S0tF1k does not intend to drastically change Team Spirit’s game after hally’s departure

Team Spirit’s interim head coach Dmitry “S0tF1k” Forostyanko spoke about his approach to working with the Counter-Strike 2 roster. According to the specialist, he does not plan to make radical changes to the team’s game model, as he believes it is important to preserve the foundation built by Sergey “hally” Shavaev.

“As the interim head coach, I am not going to radically change the structure of the game. This is hally’s team, so I am trying to help it approach tournaments in optimal form. In some areas, I am making targeted adjustments to improve the things that already exist.”

Forostyanko also noted that it is difficult for him to directly compare his own approach with hally’s, since the last time they worked together was more than five years ago. At the same time, Spirit’s temporary coach believes that their views on the game are largely similar.

“It is difficult to answer that question. The last time we worked together was more than five years ago. I think we have a similar view of the game. And I would like to work with him in the future.”

It is worth recalling that on April 2, Team Spirit announced that hally would miss the next two tournaments due to health issues. During this period, his duties will be carried out by S0tF1k. This is not the coach’s first experience working with representatives of Spirit’s current roster: he had previously already worked with donk and zont1x when both played for Spirit Academy.

Hally to Miss IEM Rio and PGL Astana — Spirit to Field S0tF1k as Stand-In Coach

Forostyanko’s official debut in the new role will take place at IEM Rio 2026, which will be held in Brazil from April 13 to 19. Teams will compete for $1 million, and Team Spirit will begin its run at the tournament with a match against Team Liquid on April 13.