Spirit lose out on $420,000 after skipping multiple ESL events

ESL have announced that Spirit have forfeited their portion of ESL's Annual Club Incentive (ACI) program after declining invites to too many events during the 2025-2026 period. The punishment sees Spirit lose out on a potential $420,000 payout as one one of Counter-Strike 2's most popular teams, with ESL sharing that Spirit were tied with FURIA as their most popular team back in May.

Spirit ran afoul of ESL's rules by declining invites to IEM Atlanta, IEM Melbourne, and IEM Dallas 2025, with the Russian organization prioritizing PGL and other TO's events during these events.

The Annual Club Incentive is designed to financially compensate teams that contribute to the ESL Pro Tour"in the form of tournament attendance, viewership, as well as promotional activities related to ESL events." Spirit will be eligible to re-enter the program in 2027 assuming they do not decline invites to any more ESL events this year.