One of the hottest topics in the Counter-Strike community over the past day has been the possible departure of Danil donk Kryshkovets from Team Spirit. The rumors emerged on social media just days before the start of the PGL Major in Budapest, the tournament set to be the biggest CS2 event of the year.
How the “insider” story appeared
DONK MAY LEAVE SPIRIT — possibly in case of failure at the Major ‼️
donk is currently working on his English. If Spirit underperform at the Major in Budapest, he may consider moving to an international team.
📎 Source: KRL pic.twitter.com/04e9YFNGbD
— CS2.bo3.gg (@CS2_bo3gg) September 19, 2025
It all began with a post on X (Twitter) by CS2.bo3.gg, which claimed that if Spirit failed at the Major, donk might consider moving to an international roster. The reasoning given was that the player is actively learning English to overcome the language barrier. The post even mentioned that the information came from insider KRL.
However, KRL quickly responded. He categorically denied any involvement in the story, writing: “Never said that, that’s a lie.” His tweet spread rapidly across the community, and now users are discussing not only a potential transfer but also the fact that disinformation appeared in the first place.
Community reaction: Falcons in the spotlight
Despite the denial, the community immediately began speculating about where donk might go. The most frequently mentioned name was Team Falcons — an organization that has already spent millions of dollars building a “super team” and has the resources for another blockbuster transfer.
- Some joked that if Falcons bought donk, they might as well be given a “wallhack,” since competition would become unfair.
- Others noted that a donk + flameZ duo would look “unstoppable.”
- Experts and fans speculated on his potential price: anywhere from $2 million to $3.5 million, considering that previous deals have already reached $1.5 million and beyond.
Still, there are skeptics: many argue that basing transfer rumors solely on the fact that a player is studying English is illogical and manipulative.
What happens to Spirit if donk leaves?
Donk is not just the strongest player on Spirit’s roster — he has become the symbol of their success and one of the main contenders for the Best Player in the World 2025 title. Losing such talent would be a real shock for the team.
- Loss of a key star: donk’s rating consistently ranks among the very top (on par with ZywOo or m0NESY). Without him, Spirit risk losing their main weapon in crucial matches.
- Roster rebuild: Spirit would either have to sign a young star from academy teams or invest heavily in an experienced transfer. Both options carry risks — from adaptation struggles to a decline in competitive form.
- Psychological blow: the current Spirit roster is built on a young core, and donk’s departure could break the atmosphere of trust that has been cultivated over the past two years.
- Financial perspective: on the other hand, donk’s transfer could become one of the most expensive in CS history, bringing Spirit significant profit and resources for a rebuild.
History has seen cases where teams collapsed into crisis after losing their star (e.g., NAVI after s1mple stepped away), but there are also examples where lineups found a new balance and even grew stronger.
At the moment, there is no official confirmation of these rumors — both KRL and sources close to Spirit deny them. However, the very fact that such discussions are happening shows how highly donk is valued within the community and how much expectation is placed on Spirit at the Major.
All eyes are now on Budapest: if Spirit play at their peak and reach the final or even win the trophy, the departure talks will quickly fade away. But in the case of failure, the rumor story could become the first step toward real transfer negotiations.
