The start of the Swiss system always leaves room for surprises, especially when the favorite has to quickly adapt after an unsuccessful beginning to the series. The first match immediately showed that even a significant difference between teams on paper does not guarantee an easy path to victory.
Tournament context
ESL Pro League Season 24 takes place with Group Play in a Swiss Bo3 format. Teams start with a 0:0 record: the winner of the first series moves to the 1:0 group, while the losing team drops to 0:1 and continues the fight in the tournament.
Spirit and ShindeN met in the opening match. The South American roster unexpectedly took the first map and forced the favorite to fight back, but Spirit gradually regained control and finished the series with a victory on the decisive Mirage.
How the match unfolded — Spirit vs ShindeN
Series score: 2:1 in favor of Spirit
- Dust2 (pick Spirit) — 13:11 in favor of ShindeN
Spirit could not convert their own map pick. ShindeN stayed in a close battle until the closing stage, played the decisive rounds better, and unexpectedly opened the series with a victory. - Nuke (pick ShindeN) — 13:11 in favor of Spirit
On the opponent’s pick, Spirit responded with the same score. The map remained competitive almost until the very end, but the favorite played the key stretch better and sent the match to Mirage. - Mirage (decider) — 13:4 in favor of Spirit
The decisive map was already played under Spirit’s complete control. The team quickly created a large round cushion, did not allow ShindeN to repeat the Dust2 scenario, and confidently completed the comeback in the series.
Player of the Match — Danil “donk” Kryshkovets (Spirit)
- K–D: 63–40
- ADR: 99.7
- Rating 3.0: 1.54
Key contribution: donk became Spirit’s main individual force in the match, finished the series with a large positive frag difference, and consistently created advantages in duels across all three maps.
VRS results
- Spirit — -2 pt → 2045 pt
Despite the victory, Spirit lost two ranking points because of the significant status gap between the opponents, but remained in first place in VRS. At the same time, the tournament result allowed the team to start the Swiss Stage with a positive record. - ShindeN — 0 pt → 1112 pt
The loss did not change ShindeN’s number of ranking points. At the same time, the team rose from 76th to 74th place in VRS, while at the tournament they will now continue with a 0:1 record.
What’s next?
Spirit move to the 1:0 group of ESL Pro League Season 24, where the next victory will allow the team to reach a 2:0 record and move closer to qualification for the next stage.
ShindeN drop to the 0:1 group. The team remains in the tournament, but the next match will carry significantly more weight, as another loss will move them to the dangerous 0:2 record.
Match summary
Spirit had a much more difficult start than they could have expected, losing their own Dust2 and only equalizing the series in the tense closing stage of Nuke. On Mirage, the difference in execution level became much more noticeable, and the favorite no longer gave the opponent a chance for another upset.
Spirit’s main individual force was donk with a 1.54 rating and 99.7 ADR. As a result, the team earned a 2:1 victory and moved to the 1:0 group, while ShindeN, after a competitive series, will continue ESL Pro League Season 24 with a 0:1 record.
