tN1R on Team Spirit: “We’ve had two successful tournaments in a row and gained confidence in our abilities.”
Team Spirit rifler Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich shared his thoughts in an interview at IEM Cologne Major 2026 following the victory over BetBoom Team, and also discussed working with the team’s revamped coaching staff and the “Dragons’” approach to the game in the second stage of the tournament.
On the victory over BetBoom Team
Although the score suggests an easy victory, we started the map very poorly. Our team won the pistol round but then lost the first buy round. After that, BetBoom Team managed to take the lead. That’s when we realized something was going wrong. However, in the end, we managed to seize the initiative and secure the victory.
On working with Team Spirit’s coaching staff
We have two coaches at this tournament—S0tF1k and hally, who recently returned to the roster. We’ve kept our previous ideas and are now all working together to improve them. Here, our team faced certain challenges in working with the coaching staff. Nevertheless, we communicate online before matches, and it’s paying off.
On playing in the second stage of the IEM Cologne Major 2026
I think starting the Major in the second stage is a good thing. When we first qualified for the tournament, we took the invite to this stage negatively because of a string of poor results. But if you look at the situation now... We’ve had two successful tournaments in a row and gained confidence in our abilities. Our team has found a new approach to training and our work in general. Thanks to the matches in the second stage, we’ve had the opportunity to get in shape for the next stages of the Major.
- Read also: Magnojez: “We’re used to playing as a mixed team all the time—it doesn’t affect us negatively”
Team Spirit defeated 9z Team 2-0 in the third round of the second stage of the IEM Cologne Major 2026. Thanks to this victory, the “Dragons” advanced to the third stage of the championship without suffering a single defeat.
Photo — Luc Bouchon, BLAST.
