m0NESY Named MVP of ESL Pro League Season 22

m0NESY Named MVP of ESL Pro League Season 22

Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov has been awarded the HLTV x 1XBET Most Valuable Player (MVP) medal for ESL Pro League Season 22 — his first MVP of 2025. 

Although Falcons fell in the grand final to Team Vitality (0-3), m0NESY delivered a standout showing throughout the tournament. He ended the event with a 1.38 rating, a +5.50% round swing, and 1.12 kills per round — marking his highest-rated event since joining Falcons. 

This marks the fifth MVP of his career, though his first since November 2024 (at the BLAST World Final in Singapore). 

Tournament Journey & Statistics

In the second stage of EPL 22, m0NESY led all players in performance, posting a 1.42 rating and a 1.68 KD over seven maps. 

During the playoffs, his consistency held firm. He put up dominant numbers in victories over Astralis, NAVI, MOUZ, and 3DMAX, often anchoring key rounds. 

In the grand final, Vitality’s flameZ was the standout for the winners. Meanwhile, Falcons were plagued by misfires in clutch moments and let edge advantages slip. 

Falcons’ pistol rounds also remained a recurring issue: over their final 21 pistol rounds, they won only 4. 

Beyond the final, one moment from the day drew attention: NiKo, in a post-match reflection, admitted a costly shot on ropz which he regretted:

“I hate myself for that shot on ropz.” 

What m0NESY and Others Said

In a feature story following the event, m0NESY reflected on his own journey:

“Something was off for me when I joined Falcons and also when I was in G2,” he said, noting that the adjustment period slightly hindered his early performances. 

On his teammate kyousuke, m0NESY commented:

“Kyousuke can sometimes overpeek against pistols and die. But it’s good that he does this... he has a lot of confidence, and this is what most players need to have.” 

From the coaching side, kyxsan (Falcons’ in-game leader) mentioned that the team had encouraged m0NESY to reclaim the freedom he had before joining the roster:

“m0NESY felt like he cannot do too many things, so obviously we had a talk about it and we made sure that he understood that he still has this freedom from before and he can do whatever he wants with the AWP.” 

Additionally, TeSeS, a fellow Falcons player, spoke earlier about m0NESY’s potential ceiling:

“m0NESY is going to have a new, higher ceiling when he finds himself again.” 

And teammate NiKo previously praised m0NESY’s impact on the squad:

“When you get a player of that caliber, it’s a great confidence boost for every player on the team. I knew it wouldn’t be hard to implement him into our system… Ever since he joined, our goals have shifted.” 

Broader Implications & Next Steps

Despite not winning the trophy, m0NESY’s performance strengthens his status among the elite in Counter-Strike 2.

Falcons, while showing they can reach a final quickly after the roster change, will likely view this as a bittersweet result — validating their potential but also pointing out key gaps (e.g. pistol rounds, clutch consistency).

For Vitality, this adds yet another trophy to their 2025 campaigns, and flameZ’s performance in that final will surely feature heavily in their narrative going forward.

With this result, the esports community now looks forward to the next big tournaments (including the upcoming Major cycle) to see whether m0NESY and Falcons can convert strong performances into titles.