Top 20 players of 2024: Spinx (13)

Spinx makes his third consecutive appearance on HLTV's Top 20 Players of the Year list, powered by 1xBet and SkinClub, on account of his remarkable consistency all season long.

Top 20 players of 2024: Introduction

Lotan "⁠Spinx⁠" Giladi is one of the earliest members of Israel's Golden Generation and, like most of his peers, he took his first steps as a player on a local team. He was part of the Uniquestars lineup that finished third in the Middle East Closed Qualifier for the Asia Minor leading to the IEM Katowice 2019 Major — a qualifier topped by another Israeli side, exDT.

It didn't take long for Spinx, who had picked Counter-Strike back up in 2016 after a four-year break, to turn his attention to FACEIT, a platform that has become the proving ground for many players from countries without proper representation at a global level. The grind finally paid off in the summer of 2019, when he became the first Israeli player since Noah "⁠buue⁠" Nethanel Türnpu to qualify for FPL.

Read more

How three players are changing the face of Israeli Counter-Strike

"I saw FPL as the way to go professional for me because we didn’t have a good scene in Israel and if I wanted to join the best teams I needed to make a name for myself," he told HLTV in 2023.

"FPL didn’t give me any motivation, it was just a part of my journey to become professional and achieve my dream."

While he waited for his big break, Spinx set out to make the most of his time in high-level pugs and worked on improving all areas of his game. He also competed in European tournaments on a mix team called Tikitakan alongside players like Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan — another rising Israeli star —, Nico "⁠nicoodoz⁠" Tamjidi and Hristiyan "⁠REDSTAR⁠" Pironkov.

In the summer of 2020, Spinx got his first taste of professional Counter-Strike as he was invited by Marco "⁠Snappi⁠" Pfeiffer to join c0ntact, initially on trial. He ended up signing a permanent deal in October ahead of Flashpoint 2, but his joy soon turned to disappointment as the North American organization put the entire roster up for transfer before the end of the year.

Despite the setback, Spinx left a big impression on Snappi, who offered the Israeli a place in his new project as he took charge of ENCE. His first months with the team were challenging, but he finally hit his stride around the midway point of the season at IEM Fall Europe, the final qualifying event for PGL Major Stockholm, averaging a team-high 1.18 rating.

With 2344 RMR points from the second-place finish at the event, ENCE earned a spot at the Major, where the team made it through the Challengers Stage before going 0-3 in the Legends Stage. 2021 ended with a last-place finish at IEM Winter, but that didn't take away from a very positive first year for Spinx at the highest level.

ENCE hit a whole new level in 2022 after the arrival of Pavle "⁠Maden⁠" Bošković. He showed incredible consistency and fragging output during the first half of the season, especially in the team's runners-up finish in ESL Pro League 15 and semi-final run at the Antwerp Major. His efforts didn't go unnoticed as he made the jump to Vitality, where he replaced Kévin "⁠misutaaa⁠" Rabier.

Within weeks of joining the team, Spinx lifted his first trophy at ESL Pro League 16, but it was an otherwise unremarkable end of the year for the Israeli as he went through a slump in form, which he attributed to a loss of confidence and the difficulty in adapting to a new style of play. Still, he managed to make that year's HLTV Top 20 Players of the Year list, at No.18

Spinx overcame those issues in 2023 and was at the heart of the action for Vitality during a historic year for the French organization. He was the perfect right-hand man to Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut as the team lifted five trophies in 2023, including a Major, with different roster iterations (flameZ replaced Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen in the summer, while William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman took Emil "⁠Magisk⁠" Reif's spot in November).

Spinx, who signed a three-year contract extension before the season was over, ranked fifth in HLTV's Top 20 Players of the 2023 list thanks to his remarkable consistency from map to map and event to event, as well as his high award count, with six Exceptionally Valuable Player (EVP) mentions.

For more of Spinx's early career, see his previous top 20 appearances:
- Top 20 players of 2022: Spinx (18)
- Top 20 players of 2023: Spinx (5)

The 2024 season began with a trip to Copenhagen for the BLAST Premier Spring Groups. Without surprise, Vitality topped Group A, but their run wasn't without issues as they were upset by Astralis and also dropped a map to Falcons.

Spinx was a solid second star in that first event, which is why it was so surprising to see the steep drop-off he had at IEM Katowice, his worst event of the year. A 0.39-rated performance in his first game was a sign of what was to come: he averaged a 0.89 rating and was in the red in four of the six maps that he played as Vitality crashed out of the Polish event in last place following defeats to ENCE and HEROIC.

"After a very successful year in 2023, we came to Katowice with high expectations and motivation but we also put a bit too much pressure on ourselves," Spinx said. "About my individual performance, I moved out of my home in Israel to a different country, which affected me."

But Spinx was not about to dwell on that disappointing showing and returned to his best form at the Europe RMR. Vitality made light work of GamerLegion and HEROIC in best-of-one affairs, lost to Cloud9 in a three-map series and then sealed qualification with a comfortable 2-0 win over ENCE, with Spinx posting an event rating of 1.31, the second-highest on the team.

Vitality went into the Major with the goal of defending their Paris title, and though they began their run with a 13-10 loss to Eternal Fire, they made it through the Elimination Stage with relative ease, with Spinx turning in key performances against The MongolZ (1.44 rating) and Imperial (1.96).

Read more

Spinx after 131 ADR game: "ZywOo was not feeling well so I told him to support me fully"

A quarter-final clash against Cloud9 ended in a quick 2-0 victory for Vitality. Spinx ended the series with a 1.15 rating after barely seeing any action in the 13-2 mauling on Anubis, where he posted a 4-7 score. The team's run at the Major came to an end in the semi-finals after a 2-1 loss to FaZe in a series where the two Israelis went missing on the decider map, Inferno.

"We were devastated, we all wanted to get the back-to-back Major title," said Spinx, who ended the Major with a team-high 1.13 rating. "It was rough to not meet our expectations again."

Vitality went on to reach the final at their next two events, ESL Pro League 19 and IEM Dallas. Spinx averaged an impressive 1.43 rating as his team cruised through the groups in Malta, but his form dipped in the playoffs (1.17 rating against FaZe, 0.96 against Astralis and 1.01 in the final against MOUZ), costing him a spot on the EVP list.

Spinx then earned his first EVP mention of the year in Dallas, where he had a great series against Spirit in the semi-finals and solid showings on Dust2 against HEROIC and on Anubis against 9z and G2. But in the end, his case for an MVP award was rendered illegitimate by a quiet showing in the grand final against G2, who surprisingly ran out 2-1 winners with Jake "⁠Stewie2K⁠" Yip as a stand-in.

Vitality's hopes of ending the first half of the season with a trophy were dashed at the BLAST Premier Spring Final, where they lost to eventual champions Spirit in the semi-finals. It was one of Spinx's lowest points of the year as he averaged only a 1.00 rating and posted a 0.82 Impact.

Head coach Rémy "⁠XTQZZZ⁠" Quoniam would later reveal that Spinx asked to explore his options after the event in London.

"Some things in the team made me feel uncomfortable and because of it I wasn't 100% focused on the game so I wanted to look for opportunities," Spinx explained. "It was hard for us to make deep runs without lifting any trophies after being used to winning."

The atmosphere might have been tense, but the Vitality organization succeeded in keeping the roster intact. The team's return from the player break ended in disappointment as they were eliminated from the Esports World Cup, a tournament they had won in 2023 while it was still called Gamers8, in the quarter-finals by Virtus.pro, with Spinx finishing the series with a 0.84 rating after underwhelming showings on Inferno and Dust2.

Vitality came out looking revitalized in the BLAST Premier Fall Groups, where Spinx averaged a 1.25 rating as the team topped their group after beating GamerLegion and Astralis (twice). It was a timely return to form by Vitality ahead of IEM Cologne, the event that would finally end their trophyless run in 2024.

It all started with a 2-0 demolition job of FURIA, followed by a hard-fought win against FaZe and a two-map series against MOUZ. The flawless group run put them on a collision course with SAW in the semi-finals, a series they won comfortably. Coming off a title-winning run at EWC, Natus Vincere proved a sterner test, but Vitality ran out 3-1 winners, with Spinx putting in a 1.09 series rating, the second-highest on the team.

It was the second (and final) EVP award of the year for the Israeli, who boasted a 1.16 event rating and six clutches, including a crucial 1vs2 on Nuke in the final, which he described as his favorite match of the year. "I just enjoyed the moment and it was fantastic."

He added: "[Winning Cologne] was a big relief and it felt like our stepping stone to get back on track. I'm happy we managed to win such a trophy."

It felt like the start of a new chapter for Vitality, but they were brought back down to earth in their next trip as they lost to Eternal Fire in a very tight quarter-final series at ESL Pro League 20. There were positives to take for Spinx, who averaged a 1.23 rating in Malta, the second-highest on Vitality, and just narrowly missed out on another EVP.

EPL marked the return of heartbreaking finishes for Vitality, a trend that would continue throughout the rest of the season. At the BLAST Premier Fall Final, they went out in the semi-finals after a painful 2-1 loss to eventual winners G2 following a nail-bitter of a series where they let a 12-9 lead slip on the decider map of Mirage. Spinx ended the tournament with a respectable 1.15 rating, though his numbers were inflated by the 2-0 thrashing of Astralis in the team's opening match.

"We knew we had a problem with closing games, but this is how CS is," Spinx said. "The year could've looked different, but it's just how it is."

Next up on the calendar was IEM Rio, another event Vitality entered as defending champions. Spinx had a bright start to the tournament with a 1.63 rating in the 13-3 mauling of 9z but alternated between hot and cold the rest of his time in Brazil, finishing the event with a 1.10 rating as Vitality were stopped by MOUZ in the quarter-finals.

The BLAST Premier World Final featured a different-look Vitality as mezii was replaced by Audric "⁠JACKZ⁠" Jug due to personal reasons. A series-high 1.61 rating against MOUZ in the quarter-finals was one of the few bright spots for Spinx in Singapore as he finished the tournament with a 1.08 rating (still the joint-second-highest on the team).

Vitality approached the final stretch of the season with a full-strength lineup as mezii returned to the fold in time for the Europe RMR. Without surprise, they cruised through the qualifying tournament, going 3-0 with victories over GamerLegion, BetBoom and FaZe. A 1.74 rating against the Russian team was the only highlight of the RMR for Spinx as he finished the event with only the fourth-highest rating on the team at 1.14.

Tipped as having an outside chance of winning the Major, Vitality suddenly became one of the favorites for the title after defeating GamerLegion, FURIA and MIBR without too much trouble in the Elimination Stage. That put them on the easier side of the bracket and up against a struggling FaZe side in the quarter-finals.

Spinx, who had topped the scoreboard (1.42 rating) against MIBR, helped Vitality take the lead with a 1.42-rated performance on Nuke, but he struggled for impact in the other two maps as the team's season came to an agonizing end.

"It wasn't easy to be in China for such a long time but we tried to make the best out of it," said Spinx, who put in a 1.16 rating and 1.24 Impact (his second-highest of the year).

"For me, it [series against FaZe] felt just like another match and it was hard to know our level because I feel we weren't tested so much during the RMR and the Elimination Stage, and FaZe just played better."

2025 will bring a change of scenery for Spinx, who will reportedly be replaced by Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool in the starting lineup. His next destination remains unclear, but he is optimistic.

"My main priority is to be back to feeling comfortable and happy within the team. I'm sure it will follow with great team and individual performances."

Why was Spinx the 13th best player of 2024?

Spinx locks down his third consecutive placing on the Top 20 players list as one of the most consistent players of the year from tournament to tournament (positive at 12 out of 13 events), map to map (86.9% maps above a 0.85 rating), and round to round (75.5% KAST, 8th).

That helped him rack up great numbers for the year. His overall 1.13 rating (12th) held up across most event categories, with a 1.12 rating at Big Events, 1.10 at Super-Elite and better, and 1.14 at the Majors, and didn't drop off much against the best teams, a 1.07 against top 5 and top 10, and under the lights, with a 1.08 arena rating.

Spinx's two EVPs, one in Vitality's runner-up finish at IEM Dallas and one in their victory at IEM Cologne, a Super-Elite event, helped underline his case, along with close misses in the two ESL Pro League seasons.

For his consistency, he lacked higher peaks to compete with the group of players above him, as even in his best event, IEM Cologne, he was still only the third best in the team. He also fell off in elimination matches, a 1.06 there being the joint-lowest out of players in the top 20, which contributed to him not reaching for more awards despite his exceptional floor.

"I wasn't aware of this stat," he said about his rating in elimination matches. "Knowing this, I will put more focus and work on it. I'm definitely aware I wasn't as consistent this year as in 2023, but I'm confident I will be back on track."

Despite making the list for the third year in a row, Spinx has mixed feelings about his position in the ranking as he could not reach his goal of improving on 2023's No.5 finish.

"Of course, I am not satisfied and want to be higher in the ranking. But with how the year went and knowing what I'm capable of, I'm just looking ahead. I'm sure I will break it in 2025."

Bold prediction by 1xBet

Spinx became the second player after ropz to predict a bright future for Maxim "⁠kyousuke⁠" Lukin, Spirit Academy's 16-year-old star who has been turning heads at a tier-two level for the past seven months.

"I know everyone will mention him, but it is insane how he is consistently performing and how fast he has been improving. I'm sure we will see him on the big stages soon."

---

Stay tuned to our Top 20 Players of 2024 ranking and learn more about how the players were selected in our introduction article.