Qikert Retires as Player and Becomes Spirit Academy Coach

Qikert Becomes Spirit Academy Head Coach

Aleksei "Qikert" Golubev has ended his professional playing career and moved into coaching. The 27-year-old Russian has taken charge of Spirit Academy, beginning a new chapter after nearly ten years on the professional Counter-Strike scene.

Qikert replaces Vladislav "Flash_1" Bykov, who will remain within the Team Spirit structure and will now work with the Spirit Academy White roster.

Qikert Begins His Coaching Career, Qikert’s Final Year as a Player, Qikert Will Work With Spirit Academy’s Young Roster

Qikert Begins His Coaching Career

Spirit Academy officially announced Qikert as its new head coach on October 21.

This will be Golubev’s first experience in such a role. During his playing career, he competed at seven Major tournaments and reached the grand final of Counter-Strike’s biggest championship twice.

Qikert was runner-up in 2019 at the StarLadder Major Berlin after he got defeated by Astralis in the finals along with the team AVANGAR. However, his greatest accomplishment was in 2022 where he emerged victorious from the IEM Rio Major with the team known as Outsiders.

Among his titles include the BLAST Pro Series Moscow 2019, ESL Challenger Rotterdam, and ESL Challenger Katowice 2023.

Qikert’s Final Year as a Player

Qikert began the 2026 season as part of MIBR. He later left the organization and joined 1win.

With his new team, Golubev managed to win MPKBK CIS LAN Season 4. At the beginning of October, he became a free agent and then decided not to search for another playing project, bringing his career to an end.

As a result, the move to Spirit Academy will be Qikert’s first full step into coaching.

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Qikert Will Work With Spirit Academy’s Young Roster

Spirit Academy is known for its system of developing young players. The organization’s academy previously helped produce Danil "donk" Kryshkovets, Miroslav "zont1x" Plakhotya, Kirill "Magnojez" Rodnov, Timur "FL4MUS" Marev, and Pavel "S1ren" Ogloblin.

Qikert will now take charge of a young roster with an average age of around 18. His many years of experience at the highest level should help the players adapt to stronger competition and prepare for a possible move to the tier-one scene.

During his career, Golubev represented AVANGAR, Virtus.pro, Outsiders, PARIVISION, MIBR, and 1win.

Following the appointment of the new coach, the roster looks as follows: