m0NESY on kyousuke’s medal gesture: “It felt like he devalued our result by refusing the medal”

Team Falcons AWPer Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov commented on teammate Maxim “kyousuke” Lukin’s decision not to wear his silver medal after the ESL Pro League Season 22 grand final.

“It felt like kyousuke devalued our result by refusing the medal. Yes, losing hurts, but it was his first tier-1 final. That’s a good result. I didn’t tell him this, but I think he’ll understand it with time.” 

During the medal ceremony in Stockholm on October 12, kyousuke was the only Falcons player who chose not to put on the second-place medal following the team’s 0–3 loss to Vitality. The best-of-five ended 10–13 on Inferno, 9–13 on Train, and 5–13 on Dust2. 

What happened at EPL S22

Champion: Vitality swept Falcons 3–0 to claim the title; flameZ delivered a standout grand-final performance. 

Venue & dates: The event ran in Sweden from September 28 to October 12 with a $400,000 prize pool.

MVP: Despite the loss, m0NESY earned the HLTV x 1xBet MVP award with a 1.38 rating—his first MVP of 2025. 

Related updates & player quotes

kyousuke after the final: Shortly after the defeat, kyousuke posted a brief message on Telegram: “Give it time.” Cybersport summarized the post and the map scores

m0NESY on his form at EPL S22: “Something was off for me when I joined Falcons… [but] I was resplendent in Stockholm,” he told HLTV in a post-event interview reflecting on his MVP run. 

Team context — giving m0NESY freedom: IGL kyxsan told HLTV during EPL S22 that the squad made sure m0NESY “still has this freedom from before,” addressing how the team balances structure and star impact. 

Zonic on integrating kyousuke: Falcons coach zonic explained the growing pains of the new lineup: “We succeeded with getting kyousuke comfortable, but we neglected that we also had NiKo and TeSeS in new roles.” 

NiKo on kyousuke’s talent: Earlier in the season, NiKo said kyousuke “reminds me a bit of myself—the way he shoots, he likes to go for flashy plays,” highlighting the rifler’s ceiling. 

m0NESY on kyousuke’s adaptation (pre-EPL): A week before the playoffs, m0NESY told Cybersport that kyousuke had “already integrated into the workflow,” with communication still the main area to improve—expected for a first tier-1 stint in an international team. 

Extra context

Grand-final flow: HLTV’s live blog captured key beats of the series, from flameZ’s takeover to pivotal clutches and Falcons’ pistol struggles. 

Match page & map order: Full stats, veto, and map order (Inferno, Train, Dust2) are available on HLTV’s match hub. 

MVP announcement: HLTV’s MVP piece lists m0NESY’s event numbers (1.38 rating, +5.50% round swing, 1.12 KPR).