Former Virtus.pro coach XomA commented on the external criticism directed at Team Spirit coach hally. He does not understand why fans are placing all the blame on this coach due to the decline in performance. In XomA's view, all key decisions are made jointly with the players.
XomA: You could say that hally is the founder of Spirit. He put in tremendous effort to bring them to where they are today. He made the right and precise roster adjustments, promoting players from the academy... Yet back then, for some reason, no one claimed he was doing anything wrong. On the contrary, everyone was full of praise for everything that was happening at the time. This always happens—every team eventually hits a slump. You can't stay at the top forever. The real issue lies elsewhere. Why make him the scapegoat? Sure, the coach is responsible for the results and the workflow, but he's working with legendary players. I'm certain that hally's word was never the final say. He would always consult with the players regardless. And why all the hate is once again directed at him remains a mystery to me.
The wave of criticism against hally began in the spring of 2026. After Spirit suffered defeats in several tournaments, the coach temporarily stepped away from the team due to health issues. He was replaced by S0tF1k, who promptly led the team to victory at PGL Astana 2026 and secured a runner-up finish at IEM Rio 2026. Many fans noted that during this period, the team's playstyle became more free and uninhibited.
Spirit then traveled to compete in the IEM Cologne Major. hally missed the event due to emergency hospitalization, while S0tF1k failed to obtain a visa. Competing without a coach and lacking support behind them, the players still managed to secure a 3rd-4th place finish. This sparked a new round of discussions regarding the necessity of hally.
Dissatisfaction persisted into August. Spirit advanced to the BLAST Bounty S2 finals, only to fall to MOUZ in the final. This sparked community speculation that hally's rigid tactical system was allegedly stifling the players' performance, particularly in light of the success achieved by second coach S0tF1k.