Donk is the most effective Counter-Strike participant in historical past, and I’m uninterested in pretending he’s not

It has been slightly below two years since donk exploded onto the Tier 1 scene of CS at IEM Katowice 2024, and nothing has been the identical ever since. Regardless of donk’s age of simply 18, he has defied expectations at each flip and reshaped the very thought of a rifler in his picture.

Donk has made a hell of a reputation for himself in an unprecedented period of time. In simply his second 12 months of professional Counter-Strike, he’s garnered a repute that few Tier 1 gamers can match. Right here’s why I believe donk is already the best Counter-Strike participant in historical past, and the way the Russian prodigy might proceed to dominate sooner or later. 

On the finish of 2023, the stage was set for Zywoo to cement himself because the singular undisputed greatest CS2 participant on the planet. His major rival for the previous years in S1mple, was gone, and outdoors of M0nesy there was no competitors in sight. No rifler had claimed the #1 spot since Coldzera in 2017. 

It ought to be famous that anybody who claims to have recognized simply how good donk could be is both mendacity or kidding themselves. Within the preview for the Katowice play-in, HLTV didn’t even point out donk’s group.

After the occasion was over, the scene was left in surprised silence. With a staggering ranking of 1.7, donk tied the large occasion ranking document alongside Niko’s 2017 ESL One New York run. The truth that donk managed this throughout extra CS2 maps at one of the prestigious occasions in Counter-Strike historical past simply makes this feat all of the extra spectacular. 

Since that day in February, donk has continued to enhance. After claiming the #1 spot in his rookie 12 months with an astounding 1.36 ranking, a quantity that even S1mple in his greatest 12 months, 2021, didn’t fairly attain, donk has as an alternative averaged an otherworldly 1.39, which might break his personal world document for a median LAN ranking.

It can’t be overstated that donk’s two years of Counter-Strike are additionally individually the most effective ever performed by any participant within the trendy sport. 9 trophies, 10 MVP’s and 10 EVP awards. These numbers are inhuman and already put donk within the dialog of the best CS2 participant proper up there with S1mple and Zywoo.

The distinction is that donk, in an period formed by AWPers, took the aggressive playstyle allowed by CS2 gameplay and have become the primary famous person entry fragger. Entry Fraggers have all the time been virtually sacrificial gamers; in the event that they obtained one kill, they’d already offered worth to their group. 

The thought of this CS2 position, an Entry Fragger, placing up stats like that is so absurd that in the event you had mentioned in 2022 there could be one that might not solely match however beat the output of the most effective AWPers in historical past, you’ll have been sectioned.

Donk’s closest counterpart for greatest CS2 rifler in historical past is Niko, however Niko by no means performed within the positions that donk does. There isn’t any rifler that has ever been in a position to match the pure aura and unfathomableness of donk. To get near that, we’ve got to return to 2015.

There isn’t any participant who isn’t afraid of donk. There have been a number of CS2 gamers that dominated the scene for a time frame, however few are as iconic as KennyS. In 2015, he instilled worry into any group and any AWPer who had the terrible process of going through off towards the Frenchman in a duel.

KennyS delivered carry performances that on the time appeared like they’d by no means be matched. He turned synonymous with the AWP itself till Valve itself nerfed him. That’s the environment of dominance that surrounds donk.

So as to add to that is donk’s means to seemingly ignore strain. Even typically nice CS2 gamers like Zywoo see vital drops of their efficiency at majors, however donk seems to be unfazed, placing an incomprehensible hole of 0.22 between himself and the earlier greatest rookie. That’s the similar hole as between Zywoo and oSee. 

This culminated in donk dragging Spirit to a significant win in Shanghai, and led to Spirit advancing to the StarLadder Budapest Main 2025, the place they went out within the semi-finals, shedding to Vitality. donk had probably the most kills out of all 10 gamers (with an ADR of 92), and was nonetheless harmful, even when expressly being focused and brought out first; he was counter-strat’d continually, which exhibits Vitality have been enjoying as anti-donk as doable. 

The most important argument towards why donk can’t but be thought of the best rifler or participant is longevity. Niko, S1mple and Zywoo have merely been round longer, however we’ve got now witnessed two years of donk placing up numbers that none of them have achieved.

Two years of a rifler defying all the foundations of what somebody in his position ought to be able to doing. If others might do what he does, they’d. 

Having spent extra years on the high doesn’t make you a greater participant in the event you by no means reached the identical heights. I don’t imagine there’s any CS2 participant with a two-year span of efficiency even remotely akin to donk’s within the final 15 years of Counter-Strike. Trophies and time are solely supplementary to at least one’s efficiency; in any other case, we might all be claiming dupreeh as the best rifler for having 5 main trophies.

In simply two quick years, donk has fully modified the way in which we see aggressive riflers.  From the second he burst onto the Tier 1 scene, he has been dominating and has barely faltered. He has absolutely earned the title of biggest rifler ever, and in my view, that of biggest Counter-Strike participant ever.