Spirit narrowly edged out G2 in a nail-biting quarterfinals at the IEM Cologne Major 2026. The three-map series saw back to back overtime games, with the final map of Mirage going all the way to a quadruple OT. G2, who came into the series as underdogs, led the way until the end, but fell just short of the semifinals. The series drew over 2 million concurrent viewers, setting a new record for any CS2 event.
Related—IEM Cologne 2026 Major: Schedule, teams, prize pool, format and more
Team Rosters – G2 vs. Spirit – IEM Cologne 2026
| G2 | Spirit |
|---|---|
| Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač | Boris “magixx” Vorobyev |
| Nikita “HeavyGod” Martynenko | Myroslav “zont1x” Plakhotia |
| Álvaro “SunPayus” García | Danil “donk” Kryshkovets |
| Matúš “matys” Šimko | Dmitriy “sh1ro” Sokolov |
| Guy “NertZ” Iluz | Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich |
| Eetu “sAw” Saha (C) |
Despite their drastically different runs into the playoffs, both teams have a similar story at Cologne thus far. Be it HeavyGod or donk, both teams have heavily relied on their stars to carry them through to the playoffs. But not only is donk cut from an entirely different cloth, sh1ro has once again been backing him up at every step of the way.
If G2’s pieces like NertZ and SunPayus can step up and sh1ro takes his usual playoffs dip, the G2 are in with a chance. But donk alone can often turn around more situations than any star in CS2 making this series an uphill climb for the international squad.
Match Recap – G2 vs. Spirit – IEM Cologne 2026
- G2 removed Nuke
- Spirit removed Inferno
- G2 picked Overpass
- Spirit picked Dust2
- Spirit removed Ancient
- G2 removed Anubis
- Mirage was left over
Overpass – G2 CT side sweeps away Spirit – 13-9
G2 took an early lead with a round two force to start off the Major quarterfinals, picking up three rounds in a row early. Spirit were able to barely hold onto their second round with their full buy, but HeavyGod immediately came back with a crucial clutch to keep G2 ahead. A second consecutive clutch, however, was too much of an ask for the Israeli rifler, and Spirit were given an avenue to enter back into the half. sh1ro and donk both topping the leaderboard, the team was able to take a 7-5 lead into the second half.
heavyCLUTCHgod @HeavyGodCS #IEM pic.twitter.com/FIT98SnkNY
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) June 19, 2026
The two teams remained neck and neck in the early moments of the second half. Where Spirit’s stars broke into the sites, HeavyGod and co. were able to bring it right back with solid defensive holds. Eventually G2’s CT side came out on top, and the team quickly shut down the map 13-9.
Dust2 – Spirit barely push it to a third – 16-14
G2 continued where they left off on Overpass, picking up four dominant rounds early on Dust2. Eventually Zont1x took matters into his own hand, circling around the A-site to earn Spirit their first. That was followed up by a clean double entry from donk, as the Russian side slowly built themselves into the map once more, ensuring a 6-6 half.
de_stroyed by @donk1337 #IEM pic.twitter.com/DklTlV2YdO
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) June 19, 2026
A mid-burst was G2’s tactic of choice at the start of the second half, and while it panned out well in the pistol, Spirit’s forcebuy was able to shut the play down, giving them the momentum instead. Round 17 finally allowed G2 to break through, as the bomb timer ran out before sh1ro could get the defuse. That meant the economy was on the international squad’s side, quickly propelling them to double digits. Zont1x was once again the difference maker, with the Ukrainian clutching out on A to keep the scoreline level at 10.
.@donk1337 KEEPS @Team__Spirit IN THIS 💪#IEM pic.twitter.com/hgYjFPItBc
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) June 19, 2026
Multiple long-skirmishes kept the teams close till the end of regulation, with donk’s brilliant rotate in a 1v1 giving Spirit matchpoint. That could have turned into an easy map win too, had zont1x’s M4 bullets found one more mark, but in the end G2 were barely able to push the game into OT. Spirit quickly racked up three rounds in OT, getting a second shot at match point, and while HeavyGod was able to delay the end, donk’s AK-47 ensure Spirit would go to a third map.
CLEAN CLUTCH FROM @donk1337 TO CLOSE DUST 💥#IEM pic.twitter.com/ORRLOdcUck
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) June 19, 2026
Mirage – Record breaking map for Spirit’s survival – 25-22
G2 again started fast on Mirage, but unlike previous maps, Spirit clawed back quickly. Magixx struggled to close out kills despite sh1ro’s strong form, letting G2 push through the B-site repeatedly to take an 8-4 half-time lead. Spirit won the pistol to open their half, though a HeavyGod disconnect caused a lengthy tech pause. G2 stayed composed regardless, with matys playing a key role in pushing them to matchpoint.
MAP 3 AND WE'RE GOING TO OVERTIME! 🔥#IEM pic.twitter.com/rksfUAa06t
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) June 19, 2026
Facing elimination, tN1R stepped up with a four-kill round on A to send the match to overtime. G2 matched Spirit’s intensity there too, with MATYS racking up over 25 kills early. The first OT passed quickly, trading matchpoints, but the second overtime delivered the most drama, headlined by a clutch round 34 from magixx, who held a 1v4 in kitchen and punished G2’s poor spacing to secure another matchpoint for Spirit.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WAYYYYY @magixx772 🤯🤯🤯🤯#IEM pic.twitter.com/xyKI2bZ8pG
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) June 19, 2026
Even after that brutal loss, neither team could close it out, forcing a fourth overtime sparked by a HeavyGod clutch. Spirit finally sealed the map there, with donk finishing on 41 frags.
Danil "donk" Kryshkovets#IEM pic.twitter.com/XbOTn1k084
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) June 19, 2026
Spirit now head to the semifinals of IEM Cologne Major 2026, where they will face Finn “karrigan” Andersen’s Falcons for a spot in the best-of-five finals. While the team looked shaky at points through the series, donk’s resurgence near the end of the game should give them enough hope to battle through to the Cologne trophy once more.
