Each month, here at Pinnacle Esports, we will be looking at the previous competitive month and selecting five players to be in our Dream Team. August featured the RMR Qualifiers and BLAST Premier Fall Groups. Being the start of a new season, there wasn’t as much Counter-Strike being played as there will be in the months to come, but we have enough to bring you our August Dream Team.
IGL – Nemanja "nexa" Isakovic
The IGL award goes to “nexa” in August, after he led his team to qualification at BLAST Premier Fall and the RMR Qualification. Averaging a 1.09 HLTV rating in August, “nexa” has always been impressive for the impact he has made in the IGL role.
It isn’t expected for an IGL to be a top-performing player in 2022, but “nexa” has been delivering that for OG Esports. At BLAST, OG Esports managed to pick up wins over Astralis and FaZe Clan. The win over FaZe Clan was entirely unexpected for almost everyone and a stat that was even more unexpected was “nexa” being the highest-rated player in OG Esports at 1.15.
AWP – Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov
For anyone who had doubts about the 17-year-old, who cost G2 Esports $600,000, you can begin to set them aside as he picked up his first tournament MVP award at BLAST Premier Fall. The young gun with the AWP has been a consistent player for G2 Esports since joining and is one of their most notorious clutch players.
And he did not disappoint here – in a rematch with Team Vitality for qualification, “m0NESY” pulled off an incredible 1v4 clutch on Inferno. We are excited to see him continue to improve and pave his way as a star player. In August, “m0NESY” averaged a 1.34 HLTV rating.
ENTRY FRAGGER – Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
The entry fragger is a vital role in any team with the impact to open up a bombsite for the team. We award “flameZ” this position for August due to his impressive performance at both BLAST Premier Fall and the RMR Qualifier. It’s no secret that we’ve seen a burst of Israeli talent come out of various international rosters such as ENCE and Endpoint.
OG Esports have also been helping develop such talent with “flameZ” averaging an impressive 1.12 across August. The impact he has brought to OG Esports has been noticed and is now providing results across multiple events.
SUPPORT – Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken
The magnificent “Twistzz” has been one of the most consistent players in CS:GO during 2022, so it’s no wonder he’s made his way into our Dream Team. Boasting an impressive 1.20 rating at BLAST Premier Fall, “Twistzz” gave great performances even when his team lost a match.
Known for his crisp aim, 62.8% of his kills were headshots – showing that the Canadian isn’t slowing down and I’m sure we’ll see him return for many more.
RIFLER – Mareks "YEKINDAR" Galinskis
Making a name for himself in a North American team, “YEKINDAR” has shown how much impact he can bring to a team and the results he can yield. Since unofficially joining Team Liquid, he has helped bring them to the playoffs at IEM Cologne and a qualifier at BLAST Premier Fall Groups. At BLAST, “YEKINDAR” was the top-rated player in Team Liquid (and was almost the top-rated player at the whole event) with a 1.32 HLTV rating.
It’s clear the impact he has brought to this team, seeing them go from group-stage knockouts to deep runs at big events. Any Team Liquid fan will be hoping he becomes a permanent signing.
