Boris “magixx” Vorobyev, the captain of Team Spirit's Counter-Strike 2 lineup, recently made light of the current individual form of rifler Maxim “kyousuke” Lukin. The exchange took place in remarks given to ESL and concerned comparisons between kyousuke and other rising talents on the scene, including a player known as donk.
When asked directly whether he still considered kyousuke stronger than donk, Vorobyev replied bluntly: "No, kyousuke has already slid." When reminded that kyousuke recently turned 18 and asked if that was when the drop occurred, Vorobyev added simply: "Yes." The comments were tongue-in-cheek in tone but underscored Vorobyev's perception of a decline in the young rifler's recent performances.
The bar of expectation for kyousuke has been high. Earlier, Vorobyev himself had repeatedly spoken about the player's potential on the professional stage. In April 2025 he observed that "donk can play with ZywOo on equal terms, but kyousuke can surpass him," highlighting that, at least at one point, Vorobyev rated kyousuke among the most promising talents.
Outside opinions have been mixed. Content creator Alexander “Nix” Levin also weighed in on kyousuke's profile, praising his mechanical skill while criticizing other aspects of his game. Levin argued that kyousuke showed strong mechanics but suffered from a low in-game intelligence and fragile mentality based on what he had observed, saying he felt disappointed by those weaknesses.
The remarks add to an ongoing discussion about the spike in expectations for teenage players in CS2 and how quickly assessments of form and potential can change. Photo credit for the image used on the main page: Helena Kristiansson, ESL FACEIT Group.