Who Is the CS2 MVP of 2025?

OR should we call it : ZywOo vs. donk - dominance or defiance?

When we look back on CS2 in 2025 years from now, StarLadder Budapest Major will stand as the moment that clarified the debate, and sharpened it at the same time.

Vitality lifted yet another trophy, Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut collected yet another MVP medal, and the conversation that has defined the year reached its loudest point yet: Is the 2025 MVP about winning everything, or about redefining individual limits?

Because if ZywOo represents competitive perfection, then Danil "donk" Kryshkovets represents something far more volatile, raw, overwhelming force.

ZywOo's Case: Winning as a Skill

Vitality's 2025 season was historic by any standard:

• 9 trophies
• 15 consecutive semi-final appearances
• Titles across BLAST, IEM, ESL Pro League, and Majors
• The most consistent elite team of the CS2 era so far

At the center of it all stood ZywOo.

At StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, ZywOo claimed his eighth MVP of the year, narrowly edging out teammate Robin "ropz" Kool thanks to superior round-win contribution, not raw fragging alone. That award made history: ZywOo became the first player since coldzera to win two Major MVPs in the same calendar year.

At the start of 2025, ZywOo still trailed Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev in career MVPs. Twelve months later, he sits seven MVP medals clear, having turned longevity into inevitability.

Across the events you linked, IEM Katowice, ESL Pro League Seasons 21 & 22, BLAST Rivals, IEM Dallas, IEM Cologne, and the Budapest Major, ZywOo was a near-constant presence in:

• MVP races
• EVP lists
• All-Star selections

But the defining aspect of ZywOo's season isn't just the medals. It's how he wins them.

ZywOo does not dominate every server. He controls tournaments.

His value shows up where HLTV weights the heaviest:

• Round-win percentage
• Playoff consistency
• Deep-event performance
• Finals impact

Simply put: when Vitality win, ZywOo is the reason they never lose control.

donk's Case: Numbers We've Almost Never Seen

If ZywOo's year was about sustained greatness, donk's was about pushing individual performance toward the edge of what CS2 allows.

Spirit did not dominate 2025. They survived it, largely because of one player.

Across the season's biggest events, including:

• IEM Katowice
• BLAST events
• ESL Pro League
• Esports World Cup
• StarLadder Budapest Major

donk posted historic individual numbers:

• 1.42 rating across notable events
• 1.54 rating at Valve-sponsored events
• Seven of nine Major maps above a 1.40 rating
• Two maps above 2.00 rating
• 1.57 event rating
• 1.36 kills per round win
• +4.57% Swing

These are not "great rifler" numbers. They are once-a-generation peaks.

At the Budapest Major, donk dragged Spirit through series they had no business surviving. His visible frustration, especially after Mirage against Vitality, told the story: he was playing at a level where anything short of a title felt like failure, even without the roster depth ZywOo enjoyed.

Spirit exited on Dust2, but donk's Major was already secured as one of the most extreme individual performances ever recorded.

Where ZywOo wins with structure, donk wins with pressure. Where ZywOo stabilizes rounds, donk breaks them open.

And statistically, donk holds the edge where purists look first:

• Higher kill/death ratio
• Higher kills per round
• Higher raw damage and swing impact

Team Success vs. Individual Ceiling

This is where the MVP debate truly splits.

ZywOo in 2025:

• More MVPs
• More trophies
• More finals
• More championships
• More clutch impact in winning teams

donk in 2025:

• Higher individual output
• Higher kill efficiency
• Higher swing percentage
• Less support, more responsibility
• A season defined by carrying, not cruising

HLTV's historical MVP criteria favors winning impact, not isolated brilliance. And by that standard, ZywOo's case is brutally strong.

But donk forces the question anyway:

How much individual dominance should outweigh team results?

Because in pure mechanical and statistical terms, no one in 2025 reached donk's ceiling.

Verdict: Who Is the CS2 MVP of 2025?

If MVP means the best player on the best team, the answer is clear:

Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut is the CS2 MVP of 2025

Eight MVPs. Two Major MVPs. Nine trophies. A year where Vitality were untouchable - and ZywOo was indispensable.

But if history remembers who pushed the game forward, who bent CS2 toward something new, who made servers feel unfair...

Then 2025 will also be remembered as the year donk arrived.

And the most exciting part?

This rivalry isn't over. It's just getting started, with an HLTV Awards showdown in January that already feels inevitable.

TL;DR

• ZywOo secured eight MVPs and two Major MVPs in 2025, becoming the first player since coldzera to win multiple Major MVPs in a single year
• The debate centers on ZywOo's nine trophies with Vitality versus donk's historic 1.42+ rating and extreme individual carry performances with Spirit
• ZywOo's case relies on tournament control and round-win contribution, while donk posted statistical peaks rarely seen in Counter-Strike history
• HLTV's historical MVP criteria favors winning impact, making ZywOo the likely 2025 MVP despite donk's superior individual numbers

Cover image courtesy of Unsplash