We caught up with Sergey "starix" Ischuk ahead of Spirit's opening match at the CIS Minor and asked him about his return to activity and the team's preparation for the event.

The 29-year-old is about to play at his first offline event since returning to activity, after spending two years coaching Natus Vincere, the team he represented for most of his career.

At the Minor, Spirit will be out to secure one of the two spots at the offline qualifier for PGL Major Krakow, but first they will have to advance from a tough group that also includes Spartak, pro100 and Quantum Bellator Fire.

Read on to find out what Sergey "⁠starix⁠" Ischuk had to say about his return as a player, his decision to join Spirit, the preparation for the Minor and Natus Vincere's current struggles.

What are your thoughts on this first month since returning as a player? Are you happy with your level, or do you think it will take some more time before you get back to your best? Returning as a player was a difficult decision for me. My current level is not as high as I would like it to be, but I understand that a lot of work has to be done before I reach the level that I had before I stopped playing. I am really working a lot to make my new team better and to help my teammates move forward by sharing all my experience, so it may take me a bit longer to get back to my usual individual level. Has it been hard for you to keep up with the demands and the schedule of playing at a top level once again? I cannot really say that it is harder than being a coach, since the level of demands and the responsibilities are much higher in that position. By being a coach, I got to understand the game from the other side. And now that I am a player again, my experience as a coach is helping me to better shape the game of my new team. But we still have a lot of work to do to get to a top level. What made you choose Spirit, of all the offers you had on the table? What kind of offers did you have? I cannot disclose all the details of the offers I had, but I can say that I had offers from North America, Europe, CIS and even Asia. Different organisations asked me to join them as player, coach or even COO, but I decided that continuing a player was what I wanted and that Spirit was the best option for me.

starix had offers from multiple regions, including North America