The effect of Mykhailo " kane " Blagin: TEAM NEXT LEVEL became the champion of Level Up lund 2025
The Ukrainian organization TEAM NEXT LEVEL won the Level Up lund 2025 tournament, confidently defeating the Polish team 9INE in the final with a score of 2:0. For the victory, the team earned $3,069 in prize money and +167 points in the Valve ranking, and +50 places, rising to 51st place in the updated world rankings. This victory was one of the biggest achievements in the club's history.
New CEO and instant results
Mykhailo “ kane ” Blagin officially joined the organization as CEO on April 8, just four days before the tournament. A former head coach of NAVI, Gambit , HellRaisers and other world-class teams, this is the first time he has taken the position of club leader. Before that, his last team was Ukrainian Passion UA , where he worked with young talents. His arrival was an important turning point for the organization - the first tournament after his appointment, and the championship right away. Previously, kane has led teams to the finals of major events, but this is his debut as a club manager with a trophy, which adds special symbolism to this event.
TNL's way to the championship
In the group stage, TNL dominated Group D, finishing with a 4-0 record and a +25 round difference. The Ukrainian five was one of three teams among all four groups to go through the first stage without a defeat. In the group matches, they confidently defeated Alliance , Back2TheGame, Masonic , and Metizport X .
In the playoffs, the team continued to demonstrate a stable performance. In the quarterfinals, they defeated Ninjas in Pyjamas with a score of 2:1. In the semifinals, they faced a tough test against Johnny Speeds , who were also in good form, but TNL won 2-1, showing character and individual skill. In the grand final, the Ukrainians left no chance to the Polish 9INE team - 2:0, with confident victories on Ancient and Train, where Artem “cairne” Mushynskyi and Artem “Flierax” Khioara performed brilliantly. It was they who made the key moves at the most important moments, breaking the opponent's resistance.
About the tournament
Level Up lund 2025 is a C-Tier offline tournament in Sweden organized by the lund Esports Organization. The tournament took place on April 12-13 in lund , at the Skåne arena. The total prize pool amounted to 60,000 SEK (~$6,139). The format of the tournament included a group stage and a playoff stage, in which 20 teams competed. Both young bands and veterans of the scene took part: Ninjas in Pyjamas , EYEBALLERS , Alliance , Astralis Talent , and others.
Distribution of the prize pool:
TEAM NEXT LEVEL - $3,069 (30,000 SEK)
9INE - $2,046 (20,000 SEK)
Johnny Speeds - $1,023 (10,000 SEK)
