{"id":14224,"date":"2026-01-02T16:52:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T16:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thunderpick.gl\/blog\/?p=14224"},"modified":"2026-01-02T16:52:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T16:52:13","slug":"thunderpick-top-10-cs2-players-of-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thunderpick.gl\/blog\/thunderpick-top-10-cs2-players-of-2025","title":{"rendered":"Thunderpick’s Top 10 CS2 Players of 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) esports scene continued its tremendous success in 2025, with many top-tier events, including the Thunderpick World Championship (TWC) 2025<\/a>. As the beating heart of CS2, the pro players we picked entertained their fans throughout the year while putting up some truly incredible stats. We’re picking out our Top 10 CS2 players of 2025, and the ones to keep your eyes on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Join us in celebrating the best of the best, including our pick for Player of the Year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#10 Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin (Team Falcons)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Team Falcons<\/a> acquired wunderkind Russian rifler Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin from the Team Spirit<\/a> Academy squad on June 23. While getting thrown into top-tier LANs at the age of 17 could prove daunting to some, kyousuke rose to the challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the lack of trophies, Falcons<\/a> made it to the Grand Final of BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 2 and ESL Pro League Season 22, and finished 3rd at Esports World Cup 2025 and IEM Chengdu 2025. In the latter event, kyousuke earned his career-first Exceptionally Valuable Players (EVP) award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Team Falcons failed to secure a win, the young player still prospered. Across 73 maps played, he averaged a 1.16 rating and a K\/D ratio of 1.12. That\u2019s the 7th highest rating of any player against top 20 teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#9 \u0130smailcan “XANTARES” D\u00f6rtkarde\u015f (Aurora Gaming)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Aurora<\/a> Gaming acquired the full Turkish roster of Eternal Fire on April 5, 2025. The tip of the spear for Aurora Gaming is rifler \u0130smailcan “XANTARES” D\u00f6rtkarde\u015f, who propelled the team to their first big event LAN trophy at PGL Masters Bucharest 2025. He also took home his first MVP<\/a> award for his standout performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the year, across 129 maps played against top-20 opponents, he had a 1.13 rating and a 1.11 K\/D ratio. At BLAST Bounty 2025 Season 1 Finals, IEM Katowice 2025, and Esports World Cup 2025, XANTARES was named an EVP. He also impressed us on LAN in Malta at the TWC 2025, where Aurora Gaming ended in a respectable 4th place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#8 Danil “molodoy” Golubenko (FURIA)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On April 11, 2025, FURIA acquired Danil “molodoy” Golubenko from AMKAL ESPORTS. Under the wing of the legendary Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo, the top-tier event rookie flourished in the second half of 2025. FURIA picked up four tournament wins, including the TWC 2025 where they beat NAVI<\/a> 3-2 in a dramatic reverse-sweep comeback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a 1.12 rating and a K\/D ratio of 1.26 across 103 maps played against top-20 teams, molodoy was showing off in 2025. He also earned the first two MVP awards of his career at FISSURE Playground 2 and IEM Chengdu 2025, as well as two EVPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#7 David “frozen” \u010cer\u0148ansk\u00fd (FaZe Clan)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

FaZe Clan<\/a>\u2019s rifler, David “frozen” \u010cer\u0148ansk\u00fd, cemented a spot in our top 10 following his dominating performance at StarLadder Budapest Major 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Against all odds, FaZe Clan<\/a> made a Grand Final appearance in Hungary, and frozen played an important role. He was also the only player on his team with a favorable rating (1.16) in the Grand Final, as the squad lost 1-3 to Team Vitality<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across 133 maps played against top-20 opponents, frozen stood out as the best-performing player on FaZe Clan with a 1.14 rating and a K\/D ratio of 1.12. While he didn\u2019t pick up any MVP awards, his consistent performance led to four EVPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#6 Dmitriy “sh1ro” Sokolov (Team Spirit)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite being in the shadow of Danil “donk” Kryshkovets, Team Spirit<\/a>\u2019s AWPer, Dmitriy “sh1ro” Sokolov, continues to thrive. Across 132 maps against top-20 opponents, he earned a 1.18 rating and a 1.43 K\/D ratio. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Russian AWPer played a crucial role in Team Spirit\u2019s four tournament wins in 2025. However, at the Major Championships, sh1ro showed a slight decline, with a 1.10 rating across 16 maps. In 2025, he was awarded six EVPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#5 Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato (FURIA)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll never forget FURIA\u2019s historic 3-2 reverse-sweep comeback in the Grand Final of TWC 2025. The key to their success was none other than Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato, who topped the scoreboard with a 1.21 rating, an ADR of 88.6, and a 74-60 K-D. He earned the MVP award (the first of his career) by topping the leaderboard in Malta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a 1.16 rating and a K\/D ratio of 1.12 against top-20 teams across 131 maps, KSCERATO helped FURIA achieve a total of four significant trophies in the second half of 2025 and earned three EVPs along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#4 Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov (Team Falcons)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Joining Team Falcons on April 14, 2025, Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov continued to wield his trusty AWP<\/a> with the utmost precision. Unfortunately, it wasn\u2019t enough for Falcons to win multiple trophies, as their only significant LAN win came at PGL Bucharest 2025 (before m0NESY joined).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, m0NESY had some mind-blowing stats this past year. Across 159 maps against top-20 opponents, he averaged a 1.26 rating and posted one of the highest K\/D ratios at 1.38.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was named the MVP of ESL Pro League Season 22 and BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 2, all while his team lost in the Grand Finals of both events. m0NESY won three EVPs, too, showcasing that he can perform under any circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#3 Danil “donk” Kryshkovets (Team Spirit)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Coming in hot at #3 is the 2024 Player of the Year, and Team Spirit\u2019s superstar, Danil “donk” Kryshkovets. The young Russian rifler is still in his prime, putting up mind-boggling numbers as the entry fragger<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was named MVP of all four tournaments Team Spirit won in 2025, including BLAST Bounty 2025 Season 1 Finals, PGL Astana, IEM Cologne 2025, and BLAST Bounty 2025 Season 2 Finals, and further earned seven EVPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across 127 maps against top-20 teams at significant events, donk had a K\/D ratio of 1.37 and a rating of 1.39. While he posted the highest individual rating of 2025, the trophies, clutch performance on the biggest stages, and sustained dominance ultimately decided our top two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#2 Robin “ropz” Kool (Team Vitality)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Consider this our bold move of the list, picking Robin “ropz” Kool instead of donk as the #2 player of the year. The Estonian rifler ranked fifth in individual player rating against top-20 teams in 2025, at 1.16, and posted an impressive K\/D ratio of 1.25. However, it isn\u2019t always just about the stats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in March 2024, we explained how ropz could be the best CS2 player<\/a>. On Jan. 10, 2025, Team Vitality<\/a> signed him from FaZe Clan, and the announcement<\/a> boldly stated, \u201cWe just signed Counter-Strike.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After signing ropz, Team Vitality won seven top-tier trophies in a row and a total of nine in the calendar year. They also became the undisputed best in the world, winning both Major Championships. Now that\u2019s incredible impact!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While our Player of the Year overshadowed ropz, the Estonian did pick up eight EVP awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#1 Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut (Team Vitality)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

French superstar AWPer Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut is our CS2 Player of the Year. He scored a 1.32 rating and a K\/D ratio of 1.41 against the top-20 teams at significant events and across 176 maps played. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it mattered most, like at both the StarLadder Budapest Major and the BLAST.tv Austin Major, ZywOo stood head and shoulders above the rest. We\u2019re talking a 1.38 rating across all 26 maps played.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was named MVP of both Major Championships and earned a total of eight MVP awards in 2025, alongside five EVPs in the LAN events that Team Vitality didn\u2019t end up winning. Considering these stats and accolades, ZywOo is most deserving of our #1 pick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why We Picked These CS2 Players<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To select our top 10 CS2 players of 2025, we created a comprehensive overview, with stats from top-tier LAN events carrying more weight than online tournaments. The BLAST.tv Austin Major and StarLadder Budapest Major are seen as the pinnacle of competition in 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using publicly available data from HLTV.org<\/a>, we applied the following filters:<\/p>\n\n\n\n