G2 Esports will reportedly hold on to Russian CS2 superstar and AWP sensation Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov during this upcoming post-Major roster shuffle. Team Falcons, who reportedly have already gotten the other G2 superstar Nikola “NiKo” Kovač to join them in 2025, will have to look elsewhere.
While these moves are not official yet, they will drastically shake up the CS2 landscape at the start of 2025.
G2 lock down m0NESY
The 19-year-old sniper superstar has been highly sought after by the Saudi Arabian for some time. Given his fondness for playing alongside NiKo, many speculated that m0NESY would depart alongside him. HLTV reported that m0NESY “considered” Falcons offer to join the roster as part of a massive overhaul.
With NiKo garnering a reported $1 to $1.2 million transfer fee, m0NESY could easily fetch an even higher price from Falcons. He finished the the 2024 season as one of the consensus best players in the world. With m0NESY signed to G2 for the rest of 2025, the organization has opted to turn down Falcons’ offer and keep him. G2’s goal for 2025 is to make m0NESY the focal point of the roster, and they’re risking him leaving after 2025 as a free agent to do so.
The hope for G2 now is that Mario “malbsMd” Samayoa can step into the star position left vacant by the departing NiKo. malbsMd had a breakout performance at the Perfect World Shanghai Major, and if he takes on a bigger role while m0NESY stays, the offseason becomes far less daunting for G2.
Falcons are no strangers to getting spurned while pursuing superstars, as they notably failed to acquire NiKo from G2 last year. The organization will now have to look elsewhere for an AWPer, having terminated legendary AWPer Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev’s loan from NAVI back in November.
Is G2 doing the right thing by keeping m0NESY? Let us know in the Insider Gaming forum.
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