May 20, 2025
In the PGL Astana 2025 finals, Team Spirit defeated the veteran powerhouse Astralis 3-1 and successfully won the cup. This victory not only proves their recent strong state, but also marks the complete outbreak of the rising star donk in the top arena – his dominant performance is undoubtedly the biggest highlight of this event. At the heart of their victory was none other than 18-year-old phenom Danil “donk” Kryshkovets, who walked away with his second MVP award of the year, further solidifying his status as CS2’s most electrifying new superstar.
A Tournament to Remember
Held at the Barys Arena in Kazakhstan, PGL Astana ran from May 10 to May 18, featuring 16 of the world’s top CS2 teams and a $1,250,000 prize pool. The 2025 PGL Astana attracted global attention. The competition was fierce, with many upsets and exciting matches. Although Team Spirit was favored before the game, their dominance in the main game still exceeded expectations. In particular, the fierce play and high-level operation of the rising star donk almost controlled the rhythm of the entire game and became the biggest highlight.
Donk: A Star is Born
Over the course of 15 maps, donk’s numbers were staggering. He finished the tournament with a 1.50 HLTV rating, leading all players by a significant margin. His consistency was unmatched—averaging 100.7 damage per round, 1.76 impact rating, and over one kill per round.
What separates donk from others, however, is not just the stats—it’s the way he controls the pace of the game. Whether taking aggressive control on CT-side or clutching out impossible rounds on T-side, his ability to swing momentum is elite-tier.
In the group stage, he single-handedly dismantled NAVI in a 2-0 sweep, pulling off a jaw-dropping 30-bomb on Mirage. By the playoffs, he was hitting an even higher gear.
The Grand Final: Spirit vs Astralis
The final saw Spirit take on an in-form Astralis squad, who had upset G2 and FaZe to reach the decider. But Spirit proved too strong.
Map 1 – Dust2 (13-7, Spirit): donk kicked things off with a ruthless entry fragging display, helping Spirit dominate Astralis with aggressive B hits. He ended the map with a 24-12 K/D and a 1.72 rating.
Map 2 – Nuke (13-11, Spirit): This tightly contested map featured donk’s highlight of the tournament—a 1v4 clutch with only a deagle and perfect crosshair placement. It was a momentum-swinger that led Spirit to close out the map late.
Map 3 – Train (9-13, Astralis): Astralis struck back thanks to dev1ce’s heroics, but even here, donk kept Spirit competitive, nearly dragging the map into OT with a 1v2 AWP hold.
Map 4 – Anubis (13-6, Spirit): On the decisive map Anubis, Team Spirit defeated Astralis 13-6, and donk ended the series with a dominant defensive performance. He completed multiple kills in key rounds and finally won the game with a wave of three kills. In the entire BO5, donk scored a total of 91 kills and a personal rating of 1.61, which was a devastating performance, perfectly explaining why he is hailed as the new generation of CS2 superstar.
Team Spirit’s Rise to the Top
Though donk was the standout, Team Spirit’s overall synergy was impossible to ignore. sh1ro, their veteran AWPer, consistently shut down late-round plays, while chopper’s IGL calls were spot on. Magixx and zont1x also showed stable performance in this tournament. The positions they were responsible for successfully defended key areas many times, and they cooperated well in substitutions and supplementary shooting, providing solid support for the team’s overall tactical system. Their calm handling and efficiency laid the foundation for Spirit’s success and were an indispensable part of the team’s victory.
This is Spirit’s second major tournament victory in 2025, following their BLAST Bounty win in Copenhagen. They’re now the front-runners heading into the BLAST.tv Austin Major next month.
Community Reaction
The CS2 community exploded with praise for donk. Social media was flooded with clips of his clutches and crisp aim. Analysts and pros alike chimed in:
“He’s the future. The scary part is he’s only 18,” tweeted FaZe’s karrigan.
HLTV’s Thorin declared donk “already one of the top 5 riflers in the world.”
Fans began trending #donkEra on Twitter/X, already heralding a new chapter in CS2 history.
The MVP medal, awarded by HLTV and PGL analysts, was unanimously given to donk, making this his second MVP award in 2025—following his performance at the IEM Katowice earlier this year.
A New Era?
While it’s too early to crown donk as the best in the world, his rapid ascension is hard to ignore.His delicate operation, stable mentality and full confidence on the field remind people of the highlights of s1mple and ZywOo before they became famous. Donk is growing into a new generation of superstar in CS2 at an astonishing speed. If he continues on this trajectory, we could be witnessing the start of a generational talent’s reign.
For Team Spirit, the next test is to maintain stable performance. With the BLAST.tv Austin Major and the rest of the competitive calendar ahead, they’ll need to maintain their form against a field hungry for revenge. However, with donk in charge, Spirit looks ready to take on any challenge..
Final Stats Recap: donk at PGL Astana 2025
Rating 2.0: 1.50
ADR: 100.7
Kills per round: 1.00
Impact: 1.76
Opening kills: 1.4 per map average
MVP Awards in 2025: 2 (Katowice, Astana)
Conclusion
PGL Astana 2025 will be remembered not just for Team Spirit’s triumph, but as a defining moment in donk’s young career. As the CS2 competitive landscape evolves, all eyes are now on the teenager from Russia who’s redefining what’s possible with a rifle in hand. If this is just the beginning, the future of Counter-Strike looks brighter—and scarier—than ever.
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