By Sagar V. Mankar 
The Counter-Strike 2 community gathered in Belgrade for the prestigious HLTV Awards 2024 ceremony on January 11-12, where young Russian prodigy Danil “donk” Kryshkovets emerged as the night’s biggest winner, claiming four major awards.
Rising Star’s Remarkable Achievement
Team Spirit’s entry fragger donk, at just 17 years old, secured victories in four prestigious categories: “Player of the Year,” “Rookie of the Year,” “Best In-Game Highlight of the Year,” and “Entry Fragger of the Year.” This extraordinary achievement cements his position as Counter-Strike 2’s brightest young talent.
Throughout 2024, donk’s performance with Team Spirit was nothing short of exceptional. His achievements include:
- Six MVP awards at major tournaments including Shanghai Major
- Victory at the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024
- First place at the BLAST Premier: Spring Final 2024
- Championship at Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2024
- Multiple victories at BetBoom Dacha events
Streaming Excellence
The ceremony also recognized Mark “ohnePixel” Zimmermann as Streamer of the Year, winning by a significant margin with 40.7% of the votes. Since beginning his Counter-Strike streaming career in 2019, ohnePixel has built a following of over 1.5 million on Twitch, known for his expertise in game cosmetics and trading.
Perfect World Shanghai Major: The Pinnacle of 2024
The Perfect World Shanghai Major, crowned as Event of the Year, set new standards for Counter-Strike 2 tournaments. Held in December 2024, the event featured a prize pool of $1.25 million and brought together 24 of the world’s elite teams.
The tournament’s success was attributed to its flawless production value, exceptional crowd engagement, and dramatic matches.
The grand final between Team Spirit and Faze Clan drew over 1.3 million concurrent viewers, making it the one of most-watched CS2 events of 2024. It was during this tournament that donk’s legendary 1v5 clutch secured him the Highlight of the Year award. donk was also named the tournament’s MVP, making him the highest-rated ever as well as the youngest ever.
NAVI’s Dominant Year
Natus Vincere (NAVI) earned their Team of the Year title through consistent excellence throughout 2024.
Under the leadership of Aleksib and coach B1ad3, NAVI won two of the three most prestigious tournaments: the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 and the Esports World Cup 2024. They also played in eight consecutive finals and spent 18 weeks at the top of the HLTV.org rankings. Their roster’s perfect blend of experienced veterans and young talents like m0NESY proved unbeatable in crucial moments.
According to Esports Charts, NAVI was also the most-watched CS2 team of 2024, with a total of 64.85 million hours watched.
Several NAVI players were recognized for their individual performances. iM took 16th place, w0nderful secured 11th place, b1t was 9th, and jL closed out the top five in HLTV.org’s Top Players of the Year rankings.
Complete List of Winners
The HLTV Awards 2024 celebrated excellence across multiple categories:
Player Categories
- Player of the Year: donk
- Women’s Player of the Year: ANa (3 years in a row)
- AWPer of the Year: m0NESY
- IGL of the Year: Aleksib
- Anchor of the Year: b1t
- Closer of the Year: jL
Team Categories
- Team of the Year: NAVI
- Women’s Team of the Year: Imperial Fe
Support and Content Categories
- Coach of the Year: B1ad3
- Talent of the Year: James Banks
- Content Creator of the Year: NadeKing
- Streamer of the Year: ohnePixel
Special Recognition
- Event of the Year: Perfect World Shanghai Major
- Skin of the Year: AK-47 | Inheritance
This year’s awards particularly highlight the emergence of young talent in Counter-Strike 2, with donk’s domination serving as a testament to the game’s evolving competitive landscape.
Sources: HLTV.org, Liquipedia