Team Spirit have punched their ticket to the IEM Cologne 2025 Grand Final after a 2–1 victory over Natus Vincere (NAVI), their fourth straight win against the legendary squad.

Spirit make their first Cologne final 🐉 pic.twitter.com/u70i1RAoID

— HLTV.org (@HLTVorg) August 2, 2025

The semi-final clash was anything but straightforward, with both teams trading heavy blows across three maps. While NAVI looked sharp early on Mirage and dominated Nuke, Spirit bounced back in a big way on Ancient to shut the door on any comeback hopes.

Map 1, Mirage – NAVI’s Pick

If there was ever any doubt about who’s leading the charge for Spirit in 2025, Danil “donk” Kryshkovets erased it. He was in red-hot form once again, notching up 58 kills across the series and topping the scoreboard with a 1.42 rating and 101 ADR. From triple-kill holds on low HP to a dazzling ace on Mirage, donk proved to be a constant thorn in NAVI’s side.

#IEM pic.twitter.com/DWGpzeHvm3

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) August 2, 2025

Map one started well for NAVI, they raced to a 7–1 lead on Mirage, their map pick, with makazze setting the pace. But Spirit dug deep and found momentum late in the half, carrying it into the second side. donk’s ace at 9–9 flipped the script entirely, and Spirit managed to edge out a 13–11 win.

.@donk1337 just hits different on the stage#IEM pic.twitter.com/4uyudF4YJO

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) August 2, 2025

Map 2, Nuke – Spirit’s Pick

Spirit’s pick of Nuke didn’t quite pan out. NAVI’s CT side looked locked in, especially with makazze and w0nderful combining for multi-kills and site anchors. The Russian side only managed two rounds on the attack and, despite showing signs of life late in the second half, were unable to recover from the early hole. NAVI closed it out 13–9, with makazze clutching a pivotal 2v4 late to seal the deal.

OMG MAKAZZEEEEEEEEEEEEE #IEM @makazzee pic.twitter.com/3ZruD7Eh08

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) August 2, 2025

Map 3, Ancient – Decider

That loss must’ve lit a fire under Spirit, because they came out absolutely flying on Ancient. Their T side blitzed NAVI with clean executes and mid control, building a 10–0 lead before NAVI could respond. b1t tried to turn things around with a big 1v1 clutch and strong site defence, but the damage had been done. Spirit wrapped things up 13–6 to claim the series.

.@sh1rocsgo showing what he’s made of on Ancient ⚔#IEM pic.twitter.com/ge2sjNBCiy

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) August 2, 2025

It’s Spirit’s first-ever Grand Final appearance at IEM Cologne and they’ve earned it the hard way. Their opponent will be either MOUZ or the red-hot favourites, Team Vitality. One thing’s for sure: if donk and the rest of Spirit keep up this level of play, the Grand Final is going to be a banger.

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