Analyst Mauisnake commented on Team Spirit's performance at the CS2 BLAST Bounty S2. In his view, the tournament proved that S0tF1k should be appointed as the team's head coach instead of hally. He shared his thoughts on the Snake and Banter podcast.
S0tF1k: It's inappropriate to say these things when someone has just been hospitalized, or even fighting for their life, but I'll say it anyway. To me, it's obvious that hally shouldn't be rated higher than S0tF1k. He can go be a coach for another team, a CS director, or something else, but... the gap between him and S0tF1k is just too obvious.
Before S0tF1k arrived, we saw how Spirit played under hally's coaching. With S0tF1k, however, they are a completely different team. This isn't just a gut feeling; it's backed by data. When S0tF1k sits behind the players, their flash assist stats across all maps are 39% higher than when hally was coaching.……
hally/S0tF1k, please advise on the item data discrepancy.
Mauisnake: Meanwhile, the players said hally handles the macro. I also have a lot of questions about this, because in the BLAST Bounty Season 2 finals, Spirit's players didn't play the B site on Dust2, even though MOUZ's weakest player was right there. magixx later said it was part of the plan, but I really can't understand it. ……
All in all, I want to see S0tF1k take over as head coach. hally has spent two years building Spirit's system. While chopper was the captain, hally was the one making the calls. Everyone was criticizing the captain's calls, but those were actually hally's decisions. At IEM Rio 2026 and PGL Astana 2026, however, I saw a different Spirit under S0tF1k's leadership. I hope the team can stick to that playstyle.
Spirit, coached by hally, lifting the PGL Astana trophy
S0tF1k replaced hally at IEM Rio 2026 and PGL Astana 2026, with the team finishing as runner-up and champion, respectively. Prior to IEM Cologne Major 2026, he became the official second coach, but both coaches were absent from that event. At BLAST Bounty S2, hally stood behind the players, and this roster lost 1-3 to MOUZ in the finals.