S-Tier events, such as the Esports World Cup 2025, ESL Pro League Seasons 21 and 22, and Intel Extreme Masters Chengdu 2025.
The team had especially poor results in the last quarter of the year. Despite these inconsistencies, Team Spirit remained a regular contender across major international tournaments throughout the year.
With the competitive Counter-Strike 2 calendar set to continue into 2026, the organisation will be hoping that the refreshed lineup — led by magixx as IGL and bolstered by zont1x’s return — can build on its strong results and deliver greater consistency at the highest level of play.
