5 CSGO Players Who Shined in ESL Pro League’s Group A

Through all the carnage and bloodshed in ESL Pro League Group A, these 5 warriors stood head and shoulders above the rest

Group A of ESL Pro League came with its fair share of flair moments and great plays, but a few flashes of brilliance will always be outshone by consistency and numbers. To wrap up Group A, we decided to single out 5 players from 5 different teams who put up the best numbers for their side, not only racking up ratings on HLTV.org, but also helping push their team beyond what they would normally have been able to achieve. Here are the 5 best CSGO players who were exemplary in the first group of EPL Season 17.

Dmitriy ”sh1ro” Sokolov 

• Maps: 7
• Rounds Played: 170
• Total kills: 155
• HLTV Rating 2.0: 1.49
• Impact Rating: 1.45
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 80.6%
• Average Damage Round: 85.8
• Kills Per Round: 0.91

The Russian AWPer has been a dangerous player ever since he arrived on the scene a few years ago, and he was at his imperious best in just about every single match in Malta. The stats here don’t tell the whole story, because sh1ro’s plays won his team countless rounds and pretty much secured them a Quarterfinals spot with an unbeaten highest seed qualification. While it’s true that his teammates Sergey ”Ax1Le” Rykhtorov and Abai ”HObbit” Hasenov were also excellent and played a key role in his performance, sh1ro was the de facto lynchpin for Cloud9.

A rating of 1.49 is just ridiculous, even if it’s across only 7 maps. An impact rating of 1.45 shows that sh1ro wasn’t just saving to pad his stats and get there, and the 80.6% is, considering his ADR of 85.8 and KPR of 0.91, more a testament to the kills and assists than the survival aspect. Overall, it was a masterful performance from a brilliant player, and we can’t wait to see more of him in the Playoffs. 

Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov 

• Maps: 9
• Rounds Played: 226
• Total kills: 189
• HLTV Rating 2.0: 1.25
• Impact Rating: 1.29
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 73.9%
• Average Damage Round: 80.9
• Kills Per Round: 0.84

The young G2 player is a generational talent by every measure, and although G2 faced their first defeat in a very long time at this event, they are still looking strong in the face of adversity — and this kid is the reason why. The numbers m0NESY has been putting up over the last few months are ludicrous, and that’s to put it mildly. There are some games where he just takes over, and no one else on the server stands the remotest chance of topping his performance. With the superb support he receives from his teammates, m0NESY will only get better in time.

While his rating is nowhere near sh1ro’s, the fact that he has maintained it across two extra maps and 56 extra rounds is important. Moreover, his impact rating is higher than his base rating, which points to his combative style and never-say-die attitude. The ADR of 80.9 isn’t too impressive, but that is explained by the fact that G2 have gotten massacred on two of the maps they’ve played. 

Evgeniy “FL1T” Lebedev 

• Maps: 7
• Rounds Played: 189
• Total kills: 150
• HLTV Rating 2.0: 1.24
• Impact Rating: 1.38
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 73.0%
• Average Damage Round: 84.5
• Kills Per Round: 0.79

The third Russian in a row on this list, FL1T is one of those consistently underrated players who rarely gets to truly pop off because of how his team plays. In fact, that same play style, which has seen immense success but also grievous failure in the last few months, is simultaneously responsible for his somewhat strange stats. Nevertheless, it would take a fool to leave FL1T out of this list, and he has been the difference that has allowed Outsiders to make it through with a relatively high seed — especially in light of Aleksei “Qikert” Golubev’s underperformance.

A solid 150 kills in 189 rounds is decent if not amazing, but when you consider just how many rounds Outsiders decide to save on following the falling of a site, this stat becomes much more substantial. FL1T’s base rating of 1.24 is far surpassed by his 1.38 impact rating, and that 84.5 ADR is also a great stat for a player who spends so much of his time saving by order of his In-Game Leader Dzhami “Jame” Ali.

İsmailcan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş 

• Maps: 12
• Rounds Played: 329
• Total kills: 239
• HLTV Rating 2.0: 1.17
• Impact Rating: 1.10
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 72.9%
• Average Damage Round: 81.8
• Kills Per Round: 0.73

The only player on this list not to make the Playoffs, XANTARES has always been kind of a hit-or-miss player. There will be maps where he goes above and beyond anyone and everyone on the CSGO scene, and others where he fails to find that groove and sort of fades into the background. Considering the fact that his teammates aren’t exactly superstars, though, his performances definitely stand out. It would be interesting to see how he would perform in a team of superstars, but that might have to wait.

With 329 rounds played, it’s only natural that XANTARES’ overall rating would suffer compared to those of others. That being said, the fact that his impact rating is well below that might sound relatively bad at first, but once again it has a lot to do with the comparatively low support he receives from his teammates. By any metric, though, an ADR of 81.8 is absolutely solid, and it’s no wonder that the Turk remains one of the best duelists in the game.

Nico “nicoodoz” Tamjidi

• Maps: 16
• Rounds Played: 429
• Total kills: 305
• HLTV Rating 2.0: 1.14
• Impact Rating: 1.05
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 75.1%
• Average Damage Round: 72.6
• Kills Per Round: 0.71

The third AWPer on this list, nicoodoz made his name on Copenhagen Flames before moving to Fnatic, and that move seems to have improved his game even more. While many of his performances weren’t quite stellar, the games that he popped off on were crucial and against high-level opponents. Fnatic may only have squeaked through by way of the Lower Bracket, but in this competitive group, even basic qualification can be deemed a success. The Dane may have received more support than XANTARES, but a lot of his best plays were all him.

With 429 rounds played and 7 out of 16 maps lost, it’s only natural that nicoodoz’s stats won’t be that attractive. The rating is slightly above decent at best, the impact rating is barely standard, and that ADR is undeniably poor. On the other hand, the KAST is certainly something to be proud of, especially when you have 305 kills to your name. 

We’ll have plenty more EPL 17 content for you in the coming weeks, so make sure you keep tabs on our writings.