Esports players named donk the best player of the season in CS2

During ESL Pro League Season 24, professional esports players voted for the best player of the season, evaluated the map pool, and named the strongest teams on each map. The poll was posted on the ESL Counter-Strike Extra YouTube channel.

Team Spirit rifler Danil “donk” Kryshkovets was most frequently named Player of the Season (24 votes). Respondents also selected Team Falcons sniper Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov seven times and Team Vitality’s Mathieu “ZywOo” Erbo twice.

Anubis (12 votes) emerged as the top candidate for removal from the map pool following the PGL Major Singapore 2026, followed by Inferno (6) and Ancient (5). When asked which maps to bring back to the map pool, respondents most often suggested Cobblestone (8 votes), Train (7), and Overpass (6); less frequently, Vertigo and Tuscan (3 each), as well as Season (1).

According to survey participants, Team Spirit is strongest on Ancient, while Team Vitality is strongest on Nuke and Cache.

In July 2026, with the start of the fifth Premier season, Valve brought Cache back into the competitive map pool and removed Overpass from it. Meanwhile, Team Spirit, for which donk plays, ranks first in the October VRS rankings.

Photo: Esports Foundation.