Dmitriy "sh1ro" Sokolov, the sniper for Team Spirit, spoke after his side's 2:1 victory over G2 Esports in the group stage of IEM Krakow 2026 for CS2. The win sent Team Spirit through to the semifinals of the event, and sh1ro admitted the lineup was surprised by one of the maps their opponents chose.
The match opened on Anubis, a map Team Spirit had not expected to see in the matchup. "We didn't expect Anubis," sh1ro said, adding that despite the surprise the team managed to win the opening map. He noted that the squad had practiced Anubis beforehand, which helped them get through the unexpected start.
On the second map, Overpass, sh1ro said G2 managed to catch them off guard. Team Spirit made a couple of round mistakes, fell into a weak economy and could not recover in time. "Everything went by the book," he commented, describing how errors and financial problems on rounds cost them ground on Overpass.
Dust2 proved to be the decisive battleground. According to sh1ro, Team Spirit converted every winnable situation on Dust2 and played the clutch rounds very well. The extra-time stages were easier for them, he added, as G2 began to make mistakes while Team Spirit closed out the series. "Everyone did great. We're in the semifinals. We'll fix today's mistakes," sh1ro concluded, emphasizing the team's intent to clean up issues before the next match.
Team Spirit beat G2 Esports 2:1 and secured a spot in the tournament semifinals. The report noted that the European side will begin their playoff run starting from the quarterfinal stage.