HEROIC eliminated Spirit in Esports World Cup 2025 Round of 16

HEROIC pulled off a major upset by defeating Spirit 2–1 in their Round of 16 clash at the Esports World Cup 2025. Spirit opened strong with a dominant win on Ancient, but HEROIC hit back on Nuke and closed the decider on Mirage in overtime. Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich earned MVP honors with 50 kills and impact clutches across the series, while Simon “yxngstxr” Boije also shined. For Spirit, Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov delivered a massive 59–41 performance, supported by Danil “donk” Kryshkovets, but it wasn’t enough to keep their tournament run alive.

Map 1 – Ancient (13:5 Spirit)

HEROIC’s pick of Ancient backfired as Spirit came out swinging. They controlled the half 9–3 on CT side and closed the second half quickly, 4–2. sh1ro was unstoppable with precise AWPing, while donk found consistent multi-kills. HEROIC struggled to break through, with only tN1R showing resistance. Spirit secured the opener with confidence.

Map 2 – Nuke (13:3 HEROIC)

Spirit’s pick of Nuke swung heavily the other way. HEROIC dominated from the start, taking a 9–3 CT half before a flawless 4–0 T-side finish. yxngstxr stepped up with a quick 1v2 clutch in round 4, setting the pace, while Spirit looked flat and failed to find traction. HEROIC evened the series in a decisive fashion.

Map 3 – Mirage (16:14 HEROIC)

The decider delivered a thriller. HEROIC led 8–4 at halftime, but Spirit fought back with an 8–4 half of their own, forcing overtime. sh1ro kept Spirit in contention with 30+ kills, while donk’s aggressive entries turned rounds in their favor. However, tN1R’s clutch in overtime and yxngstxr’s late-round impact gave HEROIC the edge, closing the map 16–14 and the series 2–1.

With this win, HEROIC move into the quarterfinals, where they will face Aurora in the next round. Spirit, ranked second in the world, exit in the Round of 16 with a 9–16th finish and $20,000. Other matches on the day saw Vitality, TYLOO, and The MongolZ also securing quarterfinal spots.

The Esports World Cup 2025 takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from August 20–24, featuring 16 top teams battling for a $1,250,000 prize pool. The champion earns $500,000, second place secures $230,000, and third place takes $130,000. The tournament follows a single-elimination bracket with best-of-three matches leading up to a best-of-five grand final.