Spirit Academy’s defeat at Majestic LanDaLan 3 was a painful blow for the team, which had won the tournament twice in a row before. This time, the Spirit juniors were eliminated after just two matches, failing to win a single map against TPuDCATb TPu and Betera. But for head coach Dmitry S0tF1k Forostyanko, this setback is not the end of the story — it is simply another step in the academy’s journey, whose main goal is to develop new stars for the global CS2 scene.
Mistakes and responsibility
S0tF1k immediately took the blame upon himself, without shifting it onto the young players:
I think I made a mistake with the preparation. We focused on more complex actions, but we should have consolidated the basics to have stronger fundamentals. As a result, we lost confidence and fell apart.
The coach openly admits that his tactical experiments didn’t work — especially under the circumstances, when the team had just brought in two newcomers, Kiryasoo and kurosse.
New faces of Spirit Academy
The LAN debut was tough for both rookies. Still, the coach remains optimistic:
They are smart guys, they shoot well, strong individually. But they need to gain experience. It’s always difficult when you join a team where the players have been together for a year and a half and have already won LANs. I don’t put pressure on them — we’re developing them gradually. They have time.
This approach reflects Spirit Academy’s philosophy: not demanding instant results, but creating space for growth.
Competition as a driver of progress
S0tF1k also highlighted the academy’s structure, which now includes several rosters — the main Spirit Academy plus youth squads Black, White, and Green. This system creates internal competition:
We have a main roster, but also other teams. Just like in football or basketball — someone sits on the bench and waits for their chance. If someone in the main roster plays poorly, we can replace them. It’s healthy competition that motivates players.
The real focus — on the future
One of the key points of the interview was the story of mazay. The talented Ukrainian managed to practice with the team, but due to his studies in Germany he had to step away. Despite this, the coach makes it clear that he intends to bring him back:
We picked up mazay after kyousuke left, and he was the main candidate. He is very strong individually, has tremendous firepower. Unfortunately, because of his studies he couldn’t dedicate as much time to the game as we needed. But I am sure: he is the future of our academy, and I will put him back in the lineup at the first opportunity.
Graduates and the donk example
Forostyanko emphasizes that his main mission is to prepare new players for the big stage. In this regard, Spirit Academy has already shown results — donk, kyousuke, and Alkaren have become notable figures in the pro scene.
I see several guys in the academy who can explode and break through to the top level. But it all depends on them — how hard they work and how they handle the pressure. donk and Maxim (kyousuke) were very strong mentally. That’s what sets apart true top-tier players.
Looking ahead
Despite the failure at Majestic LanDaLan, Spirit’s system continues to function. The coach monitors the work of all youth rosters, listens to their practice comms, watches demos, and stresses that player selection is now based not only on stats, but also on teamwork and mentality.
Before, we would just take guys who played well on FACEIT. Now I know how they communicate, how they solve problems, how they grow within the team. That gives me a complete picture and allows me to make better choices.
For Spirit Academy, this tournament was more of a lesson than a failure. S0tF1k is building a system where setbacks are seen as investments in the future. His candid words about mistakes, his trust in rookies, and his special faith in mazay underline one thing: Spirit is not chasing short-term results. They are building a true development pipeline — one that has already produced donk and may well bring up more players ready to “blow up the scene.”
