Top 20 players of 2023: m0NESY (4)

World-class output and immense peaks at the biggest tournaments earn m0NESY a top-five spot in his second appearance on the HLTV Top 20 Players of the Year list, powered by 1xBet.

Top 20 players of 2023: Introduction

There is perhaps only one player who can claim to have burst onto the scene with a more frighteningly loud bang than Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov. Even if Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut's entry into professional Counter-Strike was more impressive, there is the caveat that he was a full two years older than m0NESY was when the Russian AWper joined G2 to take on the best teams in the game.

At the tender age of 16 m0NESY signed for G2. If his immense talent had already been apparent as he dominated the WePlay Academy circuit with NAVI Junior, it was only emphatically emphasized by his early days in the G2 jersey. In his very first tournament with the team he produced a now-famous jaw-dropping 1v4 clutch against MIBR with a mere 15 seconds on the clock. In his second tournament, the precipitously prestigious IEM Katowice, he helped G2 storm to second place and displayed poise and quality on-stage that belied his youthful status.

m0NESY continued to impress as 2022 wore on, racking up highlight after highlight thanks to his explosive, flick-laden style of dynamic AWPing, and he posted the kind of statistics that put him up there with the elite players in the world. He saved his best performance till last, as at the year-ending BLAST World Final he dominated all challengers to lead G2 to the trophy with an MVP-winning performance.

For his colossal efforts in his rookie year m0NESY was named the 7th-best player of 2022, his superb consistency, impressive peaks and deadly efficiency versus the world's best marking him as one of the best players in Counter-Strike. Before even reaching his 18th birthday, m0NESY had the world at his feet.

For a more in-depth look at his early career, check out m0NESY's Top 20 article from 2022.

Thus m0NESY came into 2023 firmly touted as a superstar, and thanks to G2's indomitable World Final performance many considered them to be the best team in the world, even if they did not hold the top spot in the world ranking.

G2 eased themselves back into competitive play for the year with a quick and clean romp through the BLAST Premier Spring Groups, where the European squad did not drop a single map, continuing the excellent form they ended the previous year with.

IEM Katowice was the first real test of 2023, a Super-elite tournament and one of the most prestigious trophies on offer across the calendar. G2 cruised through the group stage with absurd ease, with FaZe being the only team to seriously threaten a map victory against m0NESY and co. The Russian AWPer was quiet in the series against FaZe, but performed well in the opening match against BIG (1.21 rating) and utterly dominated Natus Vincere in the group decider (1.56 rating).

G2 continued their indomitable performance into the playoffs, brushing aside Liquid without needing m0NESY to produce his best form and outclassing HEROIC 3-1 in the grand final, securing back-to-back significant LAN trophies. m0NESY was the key difference-maker in the second map of the grand final, leading G2 to victory on HEROIC's pick of Mirage (1.22 rating) and putting his team in a prime position to take the series. Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač may have taken the MVP award and stole the headlines, but m0NESY grabbed an EVP award thanks to his powerful play in key moments.

Having put together an impressive win-streak over the last few months and comfortably slid into the top position in the world ranking, everything came crashing down around G2's ears at ESL Pro League Season 17. The team got through the group stage but seemed short of their best, needing some superlative play from m0NESY to prevent a decider against Eternal Fire and to start them off right in the series against fnatic. The entire squad went missing against ENCE to send them crashing out of the playoffs before even reaching the quarter-finals, but m0NESY's impressive exploits (1.21 impact rating, 1.20 rating) earned him a VP award that was not far from an EVP.

With G2 in an awkward spot ahead of the BLAST.tv Paris Major circuit, seemingly cooling off after their previous stellar run of form, m0NESY stepped up to make sure his team would be present in Paris. He led from the front (1.22 rating) after a shock loss to 9INE opened G2's RMR campaign, blasting iNation off the server (1.98 rating) before dominating Cloud9 in the deciding series (1.35 rating) to seal qualification for the European combine.

A loss in a 5th-place decider at the RMR meant G2 had to start the Major itself in the Challengers Stage, but m0NESY only ramped up his output. He starred alongside huNter- to put The MongolZ to bed before picking Complexity apart single-handedly, racking up 34 kills and 130 ADR across only 25 rounds to put G2 a series away from the Legends Stage. He kept his output ticking along nicely as G2 swept Apeks, and the team were seemingly back to world-beating form ahead of the business end of the proceedings in Paris.

It all went wrong for G2 in the Legends Stage. m0NESY was the only player offering real resistance as they fell to Vitality in the opening match, before a shock loss to Bad News Eagles left G2 staring in the face of elimination. They breezed past a woefully ailing FURIA, with m0NESY performing well, only for the team to let things slip against fnatic, ending their Major earlier than many expected. Yet another award came m0NESY's way however, this time a VP, as the Russian sniper posted three very strong maps with two of them carrying G2 to wins.

"I had really weird feelings." m0NESY states when reflecting on the Major. "I felt that we failed to show how strong we are. I also felt that I missed the opportunity to play on the stage of the last major in CS:GO, this was my goal, to get to the playoff stage of the Major. The most offensive feeling was looking at NiKo after the game we lost against fnatic on Vertigo. I'm looking at him after the game and understanding he didn't deserve to finish his last Major in CS:GO like this, that was pretty sad."

The hangover from the disappointing Major run followed G2 to IEM Dallas as although the team dominated lesser opponents in their opening matches, they were trounced by HEROIC in the group final before FaZe comfortably bested them in the quarter-finals. m0NESY, along with Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač, produced a valiant effort however, with the AWPer doing his best to battle back against FaZe and carrying G2 to their narrow map win in that series. His efforts were rewarded with another VP nod.

NiKo and m0NESY continued to put their team on their backs in the BLAST Premier Spring Final, with the latter carrying the opening match against Cloud9 before the duo teamed up to inch G2 past Imperial in a shaky group decider. Vitality proved too much in the semi-finals, but m0NESY was a force to be reckoned with throughout the event (1.26 impact, 1.23 rating) and took home yet another EVP award to end the season.

Despite picking up the prestigious IEM Katowice title, the first half of G2's year had been a mixed bag. The highs of their epic start to the year, win-streak and all, had been balanced out by the lows of the Major and some lukewarm tournament showings besides.

G2 stumbled at the BLAST Premier Fall Groups when they returned from the break, meaning they missed a chance to qualify the Fall Final towards the end of the season. Not a disaster by any means, but missing one of the more memorable events on the calendar and the chance to play in the Royal Arena certainly stings.

IEM Cologne was a far more prestigious and important tournament, the real start to the new season, and it was one that G2 and m0NESY relished. The European squad marched their way imperiously to the trophy, racking up an impressive resume of victories along the way. Astralis were cast aside as m0NESY produced one of the highlights of the year, FaZe were decimated with m0NESY in prime form, before the Russian AWPer almost single-handedly put reigning Major champions Vitality into the dirt.

m0NESY and G2 did not let up in the playoffs, with Astralis falling to the wayside in convincing fashion before G2 romped to the trophy with a 3-1 win over ENCE. "It felt nice to win both Katowice and Cologne," states m0NESY. "When you understand the history of these tournaments in your head, it's insane. I don't focus on the importance of the tournament when I play, but Cologne and Katowice are such amazing tournaments to take part in."

m0NESY was sublime throughout the event, not only creating highlight moments but also providing impact (1.37) and raw output (1.34 rating) as he narrowly missed out on the MVP medal to teammate NiKo by the most slender of margins. Another Super-elite tournament, another superlative performance by the young Russian starlet, whose propensity to shine on the biggest stages at the most important moments was becoming a near-certainty.

"I just think my biggest forte is my confidence," m0NESY opines when asked about his big-game performances. "I don't really care who I'm playing, what tournament I'm playing, I'm gonna come confident and make a difference in the game. What influences me so much is my love for this game. I have no chill, I try to spend as much time as possible in the game. I chose to sacrifice my time to become better. But I also try to spend time in this game not just for fun, but to gain knowledge. Two or three years ago I could play non stop and gain nothing from it, now I see where and what I can do better. Talking about big stages, all I can say is that I love to play in front of a crowd and have this good pressure. I love pressure, it affects me in a good way."

The rest of the year would not match the heights of the Super-elite Katowice and Cologne victories. m0NESY had his weakest significant LAN tournament of the year immediately after victory in Germany, at Gamers8 in Riyadh. As is essentially inevitable for the Russian sniper, there were still several 1.40+ rated standout maps, but he was subdued overall compared to his usual world-class level, and G2 crashed out at the hands of Vitality in an eminently winnable match. Had m0NESY been able to find a higher gear, perhaps G2 could have gone further, but nonetheless the highlight maps he produced earned him another VP award.

m0NESY was back to his best for the group stage of ESL Pro League Season 18, particularly in the series against Virtus.pro, and he helped to carry his team out of their group in first place. Things were a little more shaky for the 18-year-old against MOUZ in the quarter-finals, as they were for his teammates as well, and G2 couldn't progress any further, but of course m0NESY's group stage antics earned him a VP nod.

Then came the all-encompassing transition to CS2. Many professional AWPers, and plenty others in the community besides, were lamenting the fact the Big Green was not as strong in the new game, harder to wield, far less effective when attempting aggressive maneouvres. m0NESY laughed these complaints off with a world-beating 1.38 rating at the very first Elite CS2 LAN, IEM Sydney, hauling G2 on his back to carry them to a semi-final spot. Complexity downed them in said semi-final, but not for a lack of trying by m0NESY, and the Russian's event-leading efforts earned him another incredibly strong EVP award.

"My transition to CS2 was very simple to be honest," m0NESY says when looking back over his year. "I struggled with the AWP for maybe one week, when I had to get used to all these wide peeks, but I got used to everything very fast and smoothly. AWPing is still strong, you just need to find opportunities to use it smart and better, and not find excuses. Aggressive AWPing is still fine for me, I love it even more. When I play, I have the thought in my mind that I'm gonna react and kill faster than my enemy does."

It was around this time that the rumor mill began to rumble into action, heavily linking NiKo and m0NESY with moves to the Saudi-backed and mega-rich Falcons project. Organizations were starting to put together long-term rosters for CS2, and the aforementioned duo were of course hot properties.

"I wanted to go with NiKo wherever he went," m0NESY states when discussing the rumors that surrounded him during the off-season. "This guy gave me so much knowledge about this game, and I still needed to collect the rest of the puzzle you know (laughs). Just being with him in the same team is amazing. We have a great atmosphere, we understand each other perfectly, we tell each other where we see we can be better, we make mistakes and we correct them and discuss them. It's so nice, you can’t imagine. It’s so cool to understand you dont sit in one place, you do everything to become a better version of yourself. That's why I wanted to go with him. In the end I got another offer that I was interested in, but G2 didn't want to sell me."

Ultimately, as m0NESY states, G2 came out publicly stating they would not be selling the superstar AWPer, and after seeming all but confirmed as a Falcons player, NiKo made a dramatic 180 and opted to stay in G2. After coming so close to losing both of their star assets, G2 managed to retain the duo.

A bizarre piece of transfer news did hit G2 before the end of their season, however. Justin "⁠jks⁠" Savage was ditched from the team in favor of Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković, a player already familiar with G2 having played for the organization in years gone by. "Talking honestly, I found out about Justin’s departure from the team by surprise," m0NESY admits. "Justin was a nice teammate but he was lacking communication in the game, I think he could do it much better."

The change didn't do much for G2's immediate fortunes as they exited the BLAST World Final with a single win to their name, one m0NESY carried them to over a MOUZ featuring a stand-in. A top-quality showing against MOUZ was enough to earn m0NESY a VP award to end the year, but it was something of a whimper considering the team won two of the three Super-elite tournaments of the year. m0NESY did add another bonkers highlight to his reel, however, pulling off a 1v5 against Natus Vincere.

m0NESY's own feelings about 2023 mirror the mixed year his team had. "Honestly, it feels weird to me (laughs)," the Russian admits whilst reflecting on the year. "If you win Katowice and Cologne in the same year you have to be really good, but after Katowice we couldn't step up, after Cologne we also couldn't step up, I don't know why it happened. Sometimes we had to be better as a team, sometimes we had to be better individually. Everything always fits into one puzzle and you have to be consistent to be really good. I don't regret that we didn't win more tournaments, I know that next year will be much better than the last. Maybe only one thing I will mention again, I'm a bit sad we didn't have chance to be in playoff stage on the last CS:GO Major."

The superstar AWPer is measured in his reaction to his fantastic top 20 placement, preferring to look forwards rather than rest on his laurels. "You know, I don't have a goal to get into the top 20 every year and in general I didn't look to get into the top 20," the youngster states. "If you play well and deserve it, you will be there. My priorities and focus are a little bit different, but being a top-five player in this game at such an early age lets me know that I'm probably moving in the right direction. The main thing is not to go off the right path. Being in this top 20 is a very nice bonus in the end of the year, but also an indicator of your game! Next time I will be better."

Speaking of looking forwards, m0NESY is incredibly ambitious with his goals for the upcoming year. "My biggest goal for this year is to win everything possible. If in the last two years in G2 my goals were about the game, how to be better at something and learn how to do basic stuff, right now I'm looking to win titles. Also my goal is to play in playoff stage of a Major and get this small trophy coin in my inventory as a memory. I think my team wants the same, they want to win everything possible, so let's find out how good we can be."

Why was m0NESY the 4th-best player of 2023?

m0NESY's case for such a high placement on this list is based upon the litany of awards he earned across the year combined with his world-class statistical output. Statistically, m0NESY's raw output was world-class as he finished the year as one of the best fraggers (0.75 kills per round, #5), one of the most prolific openers (0.13 opening kills per round, #9) and as one of the most frequent high-performers (34.9% maps rated 1.30+, #8). He was one of the most impactful players of the year (1.19 impact rating, #6) thanks to his frequent multi-kills (19% of rounds, #5) and impressive opening stats. He was also one of the best pistoleers in the game, a trait that became even more of a boon as the game transitioned to CS2 and MR12. In almost all statistical categories worth mentioning m0NESY appeared amongst the top 10, and this was so mightily impressive as he was so often doing it against the world's best teams in the most high-pressure moments.

With regards to awards, m0NESY earned a near-MVP at IEM Cologne whilst winning the trophy, another EVP in G2's other Super-elite tournament win in Katowice, another Elite EVP in Sydney, and a Big event EVP at BLAST Spring Final. m0NESY also had three more events close to the EVP level (EPL S17, EPL S18, BLAST World Final), so in short, m0NESY was at or near EVP level in seven of the 10 significant LAN tournaments he played this year, and was at least a VP in every single one.

It can't be understated just how titanic m0NESY's play was at elite events. He matched his already impressive average rating at Elite events (1.19 rating, #4), where most players fall off, and even surpassed it at Super-elite events thanks to his superlative peaks at Cologne and Katowice. He was also one of the top performers in Big matches (1.13 rating, #9) and against top-five teams (1.16 rating, #6), firmly solidifying himself as one of Counter-Strike's premier stars in the big moments.

As we approach the very pinnacle of the list it is difficult to fault anyone for anything in their performance, they are after all among the few best players in the world. Where m0NESY falters compared to those above him is simply that whilst he was great, they were even better in terms of awards, raw stats, or were even bigger difference-makers deep into tournaments.

Bold prediction by 1xBet

m0NESY opted for a unique choice for his bold prediction for 2024 by selecting Ukrainian rifler Danyyl "⁠synyx⁠" Mazur, with whom m0NESY played back in 2021 on NAVI Junior.

"Take a look at him. He’s very young and eyes light up when he plays a lot. He has good mechanical skills which make him special."

synyx most recently has been plying his trade for The Witchers, Owen "⁠smooya⁠" Butterfield's team, and ended 2023 on a high by posting a 1.22 rating as the squad won the Betswap Winter Cup over the likes of Alliance, Metizport and FTW.

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Stay tuned to our Top 20 Players of 2023 ranking and take a look at the Introduction article to learn more about how the players were selected.