Sh1ro denies retirement talk, vows to keep playing

Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov rejected suggestions that he plans to retire after a comment by teammate Denis “deko” Zhukov prompted fresh speculation. On the RightClick podcast, sh1ro described deko’s remark as a joke and said he intends to continue competing and improving his play, with any retirement decision to be made by Team Spirit.

The remark from deko surfaced again after he suggested in January he might stop playing if Team Spirit failed to win a title this year. Sh1ro said the topic was discussed last winter around the Shanghai Major and that the comment was not a formal plan: “deko and I just talked about that topic, but he said it as a joke, basically.” He added that he wants to keep playing and to keep developing his game.

The 25-year-old has been ranked among the top 20 players each year since 2021 and reached No. 3 in 2022. He reflected on how his approach has changed since the early phase of his career between 2018 and 2020, noting he once preferred the way he played then but has adopted elements from other top players.

Sh1ro pointed to Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut as a player whose style he admires, calling him “a very versatile guy.” He praised ZywOo’s ability to use both the AWP and rifles and said heavy match schedules and format differences affect statistical comparisons and role choices.

When asked to compare ZywOo with Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, sh1ro declined to make a definitive judgment, saying objectivity is difficult. He expressed respect for s1mple’s performance and noted the impact of experienced support staff and a long-term coaching relationship on how that player is used.

Sh1ro framed the retirement talk as an offhand remark rather than a plan and emphasized his focus on continued personal development and competition. He left future roster and retirement decisions to Team Spirit while committing to keep working on his game.