In a gripping battle, Spirit, the champions of the Shanghai Major, managed to claim a narrow victory over Eternal Fire as they faced off in the ESL Pro League Season 21 quarters. After a slow start, Spirit recovered their composure to ultimately march into the next round.

The team’s opening maps showed a struggle with Danil “donk” Kryshkovets appearing below his usual standard, sparking concerns regarding his performance. However, teammate Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakov stepped up to help secure critical rounds, especially making a remarkable ace in a tight first half.

With the game hanging in the balance, Spirit relied on a late surge driven by donk and finished strong on Mirage. Despite Eternal Fire fighting back themselves and showcasing their skills, it was Spirit’s determination and strategic prowess that earned them the victory.

As the match finished, donk acknowledged his underwhelming performance throughout certain phases, expressing his commitment to bounce back in future matches.

“It was a tough game, really tough,” donk said on broadcast after the game. “I played really bad, what can I say? I wasn’t doing the things that I’m doing usually, so the game got much harder than it should be.”
(Translation: It was a challenging match; unfortunately, my gameplay was not up to par.)