PGL Major Antwerp 2022: The EVPs

We present nine Exceptionally Valuable Player awards to the best performers at 2022's first Major.

FaZe's victory in the Sportpaleis came with an MVP for a third member of Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen's squad in 2022, this time for a Håvard "⁠rain⁠" Nygaard performance that came straight out of Autumn 2017. Along with the MVP, though, HLTV.org present several Exceptionally Valuable Player awards (EVPs) for the best players in the tournament that couldn't quite grasp the MVP.

Using the same conditions as for the MVP itself, the list of the following nine players has been reached:

HLTV.org's EVP picks for PGL Antwerp (in order):

Valeriy "⁠b1t⁠" Vakhovskiy
Aleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev
Lotan "⁠Spinx⁠" Giladi
Helvijs "⁠broky⁠" Saukants
Martin "⁠stavn⁠" Lund
Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool
Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov
Paweł "⁠dycha⁠" Dycha
Ludvig "⁠Brollan⁠" Brolin

To help visualise these players' performance, we're using radar charts that plot each player's percentile rank in a certain stat compared to all players at the Major. The nearer the rim of the octagon the blue line reaches, the better a player has performed relative to the whole cohort. The centre of the graph is the 0th percentile (the worst player in that metric) with each line representing 20%, reaching the outer rim (100th percentile) that represents the highest performing player(s) in that metric at Antwerp.

At the end of the Legends stage, b1t was the best player at the event. Finishing groups with a 1.43 Rating and 98.3 ADR, b1t powered Natus Vincere into playoffs with a 3-0 record. Though he could not maintain his superhuman 1.40+ form in playoffs, he still posted three maps (out of seven) above a 1.23 Rating against incredibly tough opposition.

Counter-Strike's resident headshot king was the highest rated (1.21) player of the entire event on T-sides, a stat that is not to be sniffed at given the increasingly CT-sided meta. In all of our radar chart's categories except opening kill rating b1t is in the top 20% of all players at the Major. He posted a 1.15+ Rating in 75% of maps at the Major, more than anyone else, sustaining a high level over a wide sample size.

It is easy to forget, given his consistency since stepping up to Natus Vincere's main team, that he is still just 19; s1mple may very well be right in predicting b1t to be a "future MVP of the Major."

s1mple may have not got his second Major trophy or MVP in Antwerp but he still had his impact, offering a multi-kill in 21.3% of rounds, an opening kill in 14%, and winning 4 clutches over the event. His 1.76 Rating against ENCE was the highlight, and a huge reason why he is second on this list.

Yet, it is impossible to ignore s1mple's 0.89 Rating in the grand final. Against the well-oiled machine that is karrigan's FaZe, s1mple went negative in all maps of a series in a Major for the first time since his 0-2 loss to prime Astralis in London four years ago. On Inferno, FaZe were even targeting him early in rounds to put a stop to his impactful rotations.

b1t did most of the heavy lifting in groups, and Natus Vincere were bailed out by electroNic in quarters (where Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller killed s1mple in opening duels 5 times, and stavn 4). Where b1t exceeded a 1.15 Rating on nine occasions (and 1.30 on five), s1mple only managed a 1.15+ Rating four times.

He still posted a 1.20 Rating (4th) and 0.81 KPR (2nd) overall, stats that might be career highlights for a regular player, but s1mple is no regular player; for the greatest of all time, anything below first is a disappointment.

Spinx has been the breakout star of 2022. After starring for ENCE at ESL Pro League Season 15 and the RMR there were huge expectations on the 21-year-old Israeli rifler. Remarkably, though, he exceeded expectations once again. Multi-killing more frequently than s1mple (at 23.7%) and adding opening kills (1.10 OpK Rating) to his game, not only was Spinx incredibly consistent he was versatile too.

His 1.68 Rating in ENCE's 16-8 thrashing of FaZe at the very start of the Legends stage was a signal of intent; Spinx followed that up with a 1.51 Rating against Outsiders, a 1.45 against Heroic on map 3 of that series, and a 1.47 Rating in the series against Copenhagen Flames — his stage debut.

It is a huge shame that ENCE will be without him at IEM Dallas, but it seems unlikely this is the last we will see of Spinx in this form.

Read more

Snax to step in for Spinx at IEM Dallas

These radar charts never flatter broky due to their use of opening kill rating, but his impact is still as obvious in a spreadsheet as an eye test: 0.10 flash assists per round, 0.74 KPR, and 0.57 DPR — and he actually had the highest K-D differential of the event (+62). He is one of the best combat AWPers in the world and fits into karrigan's system like a glove even if his IEM Katowice form might be a peak he doesn't hit too often.

At the Major — like always — broky stepped up when it mattered. A 1.28 Rating in the grand final was only bettered by MVP rain, whilst the Latvian recovered from a shaky opening two maps against NIP in his Major playoff debut to deliver a 1.30 Rating in map three to eliminate the Ninjas. A 1.49 Rating against Copenhagen Flames in groups was yet another reminder of broky's ability to go up a gear when the pressure is on.

It's hard to quantify 'clutch,' but if we had a metric a good way to check it was working would be if broky was near the top.

In stavn, Heroic possess Denmark's best player. His stunning 1.50 Rating against Vitality was a real coming-of-age moment, his 34 frags on the decider of Inferno ensuring the elimination of Danny "⁠zonic⁠" Sørensen, Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen, and Emil "⁠Magisk⁠" Reif.

Drawing their nemesis of Natus Vincere in the quarter-finals was a worst-case scenario for Heroic, but stavn still impressed, posting 22 kills (0.81 KPR) in their losses on Ancient and Nuke. Though he could not match the impact of his opposite number in electroNic, there were still many positives to take on an individual level from what is on paper another disappointing defeat on stage for stavn.

Like teammate broky, ropz did not quite match his MVP form from earlier this year as rain stole the show en route to FaZe's Major victory. The Estonian won't mind, though, and 1.60+ Ratings against Cloud9 on Nuke in groups and NIP on map three (Inferno) in the quarter-finals were a reminder of the heights ropz can hit.

Offering stable lurks, a solid secondary AWP, and remarkable consistency karrigan's decision to wait for ropz has been validated: He was the missing piece FaZe needed to overcome their Major hump.

electroNic is one of those players you know you can count on when it comes to LAN and stage play. A mediocre 1.00 Rating in the Legends stage was quickly forgotten as Natus Vincere's entry fragger tore Heroic to shreds in the quarter-final, nearly single-handedly. Posting 75 kills (the next highest was stavn with 60) and 102 ADR, electroNic came up big just as Heroic seemed to be conquering their demons on stage.

A solid performance against ENCE in semis gave way to a more disappointing one in the final against FaZe, with electroNic mustering just 19 kills (0.54 KPR) in the momentum-setting opener of Inferno. Despite that, his run of five consecutive maps with a Rating above 1.25 and peerless T-sided aggressive rifling at this Major was a reminder of just how good electroNic has been as s1mple's sidekick all these years — it is ridiculous to think that this might be his last event in black and yellow.

Last but not least, we have dycha, ENCE's second entry on this list. With a ridiculous 1.33 Rating on CT sides this event, dycha showed a new level to his form in Belgium. ENCE are known to shuffle around star roles depending on the map, so it would be a mistake to term dycha a support player, but 0.75 KPR from generally difficult positions is incredibly impressive.

Like everyone on ENCE, dycha could not withstand Natus Vincere in the semi-finals, but those two maps were his first below a 1.00 all tournament. In the aforementioned absence of Spinx at Dallas, ENCE are in dire need of a star — could dycha be that man?

Brollan was incredible in groups, but ultimately suffered in overall Rating because of four bad maps (albeit with two great ones) against Counter-Strike's two titans, Natus Vincere in groups and then FaZe in the Sportpaleis. His high-octane playstyle sees him in a lot of opening duels (likely the reason for his DPR of 0.70) and he wins a lot of them; his 0.17 opening kills per round is second only to MVP rain, as is his Impact rating of 1.32.

Despite those four bad maps (0.58, 0.96, 0.76, 0.95 Ratings), the fact that Brollan also posted 1.30 and 1.38 Ratings in NIP's map wins in those series show that the Swede is capable of aggressive play even against the best. To get higher in a list like this, though, more consistency was required.

However, that fact should not take too much away from Brollan. Against the toughest possible opposition, he still had his impact and was a cut above the rest in every other series. Overall, it was a very good Major debut.

Honourable mentions

Ilya "⁠Perfecto⁠" Zalutskiy impressed again, being perhaps the closest to an Exceptionally Valuable Player out of this list. His 75.6% KAST (tied 1st with b1t) is a pure example of how Natus Vincere's support player finds impact in nearly every round. It is exceptionally valuable to have a player as consistent as Perfecto, with him posting a 1.00+ Rating in 83.3% of maps at the Major. Yet, as high as his floor is Rating wise, a healthy chunk of that Rating comes from his KAST and 0.57 DPR — a 0.68 KPR is relatively unremarkable, even if we take his roles into account.

The other notable absences from this list are Spirit's trio of Abdul "⁠degster⁠" Gasanov, Pavel "⁠s1ren⁠" Ogloblin, and Robert "⁠Patsi⁠" Isyanov. For degster, his run of 7 maps with 1.00+ rating in best of threes was particularly impressive and he only misses out on an EVP because of a significant proportion of his impressive Rating coming thanks to his survival rating. Surviving in 20% of Spirit's lost rounds, degster was a perfect example of how to prioritise your life (and AWP) but his saving habits are very important context for his 1.16 Rating at the Major — something reflected in him only having 'okay' Impact ratings (1.03) and KPR (0.70).

Read more

rain claims PGL Major Antwerp MVP award

Patsi and s1ren also barely missed out, both players emerging from academies to stun the very best teams in the world on their international LAN — let alone Major — debut. s1ren's CT form was incredible in groups before a 1.52 Rating on Vertigo against FURIA on stage showcased his talent on both sides of the game. Ultimately, though, a 0.82 Rating on T-Side overall held him back from contention. One quirk of s1ren's performance at the Major was that he was Spirit's best fragger in round wins (1.07 KPRW), but their worst in round losses (0.26 KPRL), something that shows the impact of his fragging.

Patsi also performed better on CT-side (1.20 Rating to 0.97 Rating on T-side) but the real problem for him was his 0.92 Rating in the Champions stage. His raw and aggressive style was a joy to watch in the group stage but it is one where consistency can be hard to find, even for the likes of Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač and Kristian "⁠k0nfig⁠" Wienecke; Patsi befell the same fate.