What can m0NESY offer G2 heading into 2022?

With high hopes placed on the head of the 16-year-old as he prepares to make his foray into the top tier of Counter-Strike next year, we take a look at what he can bring to the table for G2.

Almost four and a half years.

That's how long it has been since the G2 organization last laid claim to a Big Event trophy in Counter-Strike, their French roster securing victories at DreamHack Masters Malmö and ESL Pro League Season 5 Finals in 2017 helmed by star performances from Kenny "⁠kennyS⁠" Schrub in each grand final.

A slow spiral followed, comprising many roster changes as the team struggled to find their identity. It was late into 2019 that the organization finally abandoned their hopes of a fully French project and signed Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković and Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač, but an improvement in results didn't really follow until the blockbuster signing of Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač nearly a year later. Even then though, titles in the biggest events have eluded the team, and Carlos "ocelote" Rodríguez Santiago, G2's CEO, is no longer content waiting for the team to improve over time.

Enter 16-year-old wunderkind Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov.

The NAVI Junior superstar has been one of the most talked about upcoming talents throughout 2021, putting up Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev-esque numbers in WePlay Academy League, both online and offline, as well as in a slew of online tournaments throughout the year. Naturally, projections in performance for the youngster are high as he prepares to make the jump up to G2 in the new year, a signing which the team hopes will finally give them the firepower to overcome Natus Vincere heading into 2022.

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So with that in mind, let me temper your outlook just a bit, but still offer hope for a much more competitive G2 lineup next year.

It should go without saying, but it is not often that we see players who are tearing up the tier two scene progress into tier one and maintain those same numbers. The absolute increase in level of play across the board, the constant barrage of grenades designed to counter you, and hours upon hours of individual anti-strat research that top teams employ nowadays makes it so incredibly hard to maintain that form.

Indeed, very few names come to mind who have been able to do so without months of practice to return to their prior level, if at all, although two recent outliers, Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut and Valeriy "⁠b1t⁠" Vakhovskiy, have shattered that illusion and seemingly made the public expect frequent greatness from upcomers. But those two are just that — outliers. It would be an act of sheer folly to impress that consistency on most talents as they come up, and there are far more players that have been unable to perform to their same level upon their incursion to the top echelons of Counter-Strike.

Now don't get me wrong, m0NESY could surely prove contrary to the above and become another shining CIS breakout star in the tier one scene, but the notion of it happening immediately is misguided. While his reported price tag of $600,000 brings with it a set of expectations, that investment is both in m0NESY's showcased form in the last year (1.36 rating, 1.42 impact), as well as the promise of improvement in the future.

See, G2 don't need m0NESY to put up s1mple or ZywOo-level numbers immediately as some believe he will, or even need him to peak as high. A consistent AWPer who excels in the role and has the mindset to take it on is one of the primary factors the team have been missing for the past year, and that is just what the 16-year-old can bring to the table right off the bat.

Ever since NiKo joined the team, G2 haven't had an AWPer that can contend against top competition, nor be a consistent force on the server. kennyS, despite showing occasional flashes of form, had a lucklustre period since the Bosnian's addition and prior to his own removal from the starting roster, averaging a 1.02 rating over seven events (125 days, 63 maps). Similarly, François "⁠amanek⁠" Delaunay has struggled to hit his stride since picking up the sniper, averaging a 1.01 rating over 16 events (288 days, 171 maps).

But look past the rating and delve into each players' opening stats, one of the most crucial advantages an AWPer can grab for a team early into a round, and a clearer picture of the sort of impact G2 have been missing emerges. kennyS had an opening kill ratio of 1.19 (succeeding in 166 out of 305 attempts), while amanek has fared worse, posting a 0.94 (434/894 attempts). Conversely, top AWPers, even those who haven't had stellar years like s1mple and ZywOo, regularly muster above 1.40 ratios with even more frequency in taking duels, more often succeeding in their attempts to go up 5vs4.

Despite playing at a substantially lower level, it's very clear from the eye test and from looking at the statistics that m0NESY is more than comfortable in stepping up to that particular task, boasting a 1.92 ratio (477/725 attempts) across 2021 while not even being known for his aggression, but rather his consistency. On top of that, the AWP is his primary role, one which he already holds experience in and that he can continue to mold his skills in over time as he gains tier one experience, and he also makes for an excellent rifler to boot. m0NESY's reliable output with the sniper, combined with his efficacy in the role itself and ability to perform well with other guns in hand makes him a stellar piece for the team to further build around next year, even if his numbers drop off slightly from their current level.

amanek just hasn't been the right man to plug the gap for G2 as he picked up the sniper by necessity, one of the hardest roles to play in tier one Counter-Strike and one that requires a certain mentality to excel with, an aspect that even nexa admitted that the team were struggling to adapt to in an interview from September.

"AmaNEk understands the role, but he plays it more as a support player, which I think is of his own choice because he doesn't yet feel comfortable being a star AWPer making all of the crazy plays and doing what you see s1mple or ZywOo do," the G2 captain explained at the time. "He's not there yet, but I know he's working hard and I've seen glimpses of what he's capable of doing and we're trying to go in a direction in which we give him space to shine more and have more responsibility.

"The way our team is structured and any team is structured is that you have two players that you play around and the other guys are the side characters, just supporting and doing their job. For us, it's very difficult to play around the AWPer since we already have the two Kovač guys and we try to play around them and give them the most space. As we progress, I'd personally like to give AmaNEk more space and have him be our star AWPer if he's up to the task, but it's something we'll see with time."

That particular mindset isn't easy to simply pick up, nor learn on the fly competing at the top echelon. Transforming a supportive element of the team into a star AWPer willing to take opening duels is a tall task for any team, and G2's attempts to do so very clearly proved unsuccessful and it became quite clear that to compete for the crown, they could not do without a primary AWPer any longer.

With m0NESY in tow, the European combine gains a critical piece that can add substantial firepower to their playbook and finally position them to take home big trophies, even if he maintains just 85% of his current form. The rumored addition of Rémy "⁠XTQZZZ⁠" Quoniam as coach also provides the youngster a critical boon, an experienced coach who has demonstrated a proven ability to nurture talent with Vitality.

NiKo's elite level of rifling has already been bringing G2 to the brink of victory, and a revitalized G2 boasting a consistent AWPer and possible breakout star is an exciting prospect going into the new year. But for the team, that consistent presence of a primary sniper will be key in getting them off on the right footing in the new year, and should the 16-year-old's skills continue to bloom in tier one... well, we're in for an explosive year.