Cheshir: “None of our teams are a ‘family,’ as fans often like to think they are.”
Team Spirit CEO Nikita “Cheshir” Chukalin spoke on the club’s official Telegram channel about the CS roster’s performance at the IEM Cologne Major 2026, assessed the progress of Boris “magixx” Vorobyov as captain, explained the reasons behind coach Sergey “hally” Shavaev’s hiatus, and commented on comparisons of the organization’s rosters to a family.
Quotes are reproduced with the source’s spelling and punctuation intact
On Team Spirit’s performance at the IEM Cologne Major 2026
The outcome of the Major turned out to be a classic scenario in esports, where a few rounds in a key match decided the fate of the entire tournament—that’s just how it goes in sports. It was a decent tournament for us; we lost a bit of our form heading into the final matches, and we’ll work on that
On magixx’s progress
Based on my observations over the past six months, Borya has improved by a huge margin. Obviously, the early stages of skill development come more easily than the later ones, but I’d still say he’s exceeded my expectations. Being a captain in CS is truly a very difficult, labor-intensive role that demands a lot of experience—and we’re ready to give him the opportunity to develop in this direction within our project. Of course, we need to see progress, but there are no issues with that at the moment.
About hally’s break
Details: He was urgently hospitalized and transferred from Belgrade to Moscow on June 1, 2026; there were life-threatening risks, and he spent 24 days in the hospital. the issues have been partially resolved, but he is now out of danger and can get his health back on track without taking time away from his professional activities. If he hadn’t been hospitalized and if Dima had received a visa, they would have been playing as a duo at LAN in Cologne
On Comparing Team Spirit to a Family
In fact, it’s a very common misconception to compare sports teams to a family. It’s important to understand that a defining feature of the family as a form of social bond is the impossibility of estrangement; you can stop being friends, but it’s impossible to stop being brothers or a mother and son. None of our teams is a “family,” as fans often like to imagine. Relationships within Team Spirit teams are more akin to groups of gold prospectors from the early 20th century: we aren’t alike in every way, and we often don’t understand one another; we get tired of each other, and we don’t like everything about one another, but we’re working toward a common goal, and our path is difficult and full of challenges that we can only overcome together. We respect each other’s individuality because we understand that this is the only way to achieve our shared goal. But we shouldn’t confuse the issues or delude ourselves into thinking that we’ll live a happy life together and then be laid to rest side by side on the same day. We’re here for the cause, and we live for the cause.
Earlier, Team Spirit CEO Nikita “Cheshir” Chukalin answered questions about the possible launch of a VALORANT division, working with sponsors, and the financial model of esports organizations. He also discussed the significance of prize money in the industry and outlined the main responsibilities of a club manager.
Photo: Team Spirit.
