Top 20 players of 2011: markeloff (3)

2010's Player of the Year, Yegor "markeloff" Markelov from Natus Vincere had another amazing year where he was one of the best AWPers and one of the most consistent players in the world. He played well at every event he attended and earned five MVP nominations along the way, which resulted in the 3rd place on our Top 20 of 2011.

Basic information

Player: Yegor "markeloff" Markelov
Team: Natus Vincere
Age: 23

Team achievements in 2011:

1st - IEM5 World Championship, ICSC 7, ASUS Spring, OSPL Spring, Adepto BH Open
2nd - ESWC, SEC
3rd - e-Stars Seoul, DreamHack Summer, DreamHack Winter, GameGune, ASUS Summer

Stats from major LAN tournaments in 2011:

Kills per round: 0.78
Deaths per round: 0.59
Rating: 1.18 (?)
Maps played: 82
MoM: 19 times top rated in a match
Best tournament: DreamHack Winter
Best map: de_train
Most notable stat: 2nd most AWP kills (637), shared 2nd best awpKPR (0.30), 3rd hardest to kill (0.59 DPR), 5th most consistent (72% of maps rated above 1.00)

During the rise of Natus Vincere in 2010, Yegor "markeloff" Markelov established himself as the team's best player and as one of the best in the world, particularly impressing with his AWP and consistent great play. The team won numerous titles during that time, including IEM5 World Championship, ESWC and WCG, while Markelov played exquisite on each of those occasions. In the end, that resulted in him being named Player of the Year on our Top 20 players of 2010 ranking.

A very hard task of following-up the 2010 performance

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
IEM5 European Championship Finals (4th place)	1.06 (1st)	+9%
All-Star nomination 3rd best AWPer (0.24 awpKPR)

Yegor "markeloff" Markelov and Natus Vincere enjoyed a lot of praise for their displays in 2010, but as the calendar turned to 2011, it was time to start over and begin defending what they had achieved. On their home turf in Kiev, IEM5 European Championship Finals took place as the first tournament of the year, but the Ukrainians didn't seem to be quite ready for it. They somehow managed to make it to the playoffs after a disappointing group stage campaign, and then made it to the semi-final after defeating MYM, but fnatic's new lineup knocked them out of title contention. Another loss followed in the third place decider to Frag eXecutors and they finished a disappointing 4th.

Just like his team, Markelov didn't excel as we were used to, but he still ended up his team's best with a 1.06 rating. He had a solid event overall, playing above team's average in 9 of their 12 maps, and having 0.24 awp kills per round (3rd best), which made him one of the nominees for the All-Star lineup.

markeloff's AWP ace against Alternate

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
IEM5 World Championship (1st place)	1.13 (2nd)	+7%
MVP nomination Selected for All-Star lineup 6th best rating (1.13) Best AWPer (0.37 awpKPR) Most AWP kills (116) 5th best K-D difference (+51) 2nd hardest to kill (0.60 DPR) 5th best in pistol-rounds

The next event was the one where the Ukrainians amazed the world one year prior, when they won IEM4 World Championship. They were much better prepared this time than they were at the European Finals, as it was an important title to defend, and they succeeded in that task. Despite not playing perfect at the start, they still overcame compLexity, mTw and Frag eXecutors in the playoffs which secured them what would turn out to be their only major title in 2011.

Markelov wasn't the team's best rated, but he showed great consistent play and had his best AWP performance of the year, with event's highest amount of kills (116) and the best average (0.37 awpKPR). For that contribution on his team's road to 1st place, he was nominated for the MVP of the tournament.

ICSC 7 finals took place a few weeks later, where Natus Vincere won another title over Frag eXecutors. Markelov was once again one of the stars of the event, second best rated in his team and overall at the event (1.16 rating). It is also worth mentioning that in the last round of the final, Markelov won a 1vs4 situation to secure a 16-14 victory for his team, which turned out as to be one of his best highlights of the year:

Natus Vincere decided not to attend the next major event, Xperia PLAY, due to Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko recently becoming a father, so they returned to action only at the end of May, when they won ASUS Spring. Markelov was the team's second best on this occasion as well with a great 1.25 rating.

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
DreamHack Summer 2011 (3rd place)	1.19 (2nd)	+7%
All-Star nomination 6th best rating (1.19) 3rd most kills (226) Most AWP kills (90) 2nd best AWPer (0.31 awpKPR) 4th best fragger (0.78 KPR) Hardest to kill (0.56 DPR) 3rd best K-D difference (+64)

The first big test after their break was DreamHack Summer where they started off quite well, but one loss in the group stage to ESC meant they wouldn't top the group. After defeating fnatic in the relegation match, they ran into the new lineup of SK Gaming in the semi-final, who sent them to another 3rd place decider. This time they took the opportunity and reached the podium after a win against ESC and an overall solid campaign.

Markelov was once again a stable presence, having a rating above 1.00 in 9 of 12 maps for an overall very good 1.19 rating, second best in his team. His AWP was per usual on fire, as he recorded the most kills with it (90) and the second best average (0.31 awpKPR). He particularly excelled in a 16-7 group stage victory over mTw, having a 27:10 score (1.85 rating, 19 AWP kills). Overall, he earned another All-Star nomination, but didn't make it into the best five, ending up 6th in the vote.

A few days later, the Ukrainians travelled to Bosnia & Herzegovina for Adepto BH Open, where despite having troubles getting into the country, they had no troubles winning the event. In the final they overcame their only serious contender fnatic, even taking the second map 16-0. The entire team played well throughout the event, while Markelov ended up only their 4th best but still with an excellent 1.38 rating.

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
GameGune 2011 (3rd place)	1.42 (1st)	+14%
MVP nomination Selected for All-Star lineup 2nd best rating (1.42) 3rd best fragger (0.89 KPR) 4th best K-D difference (+93) Most dominant (21x 3+ kills) 3rd best AWPer (0.31 awpKPR)

In July, the team attended GameGune and repeated their 2010 performance, finishing in 3rd place. Markelov also repeated his performance, as he similarly to the year before recorded an impressive 1.42 rating, second best of all players at the event and his highest of the year. He played well in almost every match and that earned him his second MVP nomination, although he was left empty handed once again.

4 headshots in pistol-round vs talikemix

AWP ace against ESC Gaming

Natus Vincere continued with their trend of 3rd places, as they ended up at the same position at ASUS Summer, splitting the prize with Lions. Markelov was for the first and only time in 2011 the worst rated in his team, with a 1.07 rating.

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
e-Stars Seoul (3rd place)	1.23 (1st)	+16%
MVP nomination Selected for All-Star lineup 3rd best rating (1.23) 2nd most dominant (11x 3+ kills) 2nd most consistent 4th hardest to kill (0.61 DPR) 4th best AWPer (0.28 awpKPR)

Another 3rd place finish followed at e-Stars Seoul, where Natus Vincere lost to Frag eXecutors and SK Gaming before exiting the tournament. Markelov was just like at the previous major event, one of the main stars overall and the team's best rated with a 1.23 rating (3rd best of the tournament). With his consistent good play he earned another MVP nomination, and was subsequently selected into the tournament's All-Star lineup.

markeloff's AK47 ace against SK Gaming at e-Stars

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
SEC 2011 (2nd)	1.05 (4th)	0%
All-Star nomination 4th best AWPer (0.24 awpKPR) 4th hardest to kill (0.60 DPR)

At SEC in Poland, Natus Vincere finally managed to reach a final, but they were overwhelmed by the home team AGAiN and had to settle for 2nd place. Markelov had his worst tournament of the year there, although still having an above average 1.05 rating as team's 4th best and still earning an All-Star nomination. That was mainly the case thanks to his impressive performance in his team's most difficult victory, in the quarter-final against SK Gaming, as he put on quite a show on the second map, recording a 24:4 score as his team took a 14-1 lead in the first half which practically sealed the victory.

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
ESWC 2011 (2nd)	1.19 (1st)	+19%
MVP nomination Selected for All-Star lineup 6th best rating (1.19) 2nd most dominant (23x 3+ kills) 3rd best AWPer (0.29 awpKPR)

Even though they were unable to win any more titles, Natus Vincere were constantly a threat at major tournaments and they reached another final at ESWC by defeating Moscow Five and AGAiN. However, they were defeated in the most important match once more, this time by SK Gaming, who got their revenge for the SEC loss and for the defeat in previous year's ESWC final.

Markelov was back to his very best, leading the team with a 1.19 rating (19% above their average). He particularly impressed in the quarter-final clash against Moscow Five, as he was top rated in all three maps of that encounter (71:48 score, 1.39 rating), while he also played great in the semi-final versus AGAiN (51:33, 1.40 rating), which made him the most responsible for reaching the final. He was also one of the best AWPers of the event as usual, with 3rd best average of 0.29 AWP kills per round.

He was apparently in amazing form in the final months of the year, as he continued impressing at MSI BEAT IT Russia. Even though his team ended in a disappointing 4th place after losses to fnatic and DTS, Markelov was one of the stars of this event as well, with the second best rating of all players (1.28).

pistol-round ace against USSR

AWP ace against fnatic at MSI BEAT IT Russia

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
DreamHack Winter 2011 (3rd place)	1.24 (1st)	+20%
MVP nomination Selected for All-Star lineup 2nd most kills (256) 3rd best rating (1.24) 3rd best playoff rating (1.29) 3rd best fragger (0.82 KPR) 5th best AWPer (0.31 awpKPR) Best K-D difference (+74) Most consistent 2nd hardest to kill (0.58 DPR) 5th best entry killer 5th best in pistol-rounds Best clutcher (7x won 1vsX)

The team's only remaining tournament in 2011 was DreamHack Winter, where they also failed to defend their title, but they managed to defeat SK Gaming in the quarter-final again and later finished in a respectable 3rd place.

Markelov ended the year on a very high note, with his best performance in 2011 and another MVP nomination. He carried his team more than at any other previous event, as his 1.24 rating was 20% above team's average. He especially shined in the playoffs, where he had a 1.29 rating, partly thanks to his inspiring display against SK Gaming, but also thanks to being the best in their other two matches, against Lions and mousesports. Markelov was once again particularly motivated against SK in the quarter-final, as he recorded one of the best individual performances we saw the entire year in a match between top teams, having a 71:37 score (1.56 rating) in two maps, including a 50:29 score on the second map de_train that had three overtimes. 

Overall, his performance in the tournament was truly remarkable, as he was one of the best AWPers as usual, one of the best entry killers, one of the best in pistol-rounds, the most consistent player of the tournament and the best clutcher. Still, due to placing only third, he didn’t get many votes in the MVP poll, so all he could show as a result of his efforts was an All-Star lineup selection.

Another AWP highlight by markeloff, this time against SK Gaming at DH Winter

Close to his 2010 performance despite team's lesser success

Even though during 2011 Natus Vincere weren't the same dominant team from 2010, they were always a contender for the top places and no team had an easy task against them. Yegor "markeloff" Markelov was practically their only player who kept up with his 2010 performance, atlhough that wasn't enough to keep up with the amazing results.

Markelov had MVP-worthy performances at five major tournaments, and although regretfully he wasn't selected even once, he does have five All-Star lineup selections from those tournaments. They include his most impressive performance at DreamHack Winter, along with GameGune, e-Stars, ESWC and IEM5 World Championship.

He also played well in his three other major tournaments, IEM5 European Finals, SEC and DreamHack Summer, where he was nominated for All-Star lineups, meaning he was one of the top players at each of his 8 events.

Although he excelled more with the AWP in 2010, he was still one of the best during 2011, having 2nd most total kills (637) and shared 2nd best average (0.30 awpKPR) in major tournaments. He was also less consistent this time, being rated above 1.00 in 72% of his maps, but that still made him one of the best in the world in that regard (5th).

In addition to that, he was the 3rd hardest to kill with only 0.59 deaths per round and also, had the second best entry difference of +85, although he was only 14th best entry killer on average.

All in all, his statistics certainly make him one of the best in the world, but what impressed the most about him was that he didn't play badly in any tournament, while he had five amazing performances where he earned MVP nominations. Furthermore, he played great in numerous big matches, which in the end justifies his 3rd place on our list.

Recommended demos of Yegor "markeloff" Markelov in 2011:

Opponent	Map	Event	Score	Demo
Alternate	dust2	IEM5 Eu Finals (Group stage)	24:11	POV
coL	train	IEM5 World (Quarter-final, map 2)	20:6	HLTV
selectah	train	ASUS Spring (Quarter-final, map 2)	24:6	HLTV
mTw	mirage	DH Summer (Group stage)	27:10	HLTV
fnatic	tuscan	Adepto BH Open (Grand final, map 2)	20:6	POV
talikemix	nuke	GameGune (Group stage)	40:5	POV
k1ck	nuke	GameGune (Group stage)	27:14	HLTV
SK	tuscan	SEC (Quarter-final, map 2)	26:15	HLTV
viva Algeria	dust2	ESWC (Group stage)	29:13	HLTV
M5	mirage	ESWC (Quarter-final, map 3)	26:13	HLTV
AGAiN	tuscan	ESWC (Semi-final, map 2)	30:16	HLTV
AGAiN	tuscan	BEAT IT Russia (Quarter-final, map 3)	31:13	HLTV
SK	dust2	DH Winter (Quarter-final, map 1)	21:8	POV
SK	train	DH Winter (Quarter-final, map 2)	50:29	POV

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After his 1st place last year and 3rd place in our ranking this year, do you think Yegor "markeloff" Markelov is on a good path to become one of the game's legends? Do you think he deserved the 3rd spot, or maybe should have been higher or lower?

If you want to check out the entire ranking, go to our Introduction article as it will be updated daily until we complete the list. Stay tuned to HLTV.org as tomorrow we will bring you our number 2.