Here are the 8 best CS2 players who dominated IEM Sydney 2023
IEM Sydney 2023 has concluded as the first international LAN of Counter-Strike 2 after less than a month of its official release. Alongside the pros who regularly dominated Global Offensive events, we saw rising stars cement their name at this tournament.
After looking at the HLTV statistics, we picked the top 8 players at IEM Sydney 2023 who secured the highest ratings and mentioned only one player per team. Without further ado, here are the best CS2 pros right now –
8. Aleksandr “KaiR0N-” Anashkin – BetBoom
- HLTV Rating: 1.11
- Impact Rating: 1.20
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 69.7
- Average Damage Round: 82.0
- Kills Per Round: 0.75
BetBoom reaching the Playoffs in Sydney wasn’t something many expected since this roster mainly succeeded in C-tier events not long ago. The recent addition of former Virtus.pro player KaiR0N- to the team has undeniably worked wonders, significantly elevating their performance.
This 19-year-old rifler’s excellence helped BetBoom secure the biggest upsets at IEM Sydney against teams like Vitality. His best performance, however, was during the series against GamerLegion, where the player achieved an HLTV rating of 1.67 on Mirage with a K-D of 31-17.
7. Ådne “sense” Fredriksen – Apeks
- HLTV Rating: 0.98
- Impact Rating: 0.97
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 67.8%
- Average Damage Round: 71.7
- Kills Per Round: 0.64
Apeks’ performance in this tournament left the audience underwhelmed, raising doubts about the prospects for sense, who is currently trialing as the in-game leader for the squad. Nonetheless, you cannot disregard the exceptional skill exhibited by this former academy player, as he accumulated impressive statistics in the three matches he participated in.
The 20-year-old had decent stats in all of Apeks’ games, but his highest stats come from the series against GamerLegion. Even though they lost the match 2-0, sense had an incredible form on Vertigo, where he got a 1.50 rating with a K-D of 18-14.
6. Szymon “kRaSnaL” Mrozek – Monte
- HLTV Rating: 1.05
- Impact Rating: 1.03
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 71.2%
- Average Damage Round: 75.5
- Kills Per Round: 0.67
Monte’s competence in S-tier tournaments like these has been beyond impressive since we were used to seeing this roster mainly do well in B-tier events. Behind the substantial improvements of this Ukrainian organization lies the presence of a Polish talent: 20-year-old kRaSnaL.
The rifler’s superior form allowed Monte to get impressive victories facing Grayhound and Fnatic in the lower bracket, and his peak was on Nuke against the Australians, where a 19-11 K-D granted him a 1.75 rating.
5. Valerij “b1t” Vakhovsjkyj – NAVI
- HLTV Rating: 1.11
- Impact Rating: 1.10
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 72.0%
- Average Damage Round: 75.2
- Kills Per Round: 0.70
With Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev missing the tournament, NAVI needed a hero to step up in his place, and 21-year-old b1t took on the responsibility, or at least attempted to. The Ukrainian squad’s 1-2 run was disappointing, to say the least, but its secondary AWPer did his best to keep NAVI in the tournament. Unfortunately, the roster couldn’t move past the Lower Bracket Semifinal against the trophy winner, FaZe.
The Ukrainian secured an insane rating of 2.62 on Inferno against MOUZ, where he had 29 kills in only 5 deaths. This incredible performance led to NAVI winning Inferno with a dominating 13-4 score, but they ended up losing the series 2-1.
4. Helvijs “broky” Saukants – FaZe
- HLTV Rating: 1.11
- Impact Rating: 1.01
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 72.9%
- Average Damage Round: 73.1
- Kills Per Round: 0.71
Seeing a world-class performance from the FaZe Clan AWPer is not unexpected at all since this player has been on top of his form these last two years. The 22-year-old Latvian Laser’s aggressive playstyle with the sniper rifle allowed FaZe to secure the trophy of the tournament, and it’s not easy to be the best player in a team that consists of names like Håvard “rain” Nygaard and Robin “ropz” Kool.
The stunning 2-1 victory against GamerLegion was the Latvian’s best series, especially on Nuke, where a 21-10 K-D helped him get a 1.70 rating and propel his team to a dominating 13-6 map point win.
3. Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski – Complexity
- HLTV Rating: 1.08
- Impact Rating: 1.23
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 71.4%
- Average Damage Round: 83.1
- Kills Per Round: 0.75
EliGE’s switch to Complexity pointed to a new chapter of the North American Counter-Strike scene, and he almost touched glory at this event by reaching the Grand Final, defeating some of the strongest names on the way. Even after the Grand Final defeat against FaZe, Complexity’s performance in Sydney was nothing short of amazing.
After a slow start against Monte, the 26-year-old rifler quickly picked up his pace to bring North America’s flag to the Grand Final. He had a consistent performance throughout the event, and his best comes from the series against Cloud9, where the veteran player secured a 1.89 rating on Inferno through a 17-8 K-D, keeping his squad in the competition in the lower bracket.
2. Denis “electroNic” Sharipov – Cloud9
- HLTV Rating: 1.08
- Impact Rating: 1.19
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 71.6%
- Average Damage Round: 82.4
- Kills Per Round: 0.74
Cloud9 faced a disappointing fate at this event as they were kicked out of Group B’s lower bracket by Complexity. During this short journey, it seems like the 25-year-old electroNic was the only one carrying the weight. Even though the IGL only played 125 rounds at this event, his excellent performance has landed him in the second-best spot on this list.
The former NAVI player has proved himself to be a great addition to C9’s roster as he keeps outfragging his teammates even in the in-game leader position. His magnum opus of this event comes from the 2-0 victory facing Chinese squad Lynn Vision, where electroNic dominated both maps with insane K-Ds, especially on Ancient, securing a 2.03 rating through 27 kills in only 13 deaths.
1. lya “m0NESY” Osipov – G2
- HLTV Rating: 1.22
- Impact Rating: 1.23
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 73.8%
- Average Damage Round: 78.7
- Kills Per Round: 0.77
The Flash has established himself as a strong AWPer even after the game’s sniper rifle recently faced a huge nerf, and his skills were on full display in Australia’s capital. While complaining about the AWP after the opening match at the event, m0NESY was able to secure the best stats at this event, something he barely missed at IEM Cologne 2023 to teammate Nikola “NiKo” Kovač.
G2’s match against Complexity in the Group Stage was the best we saw from this 18-year-old prodigy, where he dominated both maps to lead his squad to a clean 2-0 victory. The AWPer’s peak comes from his performance on Anubis facing the North Americans, where a 23-10 K-D resulted in him getting a 1.89 rating.
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