donk's 13th MVP trophy wasn't won in the runaway fashion we're used to, but we can't let voter fatigue obscure just how dominant the 19-year-old was at this event.
He finished the group stage with a 1.62 rating, hitting massive peaks against FURIA and G2, then took to the stage, putting up 118 ADR in the 11-1 first half on Nuke against Falcons, and delivering a morale-crushing 2.32-rated performance on Ancient against MOUZ.
Overall, he posted 0.91 KPR, 1.25 KPRW, and finished with a positive round swing in 52.4% of rounds.
This time they relied more on team effort than usual, but without such an outrageous performance from their young superstar, Spirit wouldn't be Spirit.
sh1ro
This was the closest sh1ro has come to MVP, the other narrow miss came at the inaugural BLAST Bounty in 2025.
He was the best-performing player in the playoffs (1.31 rating), narrowly edging out donk against top-10 teams (1.30 vs 1.27).
His three best maps all came on the playoff stage, first on Nuke against Falcons, followed by a stellar performance across the first two maps of the grand final against MOUZ. Unfortunately Spirit failed to close out Mirage, where sh1ro's excellent play had helped the team to an 11-4 lead, but he still earned plenty of praise for getting the team into that position.
Unfortunately, the huge gap in round-win stats (sh1ro's 0.96 KPRW being closer to magixx's 0.68 than donk's 1.25) and the lower peak (sh1ro didn't exceed 1.60 on any map) left the medal in donk's hands, but sh1ro's fifth EVP of the year is his strongest to date.
xelex
Prior to the final, xelex was one of the leading MVP candidates, averaging a 1.41 rating in MOUZ's winning maps on the road to Sunday's final.
He had seven outstanding maps, starting with being the best player on Nuke against 9z, then peaking against Falcons, Vitality and Spirit.
With a 1.12 rating, he was the team's best performer against these three teams as MOUZ battled past a host of strong opponents to reach the final.
As a former top prospect, xelex's adaptation to the top level has not been instant, but it has been steady, and this has been his best tournament to date.
m0NESY
Apart from the two poor maps against MOUZ, there was almost nothing to criticize about m0NESY's performance in Porto.
He posted nine maps with a rating above 1.30, six of them above 1.55, helping his team reach the semifinals. With a +4.21% swing and 1.12 KPRW, the underlying stats behind his 1.35 rating were equally impressive.
He may be remembered at this tournament for his near 1v5 clutch against Spirit, on a map where he did everything he could to drag his team past the best team in the world, but ultimately came up just short.
ZywOo
ZywOo's tournament was very similar to m0NESY's, with the two posting almost identical numbers on maps won (ZywOo 1.48, m0NESY 1.45), KPRW (1.12 vs 1.12), and rating against top-10 teams (1.25 vs 1.26).
This Frenchman is ranked below because he bottomed out in the opening match against Inner Circle, but he delivered eight excellent maps during Vitality's lower-bracket run to the semifinals, which is still a solid EVP.
The 1.72 rating on Cache against FURIA was the biggest highlight, but he also performed well against 9z (1.85 rating in the series) and in the 16-14 comeback win over Legacy on Nuke.
tN1R
tN1R may have only a 1.05 rating in 2026, but this is his third EVP, once again proving himself as a difference-maker.
His finest moment came on the final map of the tournament, where he posted a 1.96-rating first half on Nuke's A site against MOUZ, all but securing the championship trophy.
But he was also excellent against Falcons (1.36 on the first map), FURIA (1.66 on the second map), and G2 (1.69 on the first map), turning his grand final peak into an EVP-worthy performance.
Spinx
Spinx may rank several places behind xelex on the player leaderboard, but the gap between the two is quite small, and both played a crucial role in helping MOUZ reach the final.
As the team's anchor, he posted a 1.46 rating in maps won and was the best player on the server when MOUZ eliminated Vitality in the semi-finals.
In the group stage, he had two huge peaks, with ratings over 2.00 against 9z and Inner Circle, which meant his EVP was already secured by the time he finished the semifinal.
He struggled in the final, failing to replicate his heroics at BLAST Bounty, but after a slow start to the year, the four-time Top 20 player has undoubtedly rediscovered his form.
Best-performing players at BLAST Open Porto 2026, ranked as follows:
donk
sh1ro
xelex
m0NESY
ZywOo
tN1R
Spinx
Honorable Mention
zont1x enjoyed his best event in some time, posting a 1.14 rating in the playoffs with three excellent maps.
xertioN performed well in the group stage, but like his teammates PR and torzsi, his form declined in the playoffs.
KSCERATO's 1.20 rating looks great on paper, but it drops to 1.00 against top-30 opponents, which cost him an EVP.
HeavyGod excelled in the group stage, but struggled severely on stage, posting only a 0.59 rating in the quarterfinals.
Among the players who failed to take the stage, dem0n, dumau and Starry received the most praise.
All-Star Lineup
With a 59% T-side win rate, magixx as our IGL is the first name on the All-Star roster, joined by "shared" MVPs sh1ro and donk.
This means there is no room for tN1R and zont1x, since we already have three Spirit players.
On Endgame, Spinx is the next in line, well ahead of dem0n and others, occupying the team's free-man slot.
Then, in the anchor role, HeavyGod's outstanding group stage performance was enough for him to edge out PR, TeSeS, and jL.
Multi-award winner
donk is still two awards behind ZywOo, but is now only one MVP away from tying him.