Team Spirit Benches magixx, Signs 17-Year-Old Prodigy zweih

Team Spirit Benches magixx, Signs 17-Year-Old Prodigy zweih

Thales Costa

8 Jul, 2025, 11:21

|

Last updated: 8 Jul, 2025, 11:27

Team Spirit has officially announced a significant roster change that marks the end of an era for the organization. Boris "magixx" Vorobyev, who has been with the team since September 2019, has been moved to the inactive roster. The Russian rifler's benching comes after nearly six years of service to the team, during which he played an instrumental role in establishing Team Spirit as one of the world's premier Counter-Strike organizations.

The End of a Historic Partnership

The announcement came via Team Spirit's official social media channels, where the organization expressed their gratitude for magixx's contributions over the years.

"We are truly grateful to Boris for all those six years he has spent in Team Spirit. He's been with us during several crucial stages of the roster formation and hugely affected the very shaping of our unique philosophy".

Magixx joined Team Spirit in September 2019 as a talented but inexperienced 16-year-old player. Over the course of his tenure, he became one of the team's most reliable players, participating in an impressive 1,050 maps at the highest level of competition. His consistency and dedication helped transform Team Spirit from a promising CIS team into a global powerhouse capable of competing with the world's best.

Career Highlights and Achievements

During his time with Team Spirit, magixx was part of numerous historic victories. The team's most notable achievement came at the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024, where they defeated FaZe Clan 2-1 in the grand final. In that memorable championship match, magixx delivered a stellar performance and matching superstar teammate donk with 69 frags. This performance epitomized his ability to rise to the occasion when it mattered most.

The Russian rifler also played crucial roles in Team Spirit's other major triumphs, including victories at IEM Katowice 2024, BLAST Premier Spring Final 2024, BLAST Bounty Spring 2025, and PGL Astana 2025. His career prize earnings exceed $500,000, reflecting his success.

The Decision to Make a Change

Despite magixx's significant contributions to Team Spirit's success, the organization decided to make a change following their disappointing performance at the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, where they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by MOUZ. The team's inability to maintain their championship form in the first half of 2025, particularly their struggles against Team Vitality's dominant run, prompted management to reassess their roster composition.

Team Spirit's superstar Danil "donk" Kryshkovets offered emotional support for his departing teammate, stating:

"Boris is the best teammate I've played with in my short career. In my opinion, magixx is an example of what a teammate and professional should be".

The 17-year-old phenom also criticized fans and analysts who undervalued magixx's contributions, emphasizing the hard work and dedication that often goes unnoticed.

Enter zweih: The Next Generation

To fill the void left by magixx, Team Spirit has signed 17-year-old Ivan "zweih" Gogin from Nemiga Gaming. The young Russian rifler caught attention during the Austin Major, where he helped Nemiga reach Stage 3 of the competition with impressive performances in the early stages. Interestingly, zweih was previously identified by donk as a potential top-20 player for 2025, showcasing the young star's keen eye for talent.

Team Spirit's decision to invest in zweih represents their commitment to maintaining their competitive edge while nurturing the next generation of Counter-Strike talent. The signing continues the organization's tradition of developing young players, having previously seen success with donk, zont1x, and now zweih.

As Team Spirit prepares for IEM Cologne 2025, they'll debut their new lineup with zweih stepping into the anchor role previously held by magixx. The transition marks both an ending and a beginning for the organization as they continue their quest to remain at the pinnacle of competitive Counter-Strike.


Follow Strafe Esports for all the latest Counter-Strike 2 news and our X account for the latest content and coverage. Also, stay tuned to Strafe YouTube for exclusive interviews, press conferences, and more.

Featured Image Credits: Counter-Strike // Valve

Read More: 

Austin Major Souvenir Charms and Champions Sticker Capsule Arrive to Counter-Strike 2

Latest news

Esports World Cup 2026 Unveils Saudia Partnership and Custom-Branded Aircraft

Esports World Cup 2026 Unveils Saudia Partnership and Custom-Branded Aircraft

The Esports Federation has named Saudia, the national air carrier of Saudi Arabia, as the official airline of the Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC). Here's more.
4h
Adarsh J. Kumar

Prophecy Fulfilled: CS2 Major Sticker Profits Just Fell x10

HLTV’s report on Cologne 2026 confirms what earlier Strafe analyses of CS2’s new sticker shop and revenue ladder suggested: Major sticker profits for some teams have dropped from around $600,000 to about $60,000, turning a former safety net into a fragile income line and pushing more clubs to question their place in Counter-Strike.
20 Jul
André Guaraldo

Tier 1 CS2 Returns: BLAST Bounty Closed Qualifier Match-Ups Revealed

Counter-Strike's summer break is officially over, as BLAST has revealed the opening bracket for the BLAST Bounty Summer 2026 Closed Qualifier, and the pairings are stacked with big names right out of the gate.
18 Jul
Thales Costa

Team Vitality CEO Neo: "For Us to be a Global Leader Means Being a Contender at EWC"

Team Vitality remains one of the most influential and well-known esports organizations to date. The Paris-based org fields over 20 esports teams in various esports, though their immensely impressive results in Counter-Strike take center stage.  Being one of the organizations present at Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris, we managed to speak with Fabien "Neo" Devide, Co-Founder and CEO of the Hive, just after an interview with Mike McCabe, COO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, at the opening press conference at EWC. Neo provided a ton of insight into the organization's participation at this year's edition of EWC in Paris. He expressed his desire for the org to perform to the highest standards, but also highlighted that rivalry is key to grow the ecosystem. Additionally, Neo gave strong opinions on the growth of mobile esports following last year's Vitality's takeover and merger with Indonesian side Bigetron, stressing the need for innovation and following ideas in the east, as much as the west.
15 Jul
Naim "EnKay" Rosinski

Mike McCabe COO of EWC Foundation: "The Home Is Always Going to Be Riyadh"

The Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC) had its grand launch on July 8, commemorating the official start of the event with an opening press conference at the Hotel de Ville in the heart of Paris. With many speakers kicking off the event, like the CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, Ralf Reichert, Emmanuel Grégoire, the mayor of Paris, and others, taking center stage.  Following an opening ceremony with multiple speakers, media were given the opportunity to chat with representatives of the Esports World Cup Foundation, game publishers, or even reps of prolific esports organizations such as Team Vitality. We managed to speak with Mike McCabe, the COO of the Esports World Cup Foundation.
14 Jul
Naim "EnKay" Rosinski

The MongolZ Finalizes CS2 Roster With Two Youngsters

The MongolZ finalizes its CS2 roster with the acquisition of tikuak from Chinggis Warriors and DarkMeister from their own academy team. Here's more on the new signings.
12 Jul
Adarsh J. Kumar

9z sweeps PARIVISION to win the XSE Pro League 2026

The Argentine roster swept PARIVISION 3-0 in the grand final of the 2026 XSE Pro League, closing out a wild run in Guangzhou and picking up the biggest LAN trophy of the team's history.
12 Jul
Thales Costa

Comments (1)

Log in to comment on this match
No comments yet

Log in and be the first to start the conversation!

Show more comments