Thorin on m0NESY: “The main threat to a sniper’s career is his excessive attachment to NiKo.”
Analysts Duncan “Thorin” Shields, Alex “Mauisnake” Ellenberg, and Jacob “Pimp” Winnech discussed Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov’s chances of winning the CS2 Player of the Year award in the latest episode of the Hot Take Point Made podcast and identified the main factors that could negatively impact the sniper’s career.
On the specifics of the HLTV ranking system, the team factor, and prospects at Team Falcons
Pimp: The HLTV rating system is structured in such a way that the title of best player largely depends on the team’s success, the number of trophies, and performance at specific tournaments, rather than on consistency throughout the entire season. Because of this, m0NESY, despite his immense talent, risks never becoming the world’s number one player. He may end up following in Neymar’s footsteps in soccer: the Brazilian was considered a phenomenon but never managed to surpass Messi and Ronaldo during their prime years. In CS2, ZywOo and donk are similarly dominant figures. There’s no indication that they’ll slow down over the next five years, and the Frenchman currently appears to be more versatile and stronger than m0NESY.
The second reason for the sniper’s potential difficulties is his choice of team. m0NESY plays for Team Falcons, and the future of this roster looks extremely uncertain. The roster is made up of older players who are unlikely to remain on the professional scene for more than two or three years, and the organization’s foundation seems unstable. There is a risk that the esports player will simply waste his prime years, as the Falcons are unlikely to be able to compete with Team Vitality or Team Spirit in the coming seasons.
At the same time, his direct competitors are in a much stronger position. donk plays in a region with a huge pool of young talent, which will allow him to succeed on any roster, and for Vitality, the scenario of a hypothetical Astralis—suddenly losing its relevance—is out of the question. m0NESY is playing the best Counter-Strike of his career and is capable of competing on equal footing with the scene’s leaders, but due to team-related factors, we may find ourselves in a situation where, five to ten years from now, he still hasn’t won the coveted title in any season.
On the phenomenon of competitors, comparisons to s1mple at his peak, and the curse of year-round consistency
Mauisnake: m0NESY is capable of being the best player in a specific tournament or a crucial match, but over the course of an entire year, he lacks consistency. That said, his individual stats remain excellent: even when Team Falcons underperforms, the sniper maintains his high standards, posting impressive stats. However, he’s forced to compete against two phenomenal players. In any other universe, m0NESY would already have been recognized as the greatest player in Counter-Strike history. But right now, donk is completely redefining what an entry-fragger is capable of, while ZywOo, thanks to his strategic mindset, always outplays everyone else.
Nevertheless, m0NESY holds other impressive records. He remains the fastest sniper in history, outpacing even s1mple at the peak of his career. Moreover, m0NESY’s play with a standard rifle may even be stronger than s1mple’s at his peak—he’s capable of effectively making entries and trading shots with teammates using an AK-47, ensuring consistent rounds for the attack team. For m0NESY, this seems like a curse: when he first appeared on the scene, it seemed that all he needed was to gain experience and develop his understanding of the game to compete on equal footing with ZywOo. At close range, m0NESY is indeed capable of performing at that level, but it’s practically impossible to match the year-round consistency of the French sniper and Team Spirit’s star player.
On a hypothetical CIS superteam, the Team Falcons “trap,” and NiKo’s loyalty
Thorin: The main threat to the sniper’s career is his excessive attachment to NiKo. m0NESY openly states in interviews that he’s staying with the club for the Bosnian’s sake and even wants to win a Major for him, setting aside his own ambitions. The managers are building the project specifically around NiKo, planning to make him the IGL in the future. Analysts see this as a huge risk: m0NESY is sacrificing his prime years for a captain who is still learning to coordinate the team, while donk is winning with magixx and ZywOo is winning with apEX. NiKo’s individual slump in recent tournaments has already led to eliminations, even though the sniper carried matches on his own. At the same time, winning the Major has, paradoxically, hurt Team Falcons: the roster of older players has gained immunity from roster changes for half a year, even though the club needs to sign b1t, heavyGod, or Kyosuke right now to build a truly successful era.
m0NESY has unique freedom of choice: he can play for top international clubs or return to the CIS region at any time. A hypothetical partnership with donk looks like the ideal scenario for the scene. These players’ roles don’t overlap—it would be the perfect tandem of a brilliant sniper and a powerhouse rifler. Such a duo would allow them to sweep all the trophies, leaving ZywOo far behind. The only downside for m0NESY himself in this situation is that donk, due to his aggressive playstyle and impressive stats, would claim most of the MVP awards, once again preventing the sniper from taking sole first place in the HLTV rankings.
In the latest episode of the Hot Take Point Made podcast, Thorin, Mauisnake, and Pimp assessed Team Liquid’s management achievements over the past few years, discussed the club’s transfer policy in Counter-Strike, and speculated on the organization’s prospects in the industry.
Photo: Adela “Mawrr” Sznajder, DreamHack.
