The debate over the best player of the modern Counter-Strike era received fresh momentum after a candid statement from ropz during his personal stream. One of the most consistent riflers in CS history effectively voiced what the scene has been arguing about for months: donk and ZywOo today represent two different, yet equally significant, truths of CS2.
“The best player in 25 years of CS”
When speaking about donk, ropz made no attempt to soften his wording. On the contrary, his take was as radical as it gets:
He can shoot, that’s for sure… man he’s just good. I think he’s probably the best player we’ve had in like the whole duration when CS had existed… 25 years, it’s donk. He’s still young but I think eventually he might become the GOAT.
For ropz, donk is not just another star prospect. He represents a unique level of individual impact the scene hasn’t witnessed in decades. Aggression, pace, mechanics, and the ability to break opponents’ structure — all of this, according to the Estonian, places the Spirit player beyond conventional comparisons.
It is also important that ropz immediately stresses perspective: donk is still extremely young, and the GOAT conversation is about the long run — titles, longevity, and years of sustained dominance.
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But 2025 belongs to ZywOo
At the same time, when the stream turned to the topic of the best player of the current season, ropz’s rhetoric shifted sharply. His choice was unequivocal — ZywOo:
What about Mathieu? IMO he’s number one this year… my guy has 8 MVPs? 2 Majors, Kato… I mean, what can you do, you have to consider those.
This passage effectively sums up the entire 2025 season. ZywOo is not just about statistics — he is about trophies, MVP awards, decisive matches, and the ability to remain dominant regardless of patches, metas, or roles within the team. For ropz, this exact combination of factors makes the Frenchman the clear No.1 of the season, even against the backdrop of donk’s phenomenal peak.
Community reaction: “potential vs legacy”
ropz’s comments instantly spread across X and Reddit, triggering a familiar split within the CS community. Some supported his stance, calling it the most honest possible take:
- donk — the highest peak and the greatest raw impact;
- ZywOo — the most complete model of long-term dominance.
Others questioned the approach itself. Critics argued that donk’s mechanical superiority does not make up for the gap in game sense and overall understanding, where ZywOo has remained the benchmark for years. Team context was also frequently mentioned: Vitality are a stable structure with experience in big finals, while donk often carries series through sheer individual power.
More radical opinions also surfaced — ranging from claims that donk already deserves HLTV #1, to the opposite view that without long-term results, it is far too early to place his name in GOAT discussions.
What ropz actually said
Stripping away the эмоції, ropz’s position appears far deeper than a simple “praise one, acknowledge the other.” He clearly separated the evaluation criteria:
- GOAT potential — about peak, impact, and uniqueness (donk);
- Season No.1 — about trophies, consistency, and decisive moments (ZywOo).
In CS2, where the game is evolving rapidly, these two categories no longer automatically overlap — and that is precisely what makes 2025 one of the most fascinating years in the modern history of the scene.
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The main intrigue of CS2
ropz’s statement only cemented the core storyline of the season: Counter-Strike has entered a phase where the future and legacy coexist in parallel. Donk symbolizes what the game can become tomorrow. ZywOo represents what it already is today at the highest level.
And while one is still accelerating, the other is already shaping history. It is at the intersection of these two trajectories that the defining GOAT debate of the CS2 era is being born.
