Danil “molodoy” Golubenko was arguably the Counter-Strike revelation of 2025. A relatively unheard of AWPer surprisingly signed by FURIA ahead of the BLAST Austin Major, he ended the year with two MVP awards and with his name held up next to the likes of Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov and Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut. 

It’s no surprise, then, as AWPers continue to struggle in the rifler-dominant CS2 meta, that the average viewer asks why more teams can’t just do what FURIA did and find impressive AWPers from lower down the CS ladder.

However, what might come as a surprise is that Martin “STYKO” Styk doesn’t think that teams necessarily should be aiming to do so.

The Perfect Landing

STYKO’s opinion is that although molodoy is a generational talent, and that “where you land matters a lot.” He added:  “If molodoy had gone to a team without FalleN or YEKINDAR, who are both great mentors, then I’m not sure he would be where he is right now.”

It’s hard to argue against. Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo is known as one of the most influential players in Counter-Strike history, a figure who didn’t just lead teams but also led an entire nation into Counter-Strike relevance. 

Mareks “YEKINDAR” Galinksis, too, is a clear leadership figure. A former IGL himself, the Latvian has been praised by both his current teammates on FURIA and former teammates on Liquid for his ability to communicate and organize.

On top of that, YEKINDAR is also someone from a similar culture to molodoy, who speaks the same language as him. As a rookie who was thrown into tier one on a majority Brazilian team, having YEKINDAR there has likely been integral to the young AWPer’s success.

“It’s not only about finding that player, but also having the ability to make him mature enough to play well, lift trophies, and keep up communication when things are rough. That is something I admire about this FURIA team, it’s not about molodoy just being insane, it’s about FURIA making him insane.” STYKO told Esports.net.

Tough Meta

It’s also important not to forget that molodoy appears to be a generational talent in a time where many AWPers are struggling. Players like him don’t come around often, and although his usage of the AWP could shift the meta, as Alex “Mauisnake” Ellenberg suggested in our interview with him, STYKO is quick to point out how stacked the current meta is against snipers.

“I asked a few AWPers throughout the Major why they might be struggling, and I got mixed answers. Some of them blamed playstyle, where a lot of AWPers are required to do a lot of dirty work in terms of supporting riflers because rifles are so strong compared to CS:GO, and that also means that holding angles is more disadvantageous than it used to be.” STYKO said.

There’s also a lack of focus on AWPing. Players like m0NESY and ZywOo play with rifles a lot and to great success, a consequence of both their respective skill making whichever weapon they hold largely irrelevant and MR12 placing a limiting factor upon the bulky economy required to support an AWPer.

But maybe that isn’t a bad thing. STYKO comes from a time where AWPers were the dominant force for most teams, and he says he likes that the AWP has “become more of a utility weapon than the carry weapon it used to be.” 

molodoy’s Meta

If you’ve been around any esport long enough, you’ll know that metas are ever-changing. The same is true for CS, although those meta shifts may be less obvious in most cases than in other games like VALORANT.

One of molodoy’s strengths since coming to FURIA has been that the team has largely ignored the meta. Instead of having their AWPer put up with using rifles and throwing utility, they build strategies around him, putting him in the position to be a true star with the gun and to great effect.

Mauisnake pointed it out, and it’s something STYKO reinforced by saying “molodoy has figured it out. So we might be talking about more AWPers next year, more people will figure out what molodoy has and that will be an interesting meta shift.”

It was already evident that Vitality were looking more towards ZywOo as an AWPer during their winning StarLadder Budapest Major campaign, so as that trickles down to other teams who look to mirror FURIA’s unlikely late-2025 success, maybe they don’t need to go out and find the next molodoy. Maybe they just need to put trust in what they already have.