donk is not planning to step out of the race for the title of the best player of 2026. Even though, by the middle of the season, ZywOo looks like the favorite with four MVPs against the Russian’s one, Spirit’s leader said directly that he still believes he can catch the Frenchman by the end of the year.
The individual race with ZywOo
In an interview with Dust2 Brasil during the media day of the IEM Cologne Major playoffs, donk spoke not only about the individual race with ZywOo. He also assessed his current form at the Major, explained how difficult it is for Spirit to play without a coach directly at the tournament, and briefly went over the upcoming quarterfinal against G2.
The main thing in this conversation is donk’s extremely calm tone. There are no loud promises or bravado here, but there is a very clear inner confidence that comes through well in every one of his answers.
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donk does not consider this Major his best
Despite his status as one of the main stars of the tournament, donk himself is in no hurry to call this Major his peak performance. He said directly that a lot will depend on the playoffs, but even now he does not consider this run the best in his career.
According to him, he was in better form at the Budapest Major. It is a revealing answer, because it reflects donk’s approach to himself very well: even when, from the outside, he looks like one of the strongest players at the tournament, he still measures himself against the highest possible standard.
Inside Spirit, they do not want to reveal too much about the coaches
donk was also asked about the difference between coaches S0ft1k and hally, as well as how the team feels without the full presence of a coach directly at the tournament. He answered some of those questions in a restrained and even slightly closed-off way.
That is especially clear in the moment where he directly makes it known: there are certain internal changes within the team, but he does not want to bring them outside.
Some things change, but I don’t want to talk about that in interviews or anywhere else because our enemies can use it.
That line shows Spirit’s current situation very well. The team clearly does not want to reveal extra details before the decisive stage of the tournament and is trying to keep its internal kitchen as closed as possible.
Playing without a coach on the server is genuinely harder
donk was much more specific about another aspect — the absence of a coach in critical moments of a match. Here he no longer limited himself to careful wording and said directly that it is genuinely a noticeable problem for the team.
His main point is simple: when the game starts slipping away and the team gets frustrated, the coach is often the one who can stop the chaos and bring back control.
Yes. It is hard, and it has to be hard, because there is no one to call a timeout when we are losing rounds, when you are frustrated, there is no one to call a timeout and say: ‘Let’s do this, destroy them, and win the game.’ When you lose control of the game, it is hard to get it back.
This reply matters because it explains the coach’s role at a big LAN tournament in a very grounded way. It is not only about preparation before the match, but also about the person who, in the most tense moment, can pull the team back together.
He is expecting the match against G2 without illusions
Spirit face G2 in the quarterfinal, and donk is clearly not underestimating the opponent. On the contrary, his words show respect for how G2 looked against NAVI, even though, in his opinion, they should have closed that series much more confidently.
At the same time, he stresses something else: Spirit expect unusual solutions from their opponent.
I think they should have won 2-0, but G2 gave away some rounds on Dust2, the 1v4 from w0nderful, full buys against Tec-9s. They are strong, and we believe they will bring unexpected things against us, and we will see what happens.
So donk goes into this match with no sense that it will be an easy opponent. For Spirit, this will be a series where they will have to be ready not only for G2’s individual strength, but also for the things the team may have specifically saved for the playoffs.
Eight months without trophies did not hurt him psychologically
Another important point from the interview is donk’s attitude toward the long stretch without titles and MVPs. Here he sounds surprisingly calm. Instead of drama or attempts to explain the slump through outside factors, he simply brings everything back to a basic truth: CS is a team game.
And if the team is playing badly, one strong individual is not enough to win everything.
Fine. For me, it is calm. It is esports, a team game. You can be good, but if you are playing badly as a team, you will not win anything.
That is a very mature answer, especially for a player of his status. It shows that donk is not trying to separate himself from the team’s results and is not building an image of “I did everything right, everyone else just let me down.”
The main message of the interview — he still sees himself as top 1
But the central moment of the whole conversation is, of course, his answer about the race with ZywOo. Here donk does not start giving long explanations, does not hide behind careful wording, and does not lower expectations. He simply confirms several times that he still believes in a comeback in the race for first place in the Top 20 of 2026.
It sounds strongest in the final short line.
I just don’t think that I can’t.
That answer became the main message of the entire interview. It is very short, but it contains the whole of donk: no pathos, no show, no need to prove anything to anyone with extra words.
The Major is not the best event for donk
donk’s interview turned out strong not because of loud headlines, but because of the very clear inner confidence that runs through all of his answers. He does not consider this Major his best, acknowledges the difficulty of playing without a coach, takes G2 seriously, and speaks calmly about the period without trophies.
But the main emphasis here is one thing: donk still believes that he can catch ZywOo in the race for top 1 in 2026. And he says it in his own style — as briefly as possible, but in a way that leaves no doubt about his mindset.
