Top 20 players of 2021: HObbit (6)

Abay "⁠HObbit⁠" Khassenov's impressively high floor and consistency pushed him to 6th place on the Top 20 players of 2021 ranking powered by GG.BET.

Top 20 players of 2021: Introduction

HObbit's time in competitive CS began within the local Kazakh scene with a core of players that included the likes of Dastan "⁠dastan⁠" Akbayev, Bektiyar "⁠fitch⁠" Bahytov, and Adlet "⁠keeN⁠" Nyrseytov. They were quickly signed by Tengri, and while the team played in mostly qualifiers for larger events, their biggest success with HObbit came when they played at Adrenaline Cyber League 2016.

There, Tengri took down an early iteration of Gambit on LAN, with HObbit standing out as the highest rated player in the victory thanks to a huge performance on the first map Train. This likely impressed the Gambit side, as just a couple weeks later they signed HObbit alongside Danylo "⁠Zeus⁠" Teslenko, creating the lineup that would go on to win PGL Krakow.

Gambit immediately looked to impress, as after qualifying for DreamHack Winter 2016 they won the event, beating Cloud9 and OpTic as well as outplacing the likes of Dignitas. HObbit also picked up the first MVP of his career at the Swedish tournament, posting a 1.25 rating over his 10 maps.

Going into the ELEAGUE Atlanta Major, they had risen to the top 15 and looked to continue to improve. At the American tournament, they took down both North and FaZe in the Swiss group to secure a spot in the playoffs. There Gambit faced fnatic, and despite the Swedish side having a nearly brand new lineup, HObbit and co. fell in three maps.

Gambit stuck around the same level for the next few months, and going into PGL Krakow were certainly not one of the favorites to win, with Astralis and SK serving as the top dogs for that event. But in one of the biggest underdog runs in Major history, Gambit clinched the title, defeating fnatic, Astralis, and Immortals in their playoff run and becoming the first CIS team to win a Major.

Once Zeus left to return to Natus Vincere, Gambit sustained a fairly strong level but eventually slowly fell apart, with HObbit eventually leaving the team in the fall of 2018. Before this, he earned the 11th place on the Top 20 Players of 2017 thanks to his strong consistency. After departing Gambit, the Kazakhstani player found himself playing in their tier two levels of the CIS scene with both HellRaisers and Winstrike.

"My wish and drive to compete didn’t fade away. I’ve been playing this game since I was a kid, and I fully feel this game, every part of it matters to me; as you can see, I’m the oldest player in this ranking. It’s a big honor and history."

"My family (wife, daughter) has helped me a lot, they really motivate me. My brother has helped me as well and keeps helping everyday. My parents have always believed in me, for which I’m grateful."

"It was very hard for me [to return to tier two], it was breaking me as if I carried a 200-ton rock on my back. Imagine falling down from the top of a mountain and making the decision to rise again right after it happened, against all the odds. Fortunately, great players and people followed me on this path."

"Looking back now and realizing what path I walked, I can say with confidence that I’m proud of myself for never giving up as I kept improving, and nothing has changed to this day. I thank my close ones for always being by my side during tough times."

HObbit had varying levels of success during this time, but in July of 2020 he made the bold move of returning to Gambit with their Gambit Youngsters lineup. With the core's wild success within tier two over the summer, it wasn't long until the squad was promoted to the main Gambit team.

"I knew exactly what team I was joining, and first and foremost, I was confident - and still am - in Konstantin "groove" Pikiner as a leader and a strategist."

"When I first joined the team, I felt a strong will to victory, each teammate was willing to work on himself. Right away I realized it was just a matter of time before we broke out."

Early on this iteration of Gambit was characterized for the insane level shown by Dmitry "⁠sh1ro⁠" Sokolov but were considered limited by the rest of the lineup and wouldn't be able to truly jump to the next level, only making top four at DreamHack December and January. However, things changed once February arrived and Gambit attended IEM Katowice.

In a very impressive run which included taking down Heroic and G2 in Group A, Gambit went on to take down all three other CIS rivals in Natus Vincere, Spirit, and Virtus.pro to take home the championship. HObbit picked up his first EVP of the year and was the second highest rated player from his team behind sh1ro.

"During Katowice we were already strong game-wise. On top of that, we had an advantage in a sense that the majority of top teams didn’t know how to play against us."

"For me, [my best memory of 2021 is] our victory at IEM Katowice, it was an unforgettable moment."

Things just clicked for Gambit after this, with the team continuing their excellent form at ESL Pro League Season 13. Sweeping the group stage, they earned a high seed going into the playoffs and finished in second place after a long five map series against Heroic. HObbit stood out again, earning yet another EVP after putting up some big maps in every one of the eight series they played.

"As you know, we fell short at ESL Pro League but had good results overall, and that’s why I think we claimed the No. 1 spot on HLTV. The emotions were very positive, there was a feeling of euphoria."

"Losing to Heroic in the final of ESL Pro League [is my worst memory from 2021], I really wanted to win two big tournaments in a row."

They were able to get revenge on the Danes just a couple days later at the BLAST Spring Showdown, which saw HObbit and co. qualify for the Spring Final. At DreamHack Spring it was once again a similar story, with Gambit easily topping the group stage with victories over both G2 and Natus Vincere. In the playoffs, HObbit really hit a new level, putting up a massive 1.52 rating and 101 ADR to destroy the French-Balkan squad in the semifinals. While the grand final against Natus Vincere was fairly one-sided with Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev going nuclear, HObbit still put up a strong fight with a 1.14 rating in the three map series. Putting up his best performance of the year so far, the Kazakhstani player ended up second in the MVP race, missing out on the highest award to s1mple in one of the Ukrainian's best events in 2021.

HObbit carried his exceptional form into the next event, EPIC League CIS. While there was much controversy surrounding the tournament, Gambit still established themselves as a top two team within CIS with an undefeated playoff run to win the first 2021 RMR event. In particular, HObbit went huge in the final two series of the tournament against both Akuma and Virtus.pro, where he secured 1.74 and 1.45 ratings, respectively, finishing the whole event with a 1.32 rating overall — higher than even s1mple. All this combined made for an easy MVP award going the way of the Kazakhstani veteran.

IEM Summer saw HObbit cool off a bit, letting his teammates sh1ro and Sergey "⁠Ax1Le⁠" Rykhtorov return to the spotlight. Gambit still winning this tournament in a quite convincing fashion despite HObbit's average numbers went on to show the depth of the skill on the team, particularly the power trio.

HObbit didn't let this form last long however, as he returned to star numbers at the BLAST Spring Finals. Averaging a 1.21 rating, he ended up just below sh1ro and Kristian "⁠k0nfig⁠" Wienecke but thanks to his unbelievable consistency, putting up at least a 1.11 rating in every single map, he earned his second MVP of the year. In particular, HObbit stood out in the upper bracket final against Natus Vincere, while sh1ro took the reins in their grand final rematch and victory.

"For me, I enjoy displaying consistent and beautiful play. I enjoyed every single game at those tournaments, and I didn’t really think of having good statistics, I think that was the main reason [for the MVPs]."

After a quick top two placing at the StarLadder CIS RMR, the first big LAN since the pandemic arrived at IEM Cologne. While the younger players of Gambit had attended LANs before, none were as big or prestigious as Cologne. Gambit kicked off their Cologne run with two convincing series wins over MOUZ and Ninjas in Pyjamas, putting them into the upper bracket final of Group A. After a grueling series, they fell to G2 but still made the playoffs in the second spot. While HObbit had played very well during the groups, Gambit struggled in the round of six against FaZe, finishing Cologne with a 5th-6th placing.

Gambit had a lot of pressure on them going into IEM Cologne, primarily because the team had made their rise to the top during the online era, and had yet to prove their full worth on LAN. What Cologne showed was that Gambit was a legitimate top team, and while they were not a dominant number one, they were certainly still a strong contender and among the world's best.

"First of all, you are comfortable online with conditions that you have, while offline is the atmosphere that you cannot get a grasp of through the screen. Overall, the game is the same. Sure, you need to have experience so that atmosphere doesn’t prevent you from showing your game, and you can also use it to your advantage."

"As I said before, the pressure and lack of experience affected us at our first LAN tournament of such a magnitude, but in general I think that we did well as we made it out of the groups and gained great experience for the future."

Returning from the tournament break, Gambit had another decent placing at ESL Pro League Season 14, making top eight after topping Group D. HObbit stood out in both their close series against Liquid as well as the domination versus FURIA, ending up as Gambit's second highest rated player at the event. In the end, it was a classic big performance from Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut which prevented them from going further in the event, with Gambit being unable to stop the Frenchman's damage output or entry kills.

Returning back to CIS, Gambit had the final RMR tournament to play before the PGL Major. While they were sitting in third place in the RMR rankings, placing highly in the event gave Gambit the shot to qualify for PGL Stockholm as a Legend, bypassing the first stage of the event. The squad ravaged the regional tournament, topping Group B after some quick tiebreakers with Virtus.pro and INDE IRAE, demolished Entropiq in the semifinals (including a 16–0 Mirage), and wrapped up with a clean 2-0 victory over Natus Vincere. As usual, HObbit ended up with an EVP, but it was the work of sh1ro who carried most of the event.

Due to this performance, Gambit did indeed qualify for PGL Stockholm as Legends and went into the event with high expectations considering their exceptional spring and summer form. They kicked off the Swiss group with a win against ENCE but followed it up with a harsh loss to regional rivals Entropiq. In the 1-1 pool they faced Virtus.pro, and thanks to a monstrous performance from HObbit, which saw him secure 39 kills in regulation, Gambit were able to sneak past with a 16-14 win.

They then eased past Ninjas in Pyjamas in the 2-1 pool to secure themselves a place in the playoffs, and the team's first time playing in front of a large crowd. In what some considered a lucky draw, Gambit was pitted against FURIA, who had beaten the odds to make the playoffs. While the Brazilians played close on both maps, HObbit's veteran prowess prevailed, and Gambit won the series 2-0 and moved on to the semis. Gambit was then faced with an absolutely unstoppable Natus Vincere, and despite being destroyed by s1mple, HObbit still put up a worthy fight on Overpass, posting a 1.35 rating despite the 8-16 loss.

"Of course we wanted to win [the tournament]. The result was good, but it would have gone better if we had played a few offline events before such an important tournament."

Top four at the first Major for four of the players was still an incredible achievement, and for the lineup to be able to convert their performances to LAN play proved that Gambit was here to stay. It also showed that HObbit was back and provided much-needed experience in the lineup.

Shortly after the conclusion of the Major, Gambit traveled to Hungary to compete in the V4 Future Sports Festival 2021. Despite an initial map loss to Fiend, the event was relatively simple for the CIS giants, who went on to dominate most of the competition before taking down Entropiq in a close five-map final.

Going into the end of the year, the shuffle season had already begun behind the scenes, with many lineups having already committed to making changes. Not Gambit, however, and IEM Winter served as an opportunity to take advantage of that and secure another high placing. Despite starting the event strong with a 1.69 rating in the win against fnatic, IEM Winter ended up as HObbit's weakest tournament of the year. He put in quite average numbers in both group stage series against FaZe and fnatic, although the team still advanced to the playoffs. In the round of six they played a Vitality that had no pressure on them, with HObbit only managing a 0.97 rating in the three map defeat.

"When you get used to a team, it’s always easier to play and understand each other, but the main thing is the work each of us did. We motivate each other for our efforts, including our coach, manager, and analyst."

The final event of the year was the BLAST World Final, for which they had qualified by winning the Spring Finals. Gambit seemed to be getting more used to LAN competition, as they took down Heroic and Liquid to put themselves into the upper bracket final. They were able to get revenge on Vitality, with HObbit standing out in the two map victory and putting up a 1.23 rating despite ZywOo's best efforts to shut him down. In the grand final they met their old rivals Natus Vincere once again, meeting them for the 13th and final time in 2021. Despite taking it to three maps, Gambit were unable to withstand the sheer oppressive force of s1mple and had to bow out with a simple second place.

"I think NAVI also have a hard time playing against us; it’s a classic derby and part of CS:GO history. The lack of offline experience made it harder for us, but we dealt with the rest. We will see our rivalry develop in the future."

Why was HObbit the 6th best player of 2021?

HObbit's impressively high floor and consistency helped him make a return to the top 20 in grand fashion after four years, claiming the 6th place this time around. A testament to that consistency and as one of the pillars of Gambit's success, HObbit collected two MVP medals and nine EVP selections throughout the year, which in total made him the player with the 3rd most such recognitions during 2021.

"It’s an honor for me to make the top players of 2021 list and be among such people in general. Most of all, I’m happy with the team results with such young and promising players. I’m a happy man!"

However, some of those awards were at medium-sized events, including the MVP at the first CIS RMR. Moreover, his peaks in general were slightly less impressive in comparison to other players in contention for the top 5, which contributed to him not climbing further in the ranking. Looking at it from the other side however, his floor and consistency were the reason he outdid his predecessors on the list, as he put up a 1.12 or higher rating in 13 of his 15 events.

HObbit was one of the players in 2021 who most often had a solid map, with a 1.00+ rating 74.5% of the time (7th most frequent). He stood out as one of the best damage dealers on average (82.4, #7), a lot of which led to assists (0.16 assists per round, #4). Part of that high damage output was also his great utility usage (6.3 damage per round, #10).

"I think my team is the one to thank, then comes my love for the game, which only keeps growing."

What really cemented HObbit as one of 2021's elite players was the impressive play in Big matches, as he averaged the joint-5th highest rating of 1.14 across 65 maps, including matches like the IEM Katowice grand final against Virtus.pro and the aforementioned DreamHack Masters Spring semi-final versus G2

"The goal [for 2022] stays the same - to get better and stronger than I was in 2021."

Bold prediction by GG.BET

A regular recurring feature in the Top 20 player ranking series, the Bold prediction segment returns in 2021, this time around requiring players to choose a player that is under the age of 20 and has yet to play in a top 20 team.

Much like Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov, HObbit chose to pick Petr "⁠fame⁠" Bolyshev from K23. The 18-year-old currently has a 1.12 rating over the past three months, and will soon be competing at Funspark ULTI 2021, where Gambit is also attending. "I would like to see fame from K23 in the Top 20. I like the way he plays."

HObbit also chose to shout out Guatemalan player Mario "⁠malbsMd⁠" Samayoa, who recently joined up with 00NATION after a year and a half playing with TeamOne. "Also I would like to mention malbsMd, I remember him from the match against us in which he did well."

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Stay tuned to our Top 20 players of 2021 ranking and take a look at the Introduction article to learn more about how the players were selected. This year's ranking is supported by:

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