Team Spirit are preparing for an unexpected roster change: one of the team’s key players, Myroslav “zont1x” Plakhotia, will be replaced by Belarusian rifler Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich from HEROIC. This was reported by several independent sources to HLTV, and confirmation can already be found in official statements from the organizations.
How the Transfer Will Happen
According to the information, tN1R will join Spirit right after the conclusion of Esports World Cup 2025, where he will still compete for HEROIC — including against his future team in the group stage.
HEROIC’s Director of Esports, Robin Nymann, stated that the organization “repeatedly declined offers for tN1R,” but ultimately had to agree due to a buyout clause in the player’s contract. This suggests that Spirit had been planning this transfer for quite some time. HLTV’s Editor-in-Chief, Striker, confirmed:
If I understood correctly, Spirit had been considering tN1R for their roster for a long time. Most likely, talks about him began 1.5–2 months ago.
Two Years of Stability From zont1x
The departure of zont1x came as a shock to many, as the Ukrainian is the second-best anchor in the world in 2025 statistically (rating 1.12), behind only ropz (1.18) and ahead of jabbi (1.03).
During his time with Spirit (July 2023 — August 2025), he:
- Played 386 maps
- Won 8 trophies
- Earned EVP awards at 3 events
- Maintained a consistent 1.11 rating over the period
Trophies with zont1x in Spirit:
- IEM Cologne 2025
- PGL Major Astana 2025
- BLAST Bounty 2025 Season 1 Finals
- Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024
- BetBoom Dacha Belgrade Season 2
- BLAST Premier Spring Final 2024
- IEM Katowice 2024
- BetBoom Dacha 2023
Second Anchor Change in a Month
This is the second change on the anchor position for Spirit in a short period: earlier this summer, zweih replaced magixx, and now it is zont1x’s turn to leave. Some experts fear that such rotations could disrupt the team’s balance. Player Krad commented:
I think Spirit will now have a disbalance between active and passive players, which might not be very good.
Community Reaction
The news about the transfer sparked a storm of emotions among fans. Some took it with surprise and disappointment, others — with outright outrage:
- “zont1x is currently the second-best anchor of 2025.”
- “He clearly didn’t deserve such a departure.”
- “Poor zont1x, Spirit what are you doing…”
- “Don’t touch my favorite, wonderful, cool, most talented… and simply the best in the world — Zont1x!” — Alazio
- “press F” — press F
- “I don’t believe it.” — tribb1t
The community’s reaction clearly shows shock and confusion over the reasons behind zont1x’s departure. For most fans, he was not just a strong player but a symbol of stability and a key anchor figure for Spirit. The negative and emotional responses indicate that the club’s decision is seen as risky and even unfair, especially given his statistics and achievements.
What’s Next?
The updated Spirit lineup is expected to look like this:
- Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakov (captain)
- Danil “donk” Kryshkovets
- Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov
- Ivan “zweih” Gogin
- Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich
- Sergey “hally” Shavaev (coach)
For zont1x, leaving Spirit marks the end of a productive two-year run during which he helped the team win two Majors and secure their place at the top of the world rankings. His future has yet to be announced, but given his statistics and reputation, offers from top-tier organizations are unlikely to be long in coming.
