donk misses out on IEM Chengdu 2025 group-stage top 10 as m0NESY leads the field

donk misses out on IEM Chengdu 2025 group-stage top 10 as m0NESY leads the field

Team Spirit rifler Danil “donk” Kryshkovets finished only 12th in the HLTV rating of the strongest players from the IEM Chengdu 2025 group stage, despite entering the event as one of the most anticipated stars in CS2. The list, based on HLTV’s official group-stage statistics, quickly spread across social media.

According to HLTV data, the top of the ranking looked as follows:

1. Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov (AWPer, Team Falcons)

2. Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut (Team Vitality)

3. Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato (FURIA Esports)

4. Danil “molodoy” Golubenko (FURIA)

5. Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov (Team Spirit)

donk, who dominated event leaderboards throughout 2024 and 2025, landed only 12th this time — a surprising result for a player many fans expected to see near the top.

Team Spirit’s early exit and donk’s “worst” LAN of the year

Team Spirit’s tournament trajectory reflected donk’s dip in form. The roster briefly survived in the lower bracket by eliminating Heroic 2–1 (11–13 Overpass, 16–13 Dust2, 13–6 Ancient), but then fell 1–2 to The MongolZ (7–13 Dust2, 19–16 Ancient, 6–13 Mirage) in the Group A lower-bracket decider. Spirit ended their run in 7–8th place, taking home $7,000 in prize money.

Analysts noted that this event marked donk’s lowest-rated LAN of 2025 at around a 1.20 HLTV rating — still elite by normal standards, but noticeably below the monstrous performances that defined his year.

IEM Chengdu 2025 playoffs move on without Spirit

While Spirit exited early, IEM Chengdu 2025 continues on LAN in China from November 3–9, with a $1,000,000 prize pool — $300,000 in direct winnings and $700,000 distributed among participating clubs.

Playoff bracket:

Semi-final seeds:

Falcons (3–0 in Group A, with wins over TYLOO, Spirit, and Astralis)

MOUZ (Group B winners after victories over FaZe, Vitality, and FURIA)

Quarterfinals – November 7

Vitality vs Astralis

FURIA vs The MongolZ

The winner of Vitality–Astralis will face MOUZ, while FURIA–The MongolZ’s winner will meet Falcons in the semifinals. Players like m0NESY, ZywOo, KSCERATO, torzsi, and Brollan continue to post impressive stats as the playoffs begin.

Inside Spirit: “Critical mistakes” and harsh self-criticism

The atmosphere within Team Spirit after Chengdu was openly self-critical.

Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov, who still placed fifth overall in the group-stage rankings, admitted to key misplays in the loss to Falcons, calling one of them a “critical mistake that cost us the game.” He emphasized the team’s commitment to regroup and perform stronger at future events.

New rifler Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich went even further in his self-assessment, writing that he played a “bad tournament” and telling critics they could say whatever they wanted — implying that results will prove them wrong later. He finished Chengdu with a 0.91 rating, the fourth-best in Spirit’s lineup.

Analysts and ex-pros weigh in: “Everyone wants to play the grand piano”

Spirit’s struggles have triggered commentary from several analysts and former pros.

Ex-NaVi coach Mikhail “Kane” Blagin described Spirit as a case of a “dream lineup” gone wrong. He pointed out that while the new players are technically gifted, they occupy roles that require more teamwork and sacrifice — concluding with the metaphor that “everyone wants to play the grand piano, but no one wants to carry it.”

Analyst Janko “YNk” Paunović called Chengdu a “very weak start” for the revamped roster, reminding fans that Spirit were also knocked out of ESL Pro League by a FaZe stand-in lineup. He noted that the upcoming BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 in Hong Kong will be crucial for the team to recover before the next Major.

Russian scout OverDrive was even more blunt, saying that in Chengdu “three and a half players basically weren’t playing CS” and that 7–8th place was an unacceptable result for a roster expected to compete for titles.

Other big names also stumble

Spirit were not alone in their disappointment.

G2 Esports were also eliminated in the group stage. AWPer Álvaro “SunPayus” García commented that the tournament was “difficult overall” but said the team would focus on preparing for the Major. G2’s final match against Vitality had to be played with their coach Eetu “sAw” Saha standing in for an ill Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač.

Heroic exited earlier after their loss to Spirit, placing 9–12th, while NAVI finished last in their group after failing to close out their own map picks.

With G2, Heroic, NAVI, and Spirit all gone, IEM Chengdu 2025 has proven to be one of the most unpredictable events of the CS2 calendar so far.

donk’s perspective: “Not a top-3 player yet”

Despite the attention, donk has remained humble about his standing in the global rankings. In an interview earlier this year, he admitted, “I’m not a top-3 player in the world yet,” emphasizing his focus on improving consistency and decision-making.

He named m0NESY as the best player in the world, with ZywOo and sh1ro completing his personal top three. donk also praised sh1ro, saying that playing alongside him is “amazing” and a valuable learning experience.

His humility contrasts with his extraordinary record over the past two years:

Shanghai Major 2024 – Spirit defeated FaZe 2–1, with donk becoming the youngest Major MVP in Counter-Strike history (1.49 HLTV rating, +97 K/D).

IEM Katowice 2024 – Spirit swept FaZe 3–0 in the final, in what many called one of the greatest LAN debuts ever.

Given that history, finishing 12th with a 1.20 rating in Chengdu hardly qualifies as a collapse — more like a reminder that even prodigies have off weeks.

The bigger picture

HLTV’s IEM Chengdu group-stage stats put m0NESY, ZywOo, and KSCERATO at the top, while donk slipped to 12th. Team Spirit exited early, and their players acknowledged mistakes and miscommunication issues. Analysts including Kane, YNk, and OverDrive highlighted deeper structural problems within the team’s new lineup.

With several powerhouse organizations — G2, Heroic, and NAVI — also failing to reach the playoffs, IEM Chengdu 2025 stands out as one of the season’s most volatile events. And for donk, it’s less a fall from grace than a valuable checkpoint on his way to reclaiming the spotlight.