Power Rankings. Top 10 Players of 2025 in CS2. Who Were the Best After the First Season?
The first half of 2025 has already concluded and it’s time to sum up the interim results. We’ve already compiled power rankings with the best teams, now it’s worth noting individual player achievements. This summer it’s quite difficult to do this, as due to Vitality’s dominance, most MVPs went to ZywOo. Therefore, we’ll be guided by statistics and our personal feelings about a player’s impact on team achievements. Let’s begin!
10. xertioN
- Rating 2.1 — 1.11
- Maps Played — 104
MOUZ had a successful previous year, but after an unexpected captain replacement, most were confident that the guys would fail and would be looking for a new home this summer. As it turned out, they became one of the few teams that tried to oppose Vitality, and xertioN played a defining role. Statistically, he’s the best player on his team, and most importantly, he practically never failed in important matches, unlike torsi or Jimpphat.
The MOUZ academy graduate can hardly be called a “youngster” anymore, as his confidence is rapidly growing from tournament to tournament. Also, his motivational speeches can often be heard in team communication during round starts, meaning he’s a leader not only in firepower but also in morale.
9. XANTARES
- Rating 2.1 — 1.13
- Maps Played — 101
The legendary Turk continues to shine at the pro level and is undoubtedly the main protagonist of his collective. If Xantares isn’t performing well, it becomes very difficult for the Turks and the match is practically doomed to failure. In our view, this is perhaps the brightest example from the entire top list where one person’s game so strongly influences the team result.
XANTARES’ personal weight is very strong, which his teammates don’t hesitate to mention. When he had back problems, the Turks showed one of their worst tournaments of the season and didn’t even fly to Melbourne afterward.
8. NiKo
- Rating 2.1 — 1.11
- Maps Played — 109
The Bosnian played the most maps among representatives of this top list, and considering the difficult start and disappointing end of the season, his rating is impressive. How Falcons transformed with NiKo’s arrival once again proves that Kovač is a player with an incredible winner’s mentality.
He led Falcons to their first grand final and even after losing it received the MVP award, which happens extremely rarely. A bit later, Nikola finally lifted the first trophy for the organization, which definitively closed questions about his championship ambitions and silenced everyone who associated his transfer with financial gain.
7. flameZ
- Rating 2.1 — 1.13
- Maps Played — 91
Based on 2024 results, flameZ finished the year in 7th place, so we symbolically gave him the same position in the top for the first half of the season. The Israeli simply does his job and obviously handles it extremely well. Of course, you could say this about any Vitality player, but that’s the strength of this roster – everyone is strong both as a team and individually. After all, putting up such numbers when ZywOo and ropz are on your team is a fantastic result.
6. Senzu
- Rating 2.1 — 1.11
- Maps Played — 98
Honestly, we would have gladly included this player in the top 5, but we faced several factors why we couldn’t do it. First, HLTV themselves favored a different top five; second, the trophy list hasn’t been replenished; and third, The MongolZ’s success is more related to teamwork. The guys played almost 100 maps, were in a Major grand final, reached semifinals of major events, but not everywhere was Senzu specifically the main protagonist.
Undoubtedly his play was very bright, just consider that highlight with the AWP on B site with two no-scope kills. By the way, in the role of second sniper he’s really good, which is one of the arguments why he stands out among teammates. Let’s see how the next half of the season goes, but at the moment he more than deserves his place in the top.
5. sh1ro
- Rating 2.1 — 1.21
- Maps Played — 74
The Dragons’ sniper wasn’t nearly as good as in 2024, but it’s hard to argue with the numbers – Dima’s rating is truly impressive. However, in our view, he makes far fewer impactful kills than usually expected from a player with the strongest weapon in the game. His passive style is one reason for such criticism. If this continues, he’ll drop out of the top 5 by year’s end, so he needs to step up! Two trophies and 3 EVP titles are still enough to be in the top five, but Spirit missed many tournaments and are behind the entire top by almost 20 maps!
4. ropz
- Rating 2.1 — 1.19
- Maps Played — 91
The reshuffle of the year and probably the best transfer in CS history for years to come. Nothing was paid for the Estonian and they simply agreed on a personal contract, and how Vitality managed this remains a mystery. Robin is an extra-class player who needed just a couple of weeks to claim his first trophy with the new team, and then 6 more championships in a row, including the Intel Grand Slam. Perhaps he was rewarded for all the lost finals with FaZe over the past year and a half. Many call him the player with the best movement in the game and, by the way, he still trains on KZ servers in CS 1.6.
3. m0NESY
- Rating 2.1 — 1.24
- Maps Played — 94
Ilya Osipov delivered another great individual season, but unfortunately without trophies. At the beginning of the year, he had to carry G2, who were in complete prostration after losing NiKo. Rumor has it that the young sniper even considered retirement, which hardly fit his plans at such a young age. Great fortune that his contract expired in 2025 and the Samurai agreed to sell him to Falcons, where he reunited with his brother.
How Falcons transformed with his arrival isn’t even worth discussing. Especially remembering those two grand finals where Vitality barely escaped. With m0NESY’s arrival, Falcons instantly transformed into a tier-1 collective ready to fight for trophies not just in words but in deed.
2. donk
- Rating 2.1 — 1.40
- Maps Played — 74
We could criticize Danya for the small number of maps played, as we did with his teammate, but look at these numbers. Simply insane. Whoever talks about good chemistry in Spirit, it obviously builds around their best player. Look at who the Dragons lose to – these are precisely the teams that can create problems for donk through clear team actions.
Despite the fact that in 2025 it became much harder for Danya to play, as everyone is already prepared for his performance, he still shows unreal statistics. Remember his sadness after the victory at PGL Astana – he understood that he closed this event solo and when they meet Vitality, MOUZ or Falcons, this won’t be enough. This is exactly what the Major demonstrated. Therefore, to not lose second place, Danya must continue to shine.
1. ZywOo
- Rating 2.1 — 1.38
- Maps Played — 91
Hardly anyone had doubts about first place. The Frenchman returns to Olympus again, after some youngsters dropped him to third place in 2024. Unlike the rest of the ranking, moving ZywOo will be impossible. Vitality are unlikely to have such a bad second half of the season, and current achievements are enough to become the best.
In a recent Vitality team communication, there was a revealing dialogue between ZywOo and Spinx after a difficult frag by the Frenchman: “How did you kill him? Because I’m ZywOo.” Basically, this explains a lot and there’s no point wasting time on analysis. Mathieu has been proving this since 2019 and isn’t going to stop.
