In the battle for a spot in the IEM Cologne 2025 playoffs, Team Spirit secured a confident 2:0 victory over Aurora, showcasing the strength of their updated roster. The standout of the match was once again donk, who delivered an exceptional individual performance and reaffirmed his status as a global star.
Tournament journey
Unlike most participants, Aurora received a direct invite to the main stage of IEM Cologne 2025. In their opening match, they confidently defeated NiP. While the second map — Train — went to overtime, Aurora maintained control and closed the series 2:0 without allowing a decider.
Spirit were also among the teams directly invited to the main stage. Their first opponent was HEROIC, marking the debut of their revamped roster at a major event. After a tight overtime win on Ancient, Spirit smoothly closed out the series 2:0.
Playoff decider
The match began on Dust2, Aurora’s pick, but Spirit quickly seized momentum by winning the first six rounds. Aurora managed to stabilize the half and went into the break trailing only 5:7. In the second half, the Turkish squad won the first three rounds on the T side, but once Spirit had a full buy, they regained control. Despite Aurora planting the bomb several times, Spirit played with cohesion and closed the map 13:8.
On the second map, Nuke, it looked like Aurora were on track to force a decider on Mirage. They ended the first half with a commanding 9:3 lead. However, in the second half, they completely lost control. Spirit dominated on CT-side, conceding just a single round and winning seven in a row to secure the map 13:10 and the series 2:0.
Player of the match
Once again, donk emerged as Team Spirit’s best player, showing incredible aim and game sense. His first kill to death ratio was an outstanding 14:1, and he topped the scoreboard with 60 kills, an ADR of 141.7, and a phenomenal 2.17 rating.
What’s next?
Team Spirit advance to the IEM Cologne playoffs, where they’ll face MOUZ for a direct spot in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Aurora drop to the lower bracket semifinal, where they’ll take on FaZe to keep their tournament hopes alive.
