HLTV Updates Ranking of CS2’s Most Promising Players

HLTV has released the October update of its ranking of the most promising Counter-Strike 2 players. Inner Circle member David "Dawy" Bibik retained first place, while the biggest change near the top of the list was the sharp rise of Daniil "syph0" Ageev.

The 18-year-old Kazakhstani player climbed from tenth to second place. Alexey "xeedo" Mikulich rounds out the top three, while Alex "poiii" Sandgren and Liam "MaiL09" Tügel complete the top five.

"1. HLTV Updates Ranking of CS2’s Most Promising Players","1.1. Dawy Retains First Place","1.2. syph0 Climbs Eight Positions","1.3. ayuki and pleynnn Make Significant Gains","1.4. HLTV Continues Searching for CS2’s Future Stars"

Dawy Retains First Place

Dawy remains the leader of the HLTV Prospects ranking for the second month in a row. However, the most noticeable movement came just behind him, with syph0 gaining eight positions.

The main reason behind the Nemiga player’s rise was his performance at CIS LAN Season 7. His team won the tournament, while syph0 finished the playoffs with a 1.25 rating.

The Kazakhstani player also has around 4558 ELO on FACEIT. He previously played for Spirit Academy and had a trial with Cloud9.

syph0 Climbs Eight Positions

Just a month ago, syph0 was ranked tenth, but strong LAN results have now moved him much closer to the top of the standings.

The updated top five looks as follows:

1. Dawy

2. syph0

3. xeedo

4. poiii

5. MaiL09

There were also several major changes further down the ranking.

ayuki and pleynnn Make Significant Gains

Egor "ayuki" Ershov climbed ten positions following a series of strong online performances.

Artur "pleynnn" Syzdykov gained nine places, while Nikolaj "Nikodeon" Sørensen moved up eight. All three are now inside the top 20 Prospects.

At the same time, Klimentiy "kl1m" Krivosheev dropped five positions due to a lack of match practice. tikuak, slaxejezzz, and n0te also moved down the ranking, as they have so far been unable to maintain their previous form after joining stronger teams.

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HLTV Continues Searching for CS2’s Future Stars

The Prospects ranking includes players under the age of 21 who have not yet accumulated too much experience at the highest level. HLTV takes into account the number of maps played at Big Events and against teams ranked inside the top 20, top 30, and top 50.

The eligibility criteria are updated before each new edition of the ranking.

One example of how far a young player from such lists can progress is Danil "molodoy" Golubenko. The FURIA player was named HLTV’s Rookie of the Year for 2025 and now regularly competes at the biggest tournaments in the world.