Team Spirit appear just as unstoppable in 2025 as they were at the close of the previous year. Fresh off their landmark Perfect World Shanghai Major triumph to cap 2024, the CS powerhouse clinched the BLAST Bounty Season 1 Finals in Denmark on January 26, defeating Eternal Fire 3-1 to secure the $288,125 winner’s share of the tournament’s innovative $500,000 bounty prize pool.
For Spirit, this victory reinforces their status as the top CS2 squad worldwide. For Eternal Fire, their second-place finish includes a respectable $85,625 payday, capping off a gutsy run that saw them topple heavyweights like Vitality and G2 before falling short against the reigning Major champions in the final.
Your BLAST Bounty Champions… @Team__Spirit! 🏆🐉#BLASTPremier pic.twitter.com/HLuPxyUpkJ
— BLAST Premier 💥 (@BLASTPremier) January 26, 2025
Arriving at BLAST Bounty Season 1 with no offseason roster shake-ups, Spirit were unsurprisingly the top favorites. Their form in the main event showcased why. A decisive 2-0 quarterfinal victory over HEROIC (13-11 on Anubis, 13-3 on Nuke) underlined their dominance. They then survived a scare in the semifinals against Natus Vincere, narrowly emerging with wins on Dust2 (13-9) and Ancient (22-20 in three overtimes) to book their place in Sunday’s championship showdown.
Despite coach Sergey “hally” Shavayev’s absence for the playoffs, Spirit demonstrated their trademark composure under pressure. The only stumble in the final came on Anubis, where they squandered a 12-4 lead and ultimately dropped the map in overtime—a stark departure from their otherwise unassailable defense. Still, the slip proved to be a mere bump in the road, as they promptly shut down the Turkish contenders on Nuke, Dust2, and Mirage to start 2025 the same way they ended 2024: lifting another major trophy.
Few predicted Eternal Fire’s deep bracket run, but the Turkish lineup stormed into the playoffs and caused two of the tournament’s biggest upsets. First, they overcame a new-look Team Vitality—bolstered by the recent addition of Robin “ropz” Kool—in a stunning 2-0 quarterfinal result on Anubis (13-9) and Mirage (13-11). They followed it up by edging out G2 Esports 2-1, prevailing on Anubis (13-11) and Nuke (13-10) to set a date with Spirit in the finals.
In the championship series, Eternal Fire turned heads again by wresting Anubis away after an electrifying comeback—fueled by Özgür “woxic” Eker’s heroics and timely clutches—to win in overtime. However, the squad struggled to replicate that magic on the remaining maps, ultimately falling 3-1. Despite the loss, their fearless approach throughout the event, along with notable performances from established veterans like Ismailcan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş, showed Eternal Fire’s vast potential heading into the new season.
.@W0XIC TAKES US TO THE DISTANCE ON ANBUIS! #BLASTPremier @eternalfirecs2 pic.twitter.com/cGxoZFCNid
— BLAST Premier 💥 (@BLASTPremier) January 26, 2025
On Nuke, Spirit bounced back in style, seizing early control with sharp T-side tactics from chopper. Eternal Fire’s defense crumbled once Spirit established strong map presence and took advantage of every positional mistake. We saw donk’s entry fragging cut open bombsites with ease, while sh1ro’s sniping shut down rotations. Eternal Fire managed to grab a second pistol round in the second half, but they failed to convert that momentum into sustained success. Spirit ran away with a 13-6 victory, leveling the series.
We consider Dust2 a stronghold for Team Spirit’s dynamic style, and it certainly showed. The match ended 13-3 in Spirit’s favor, with donk pulling off an astounding 22-7 KD. In the first half, Eternal Fire managed just a single round, largely because Spirit’s CT setups were nearly impenetrable. Even after switching sides, Eternal Fire could not gain traction, succumbing to relentless aggression and precise utility usage.
Eternal Fire attempted to regain control in the fourth map, starting strong with a few round wins. However, Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov took center stage, landing critical AWP shots and reading Eternal Fire’s plays with uncanny precision. Although the early rounds were closely contested at 3-3, Spirit surged forward with an eight-round streak that put them on the brink of victory. Eternal Fire mounted a last-minute rally, winning four consecutive rounds to narrow the gap, but Spirit closed out the map at 13-8, securing the BLAST Bounty Season 1 Finals trophy with a 3-1 overall series score.
Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov was back to his phenomenal best in Denmark. As Spirit’s sharpshooting AWPer, he turned in a grand final performance that saw him rack up an impressive 24 kills against just eight deaths to seal Mirage—Spirit’s crowning map. Consistent aggression from Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakov also set the tone early on offense, enabling Myroslav “zont1x” Plakhotia and Danil “donk” Kryshkovets to press the advantage.
Still, it was 18-year-old “donk” who seized the official MVP honors. The promising rifler was the tournament’s top statistical performer (1.43 overall rating) and delivered critical opening kills throughout Spirit’s playoff campaign, building on his MVP-winning showing at the Shanghai Major. His 78 total frags in the grand final matched sh1ro’s output, though his more aggressive role led to a higher death count.
With the first event of the 2025 Valve Regional Standings season in the books, Team Spirit have reaffirmed their spot at the pinnacle of professional CS2. Next on the agenda is IEM Katowice, where Spirit return as defending champions after their memorable win early last year. Eternal Fire will also be in attendance, starting their campaign in the play-in stage and hoping to capitalize on the momentum from their surprise run in Denmark.
