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“Nobody beats G2 Esports 10 times in a row,” said Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač after G2 broke a 9-match losing streak against Natus Vincere in the finals of the BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024. It’s only the second trophy for G2 this year and the first for Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski in six years. The first trophy G2 won in 2024 was IEM Dallas four months ago. During both of G2 Esports' trophy runs, m0NESY was crowned MVP.

m0NESY in the Shadow of G2

G2 Esports has struggled this year. Rumors suggest that Nikola “NiKo” Kovač is leaving the team at the end of the year to join Team Falcons, which would mean the Kovač cousins will be separated after a long time together. Apparently, a Vitality player is also set to join Falcons for their 2025 campaign. There’s a lot of talk, but nobody seems to be focusing on m0NESY. At only 19 years old, he's putting up insane numbers. It’s easy to forget how young he is, given that he’s been competing for the past two years. While he hasn’t been forgotten, his team hasn’t lifted enough trophies for him to be considered in the conversation about the Best Player in the World. G2 managed to break their curse against NAVI and lift the trophy in Copenhagen. Once again, we saw m0NESY carry the team, which earned him his second MVP award of the year.

Across the 14 maps played, m0NESY was the third-best-rated player of the tournament with a 1.33 rating. ZywOo played with a 1.43 rating but only over seven maps. Team Spirit finished in 5th/6th place, which typically happens when Danil “donk” Kryshkovets doesn’t have a particularly strong tournament. Even the best players need solid team support to perform consistently. Having great individual stats doesn’t mean much if you’re not winning games, something m0NESY experienced this year. While he was in form most of the time, players like NiKo and huNter- struggled. G2 was strong enough to reach the semifinals, but it was rare to see them go beyond that. It’s also worth noting that m0NESY is one of the top-tier players who has played the most LAN maps this year, along with the rest of G2.

Struggles of donk

While m0NESY brought home another trophy and MVP award, donk seems to be “underperforming” against top-tier teams. It’s hard to call it underperformance, but we’re not seeing him carry matches as often as before. He’s still an amazing player with stellar stats, but the results don’t quite back it up. Along with that 5th/6th place finish at BLAST, Team Spirit finished 5th/8th in ESL Pro League Season 20.

Still, young donk boasts a 1.32 rating over the past 3 months, with deaths per round (DPR) being the only stat where he doesn’t excel. If we compare him to m0NESY, their stats are quite similar. The only difference is that G2 has managed to find form toward the end of the year, while Spirit has struggled to close out tournaments. It’s incredible to think that donk is only 17 years old. In any other aspect of life, this age difference wouldn’t mean much, but in esports, it means a lot. m0NESY has significantly more tier-one experience. Imagine where donk could be in two years if he keeps playing like this!

ZywOo Aiming for his Forth Award

ZywOo is looking to claim his fourth Best Player of the Year award in six years. The Frenchman has the experience and is the only one among the three with a Major MVP award. At 23 years old, he seems much older than m0NESY and donk. But is he?

He was the best-rated player at the BLAST Premier Fall Finals with a 1.43 rating across seven maps. Vitality likely would have gone all the way in Copenhagen if not for NiKo’s incredible performance. Vitality finished 3rd/4th, and ZywOo missed out on two more matches on stage. With a 1.36 rating across 43 maps in the past 3 months and a consistency that has been unmatched since he broke onto the scene in 2019, ZywOo’s dominance is astounding. In the past 5-6 years, his worst placement has been as the 2nd best player in the world. Who can even compete with that?

The end of the year, especially the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024, will be fascinating—and we’re totally here for it!