After a competitive 3:1 series, Team Spirit were declared the champions of PGL Astana 2025, defeating Astralis in what was always felt like a formality. In front of a packed crowd in Kazakhstan, Spirit were able to grab their second trophy of 2025, while denying Astralis their first of the 2020s.
donk makes all the difference for Spirit
Credit: Sebastian Pandelache | PGL
Although Counter-Strike is a team game, there’s no denying that Spirit feel a little bit like a one-man army at the moment with donk in the lineup. There are moments where Spirit appear to fall off in the server, and it usually coincides with donk having a few off rounds. But once he gets his head back in the game, there’s simply no comparison.
Once again, donk was the difference for Spirit, as he has been so many times over the last 18 months. Nothing illustrated this more than his 1v4 clutch to close out Nuke against Astralis, leaving the Danes shellshocked after the match seemed certain to go to Overtime. This left Astralis with a short break alone with their own thoughts in between maps to reflect on exactly what had just happened to them.
While Spirit’s route to the PGL Astana Final may not have been the toughest, it’s hard to hold that against them. They can only beat the teams in front of them, whether they’re favorites or not. They won’t complain after grabbing their second trophy of the year.