Spirit Are the IEM Cologne Champions! Donk Breaks Down in Tears, Rookie Lifts the Trophy First

Team Spirit have triumphed at IEM Cologne 2025, completing a flawless run without dropping a single series and securing this prestigious trophy for the first time in the organization’s history. The grand final against MOUZ ended in a convincing 3:0 sweep – with dominant performances on the first and third maps and an impressive comeback on the second.

The road to this title began with roster changes. After Zweih joined, Spirit adopted a new structure: Chopper took over as the B anchor on Mirage, replacing Magixx, while the rookie filled in pit. The changes paid off brilliantly – Zweih played aggressively, gathering key information, while Chopper confidently held the apartments. As a result, MOUZ were often forced to go through connector straight into Donk’s sights – not the wisest choice, to say the least.

Chopper looked surprisingly comfortable in his new role – in one round, he pulled off a bold ace, clutching the situation single-handedly. Overall, Spirit seemed to speedrun the grand final: 13:7 on Ancient, 13:11 on Inferno (after trailing 7:11), and a crushing 13:6 on the decider, Nuke.

This marks the third consecutive grand final loss for MOUZ, and for the first time, it wasn’t Vitality who bested them. Previously, they had fallen 0:3 at EPL and IEM Dallas, and 2:3 at BLAST Open Lisbon. Spirit, on the other hand, continue their golden run: 2025 has already brought victories at BLAST Bounty, PGL Astana, and now IEM Cologne.

Yet even the win in Kazakhstan hadn’t satisfied Donk and Hally: after that tournament, they openly criticized the team’s performance. Donk spoke of “chaotic decision-making” and the need to change their training approach. Clearly, those lessons were taken to heart – in Cologne, Spirit showed hardly any weaknesses.

Donk earns his third MVP award of 2025. He still leads ZywOo in rating but trails in total medals (Mathieu has 7, including a Major). Nevertheless, Danil’s performance in Cologne only cemented his status as one of CS2’s brightest global stars.

Interestingly, before the final, MOUZ finally broke their curse against Vitality, ending a seven-match losing streak. But against Spirit, they hit a new wall – losing in groups and again in the grand final. Donk and company were in complete control throughout.

It’s too early to fully judge the Magixx-for-Zweih swap, but the coaching staff is already pleased with Ivan’s progress. Hally noted that Zweih is “a stylistically different player” and acknowledged that two weeks isn’t enough to fully integrate him into the system. Still, Zweih’s approach, his questions, and his behavior are already earning trust.

In a beautiful and symbolic moment, it was Zweih who lifted the trophy first – a gesture from the team recognizing the rookie’s contribution to their success.

Donk couldn’t hold back his emotions – tears after the final spoke volumes. Now he, Chopper, Zont1x, and sh1ro are part of the elite club of players who’ve won all three major CS titles: a Major, IEM Katowice, and now IEM Cologne.

Cologne Is a Major Again — 10 Years Later

Next up for Spirit: a new frontier – the ESL Grand Slam. With only two events left in 2025 – EPL and IEM China – the real race for the million-dollar gold bars will begin next season. But Spirit now has it all: experience, motivation, and new blood.