Gambit Esports sniper Dmitry sh1ro Sokolov showed one of the strongest performances in the history of CS:GO in 2021, but even that was not enough to be in the top three players of the year. How did this happen, and what was HLTV's reasoning behind it? You'll find out the answers in this article.
For the third day in a row, we honor the residents of the Gambit organization. It was said enough about their dominance in online competitions. It only remains to add that the main star and triumphs' creator at tournaments is in front of us. The leader of the Red Machine in statistics, the world's top clutcher, the sniper with the lowest number of deaths in the world, the real machine for winning the starting duels.
All these regalia in the figures indicate that we are facing the strongest player today, but HLTV thinks otherwise. There has been an outcry for twenty-four hours now, not only from the CIS region. Users from all over the planet are outraged that there is no place left for Dmitry Sokolov in the "prizes". People all over the planet were angry that Dmitriy Sokolov did not have any place on the prize list. Rating creators on the website refer to Mathieu ZyWoo Herbaut's and Nikola NiKo Kovač's (potential silver and bronze medalists) performances in "big" matches, their LAN tournaments and solo play (i.e. individual actions to win without the help of teammates). Moreover, HLTV speak about MVP ranks at average tournaments and sh1ro's low media activity. Let's analyze each point to conclude.
Traditionally, here are the online and offline sniper stats.
As you might have noticed, the scores did not change dramatically. Yes, Dmitry was less successful than the whole team at LAN, but apart from two failures against Natus Vincere at PGL Major Stockholm and BLAST Premier World Final, Sokolov has always been a dangerous top-frager. As for the competitors' solo game, it's not sh1ro's fault for the excellent level of his teammates, who are capable of taking the lead in any game.
If HLTV is so highly appreciated for playing 1 in 5 from the organization's top stars, why isn't Kaike KCERATO Cerato even in the top 10? Suppose the LAN tournaments' actions are more important. Why Denis electroNic Sharipov, who won all such tournaments and destroyed ZyWoo and NiKo, is not on the second place in the top, but below the "online players" from Gambit and the ones mentioned above? HLTV put themselves in a deadlock with such arguments.
Dmitry's competitors have the same title as the most valuable player about MVP at low-quality tournaments. Mathieu Herbaut got MVP at IEM Winter, equal to sh1ro's award at IEM Katowice. Sokolov received 11 EVPs in addition, so he was among the best in each of his tournaments.
The only thing the rating compilers are unquestionable is Dmitriy's low media activity. But here, the issue is knowledge of English. Vladislav nafany Gorshkov or Abay HObbit Khassenov are the most frequently interviewed in the team. If that is indeed an important component for the overall ranking position, why is there no place in the top 20 for Dan apEX Madesclaire or Casper cadian Møller? Every ordinary viewer knows how ZyWoo is participating in the interviews.
Objectively, for the entire year, sh1ro was second only to Oleksandr s1mple Kostyliev, who demonstrated an incredible level. By the way, the Ukrainian sniper shared an opinion that Dmitry Sokolov should be on the second place in the top 20.
Best Highlights
The most important thing in this situation for sh1ro is not to lose motivation, continue to make progress, and win tournaments. If there would be no possibility to become the top 1, then to defend a well-deserved place in the top 3. The audience will remember that Dmitry was worthy of the highest positions in 2021, which is the most important thing! We're proud of the eSportsman and wish him success in 2022!