Top 20 players of 2022: ropz (8)

Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool makes a third top 10 appearance on the HLTV Top 20, powered by 1xBet, thanks to strong performances in big matches with little-to-no drop-off against the very best opposition.

Top 20 players of 2022: Introduction

ropz shot to fame in 2016, working up FACEIT's ELO ladder to eventually top FPL-C and earn a chance in the big leagues, the invite-only FPL. Having only played a few regional LANs and aged just 16, the Estonian's ability to dominate games led to suspicion from some established names, suspicion that only went away after he flew to London in March of 2017 to play at FACEIT's office without his own equipment.

Once his name was cleared, it was apparent that his career was about to take off. He joined MOUZ in April, and victory at ESG Tour Mykonos in September provided proof of concept for the new lineup. The international combine then won their first Big Event at StarSeries i-League Season 4 shortly into 2018. Eager to add more titles, Martin "⁠STYKO⁠" Styk was removed for Janusz "⁠Snax⁠" Pogorzelski, a move that came under question as results suffered. Disaster struck at the FACEIT Major London, where MOUZ went home in 15-16th place.

For more of ropz's early career, see his previous top 20 appearances:
- Top 20 players of 2018: ropz (19)
- Top 20 players of 2019: ropz (10)
- Top 20 players of 2020: ropz (7)
- Top 20 players of 2021: ropz (18)

Their fortunes, however, reversed at ESL One New York just a few weeks later. MOUZ rallied to win the entire event to hand ropz his second Big Event trophy, one he got to lift in front of his mother and grandmother. Yet, ESL One New York proved to be the anomaly, a flash in the pan rather than a new dawn.

Even once STYKO returned in place of Snax, something was wrong. MOUZ bombed out of the European Minor qualifier for the IEM Katowice Major, and the lineup soon collapsed. With it, however, came ropz's evolution into a true star player. Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen, Özgür "⁠woxic⁠" Eker and David "⁠frozen⁠" Čerňanský came in, with ropz given more freedom in a new system.

The new team took time to click, but once it did ropz was better than ever. He ended the year with 5 EVPs and 1 MVP, as MOUZ won 3 titles to close the year as the number two team in the world. The biggest win was at ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals, where MOUZ eliminated the mighty Astralis before sweeping fnatic 3-0 in the grand final. It was ropz's first MVP, a 1.39 rating in that grand final cementing his highest individual peak to date.

In 2020, ropz completed his transition to a superstar player. He finished two thirds of 2020's events as MOUZ' highest-rated player, pushing him to #7 on our Top 20 despite MOUZ dropping off from their late-2019 peak. The pandemic was blamed for loss of motivation within the MOUZ camp, but the "robotic" ropz had no troubles and continued to post strong numbers throughout.

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Why the ropz reunion is karrigan's endgame

2021 was a similar story, of individual excellence for ropz that rarely translated to team success. karrigan departed in February, and many expected ropz to soon follow. But, the Estonian lingered in MOUZ, even as results dipped further. Finally, just after Christmas, ropz got his move: He would re-unite with karrigan in FaZe for 2022, the Call of Duty clan he had applied for in 2014 in his trick-shotting youth. It was a match made in heaven, and 2022 would prove as much.

"It was definitely a very strange feeling to leave MOUZ, being part of an organisation for such a long time is special. While there were many roster changes, having the same routine around the same general group of people makes you feel very comfortable. In that sense this was definitely a step outside my comfort zone and taking on a new challenge. It’s obviously a nice feeling when a team like FaZe was waiting for me to take that step, making it way less stressful. May not seem like it, but I was still a teenager when I joined MOUZ and the team really grew on me as I got older, it’s almost like becoming an adult and moving out of your parents house."

"karrigan was definitely one of the key factors in me joining FaZe. A lot of international teams are struggling to find an IGL. You can put the stars together, but someone needs to take the lead and make it work. Having him definitely gives the team a certain direction to go for and eventually you know there will be results. Every player in this roster is of superstar calibre whether in general or in their specific role. Having these guys alongside me also made me very motivated to join FaZe. "

An impressive 1.26 rating in the online BLAST Premier Spring Groups to open his account for 2022 whetted appetites for the new FaZe, but ropz's positive COVID test threatened to undermine his debut. He sat out the first few matches of IEM Katowice, with Justin "⁠jks⁠" Savage standing in, but returned for the last few group matches and playoffs.

"Coming into a new team means getting new teammates who are complete strangers in a way. But I felt very welcomed and within a month I knew we had a good click. Right now it feels like we’ve been playing together for years. The chemistry between us is incredibly good. I’ve had a similar feeling maybe once or twice in my career, where you have a really strong bond with a certain player or two. Here I definitely share that feeling with everyone on the team and it really boosts the overall performance and confidence.

"You can never play perfect all the time, but more often than not, we aren’t scared to make the right plays or give each other the right amount of space in order to win. We’re pretty good at reading each other's thoughts whether it’s inside or outside the game. Having a good mood really sets the tone for the whole environment. All the while being successful, it’s the perfect combination. This isn’t going to last forever so we cannot take it for granted. Right now we are still living it so we are going to work hard to make the most out of it."

Struggles in a 1-2 defeat to Natus Vincere exposed his rustiness, but by the time playoffs arrived — with jks standing in once more, this time for Håvard "⁠rain⁠" Nygaard — ropz could not afford anything less than perfection. FaZe's run started against Gambit, where Helvijs "⁠broky⁠" Saukants and ropz both stood out in a sign of things to come. Heroic were next, another team powerless in the face of ropz (1.46 rating) and broky (1.58).

G2 awaited in the final, fresh off eliminating Natus Vincere. It was a highly-anticipated battle, between two recently assembled international 'superteams' built to win elite events. Inferno kicked off proceedings, with ropz delivering one of the highlights of the year at 14-15 to take the match to overtime.

FaZe converted that overtime into a map one victory but another overtime followed on Mirage, a 58-round brawl that pushed FaZe to the limit only for them to emerge unscathed once again. Dust2 was close too, a 16-14 win powered once again by the now familiar late-round duo of ropz and broky. It was ropz's first EVP of the year, and a strong one too — despite missing half the tournament.

"The first month was shocking at first when I got COVID and had to potentially miss out on Katowice. But once I was healthy again and we turned the world upside down by winning with a stand-in was even more shocking. I was definitely in disbelief, it was very refreshing to win some of the biggest trophies again. Indeed reaching #1 was a long-time goal personally, I think I was #2 many times with MOUZ. It was a great boost in confidence for the whole team and made me even closer with everyone. After a few months it felt as if we had played together for years."

karrigan's masterplan was laid out for all to see: He had built a team with unparalleled ability in the clutch, centred around late-round specialists in Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken, broky, and ropz with a re-invigorated rain as a high-impact X-factor. They ended the year with a 31.8% win-rate in 4v5 situations, the highest of anyone. It was a team built for big moments, designed to stand tall when others would crumble. IEM Katowice was just the beginning.

FaZe came into ESL Pro League Season 15 on shaky ground, losing their first two series to ENCE and Outsiders. The pressure was on, but nobody was surprised when they rose to it, winning their next three matches to secure a playoff berth.

Their playoff run was set, but it was a true gauntlet. Players were seen off as in Katowice, setting up a quarter-final against the team FaZe were looking to topple as the best team in the world: Natus Vincere. And, topple they did. FaZe ran out convincing winners, storming past FURIA in semi-finals and exposing ENCE's inexperience in the grand final.

ropz left Düsseldorf with his second career MVP, showing up in spades once again with a 1.21 playoff rating and a kill-death differential of +102 over 23 maps. Already, a pattern of high ratings in playoffs was emerging, a statline that was key to his placing this far up the list.

ropz, just a few months into his time with FaZe, had already achieved everything he had yearned for during his struggles in MOUZ. FaZe were the number one team in the world; he had won as many big events in four months as in the previous three years. He was relied on less, but that was for the better — his lurks had more impact, used to disrupt rotations rather than to pad stats after the round had already been lost.

"I never considered myself as the star in MOUZ, just purely on the fact lurkers aren’t the main-stars in modern CS. But obviously statistically I was indeed the best player on MOUZ for a few years. I think in the current era, if you’re an awper, your potential and ceiling can be so much higher than any other role. Being a lurker offers a little more stable gameplay and I can constantly perform at the same level."

"The shared light is probably how you want your team to be ideally, everyone has chances to step up when someone feels off. Relying on one person sometimes can be tough, except when you have s1mple or ZywOo. Anyways this is how I prefer it to be, in my role I would always like to be the 2nd or 3rd star and always able to step up when the moment allows. This is way more consistent in terms of the bigger picture, giving more options to win matches and tournaments."

One prize was left on his bucket list: A Major title. FaZe went into PGL Major Antwerp as favourites, but it was not a formality. Natus Vincere could have regained their 2021 form at any point, and a 3-0 record in the Legends stage only stoked those fears for FaZe. A 3-1 record for themselves in groups left them with a quarter-final against Ninjas in Pyjamas, where ropz top-fragged with a 1.17 rating.

An even sterner test came in the semi-final, against the breakout team of the event in Spirit. Abdul "⁠degster⁠" Gasanov and Robert "⁠Patsi⁠" Isyanov were in electric form, making a grand final berth far from a guarantee for FaZe. So it proved, too, with FaZe edging Mirage 16-13 before a prolonged overtime battle on Dust2.

A 1v4 clutch from Boris "⁠magixx⁠" Vorobiev in round 40 would have buried lesser teams, but FaZe — just like in Katowice — proved they were made of sterner stuff by taking it by 25 to 23. On the other side of the bracket, Natus Vincere had pushed past Heroic and ENCE to join FaZe in the final.

It was winners take all, a fight to cement the new reality FaZe had carved out in Düsseldorf and Katowice. rain made sure they did just that — leaving ropz in the second string, with only a lower tier EVP. He didn't mind, though.

"The best memory [of 2022] would be an easy one, winning the Antwerp Major. That one will forever remain engraved in our minds, it’s the most important tournament in Counter-Strike."

FaZe's ascension was complete. They had won all three of 2022's Big Events, including a Major, and had already carved out a reputation for themselves as one of the most clutch teams ever. When the going got tough, FaZe did not stumble, instead elevating themselves to a whole new level.

But, there were questions. Their ability to win close matches on stage was their greatest strength, but came with uncertainty around just how dominant they really were. The last two era-defining teams had been Natus Vincere and Astralis, frontrunners who left opponents feeling like they never had a chance. FaZe were a different beast.

"Our clutch factor comes down to the system and nature of players for sure. Mostly it’s karrigan and rain finding an opening, and letting the rest of us to finish up the round. It’s easy to do it when we get the openings. But I think a key would be that we manage to win a lot of “impossible” rounds. Rounds where we are in a 3v5, 2v5 etc, you name it. Me, broky and Twistzz are very good at closing out rounds and it’s amplified by the fact that it’s mostly us alive in late rounds and we can work together."

"Another factor may be that there’s quite a few new players in the scene, who got to the top during COVID. So now when we are back to big arenas, I feel we definitely have the upper hand in experience against most teams. We have been playing in arenas for years and we are playing at our peaks."

For their detractors, the events after the Major confirmed this narrative of FaZe being clutch rather than dominant: FaZe lost their first arena match of the year at IEM Dallas to an astounding Sergey "⁠Ax1Le⁠" Rykhtorov performance. Subsuquent losses to G2 and Natus Vincere — now with Viktor "⁠sdy⁠" Orudzhev in place of Kirill "⁠Boombl4⁠" Mikhailov — meant they did not even see an arena in Lisbon for BLAST Premier Spring Final, not even getting a chance to use their advantage on stage.

This meant that FaZe went into IEM Cologne with question marks for the first time in their short time together. Natus Vincere had gone on to win in Lisbon, and even overtook FaZe on the world rankings as event decay set in. ropz and company had a point to prove, and wasted no time doing so. They moved into the grand final without dropping a single map. No overtimes, no nailbiters: Just the best team in the world asserting their dominance. In the grand final, however, Natus Vincere were waiting.

"NAVI was the toughest team to play against in 2022, they have really strong individuals. I always felt it was going to be a hard match every time we played them. Truthfully I never felt we had an edge against them before a game, but whenever we won, we played well that day and it was almost always a close match. Hard to point out what exactly made us better. For them the situation in Ukraine is obviously very distracting, I can't imagine what it feels like. But regardless, they were the best for a long time for a reason, those victories were very tough to get."

It required a vintage FaZe performance to move past them. Five thrilling maps of CS ensued, as two titans of the scene gave their all. ropz had his moment on map four, Mirage, with a 1.50 rating but all ten players in the server had their moments. On the decider of Nuke, ropz was once again a crucial cog but not the defining factor. Instead it was karrigan's calling and Twistzz 'Canada' Silo-to-Mini strategy that gave FaZe two consecutive rounds at 14-14 to win one of the best finals of all time.

FaZe went into the summer break secure as the best team in the world, an era all but secured. Yet, they did so without a Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev or Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut — rain, broky and ropz had an MVP each with Twistzz just falling short in IEM Cologne. It was a different type of dominance, but it was dominance all the same. After just six months together, they were one event away from an Intel Grand Slam, and on a quest to become the first ever team to win all four prestige events of the year (Both Majors, Katowice, and Cologne).

"The most satisfying win for me was probably Cologne. Antwerp is obviously up there and I could make it a tie. But the storyline difference in Cologne is key, we had a few tournaments where we played badly after Antwerp and it was important to finish off the season good. One of the most exhausting seasons of CS, going deep in almost every tournament and then going into Cologne where we had to play a BO5 against NaVi, it went all the way."

"We won, and the day after it was the summer break. Probably the best feeling in a break ever. I felt exhausted and overworked going into Cologne, I had spent so many hours training and trying to find ways to become better. For the second season I decided to be a bit less intensive and that definitely helped me. Having a good balance is important."

The next test for FaZe was to survive the summer break, to avoid the graveyard of number one teams that returned from holiday unable to find their form again. At ESL Pro League, a familiar foe returned to push FaZe closer to that reality: Ax1Le put up a 1.54 rating over three maps as Cloud9 once again got one over FaZe in the quarter-finals. The Grand Slam would have to wait.

Still, it was a defeat FaZe could write off. It was not a big arena event, and anyone could lose to Ax1Le in that form. At the IEM Rio Major, there was hope that FaZe — like they did in Cologne — could shrug off a defeat at a lower-tier tournament and still dominate the biggest events.

Even their most pessimistic fans could not predict what was next. Two best-of-one losses to Cloud9 and Vitality left FaZe staring down the barrel of elimination. In one of the biggest upsets of all time, Bad News Eagles pulled the trigger, despite a 1.27 series rating from ropz. FaZe went home 0 and 3, another chance at an Intel Grand Slam squandered.

"To me, going out of Rio left me very confused. I really felt we prepared well and were heading for a deep run. I’d mostly just put it as coincidence. Looking back, the only thing I saw affecting our performance was flying to Rio just 2 days before the BO1’s. I honestly have 0 memory of the Vitality game, it feels like we weren’t even there. Suddenly we’re 0-2 and we are in a bit of a shock. It was definitely an advantage for the teams who were already in Rio before us. I think there might be a trend of going to tournaments early in the future, especially where you have to travel long distances. I’ve already seen a few teams do it."

"Also playing best-of-ones against top teams is a coin flip. This is competition we are talking about and everyone is beatable in CS. We had a really good bootcamp where everyone was super focused, maybe a day or two too long, but the results were great. Our form felt good too. We had set plans to go for Vertigo, and definitely had a chance to close the game against BNE, but just let it slip away."

BLAST Premier Fall Final was a chance for redemption, with FaZe making quick work of OG and Heroic in groups to qualify for the semi-finals in the Royal Arena. At this point in the year, FaZe had only lost two best-of-threes all year in front of a crowd: both to Cloud9, first at Dallas and then in Malta for ESL Pro League. Having overcome their group stage struggles, FaZe were back in their comfort zone — the flashing lights and rumbling roar of a packed arena.

FaZe saw off Ninjas in Pyjamas in the semi-finals to book a final against Heroic. The Danes, though, managed what Natus Vincere could not. defeating FaZe in an arena final. Mirage, map three, was a map you would have bet your house on FaZe winning earlier in 2022. A tight affair, it went to overtime and after Jakob "⁠jabbi⁠" Nygaard handed broky a 1v1 clutch unnecessarily FaZe could have ran away with it. Instead, they faltered, losing in overtime — though ropz's strong playoff performances handed him his 4th EVP of the year.

"The Mirage game in the finals against Heroic we definitely could’ve won. There’s 1 or 2 rounds which make all the difference, where we have an advantage and an idea how to close it out, but we make a few crucial mistakes. Watching it back to fix mistakes, sometimes there’s no need for a discussion, it’s clear as day that you shouldn’t have done it and just have to move on. In the moment it might’ve been bad comms or bad understanding which lead to it."

"I don’t think there was much difference when compared to the first season we had. It could’ve easily been a victory, it came down to the wire and it’s just proof we are not superhuman. We can lose a grand final too. I’m glad that was the final we lost, all the others meant more in the grander scheme of things."

The last event of the year was BLAST Premier World Final where FaZe, fighting to recover their #1 berth, once again made it to the arena. But, they would once again lose in a close affair, ending their year ended in disappointment. For ropz too, it was a struggle as he posted his only sub-1.00 playoff rating of the year. The start of 2022 means they are already enshrined in the hall of fame, up there with the very best in history, but it could have been so much more.

For ropz, they are "top ten [of all time] for sure, maybe fifth or sixth. Some lineups have been better in their time for sure, going from recent - NAVI, Astralis, SK/LG, fnatic, maybe Liquid. We have a good case to rank after those mentioned." Unlike those other teams, though, FaZe can still extend their history. They are one trophy away from a Grand Slam, and have the talent to restart their era. Should they do so, there is no doubt that ropz will be a huge factor.

"My goal for next year is definitely to win the grand slam, our chances are pretty good. It won’t be easy, everyone is in good shape and by now people know how we like to play. Other than that, we definitely want to get back to #1."

"Individually I would like to maintain the level I’ve reached, I answered this question the same way a few years back in one of the top 20 articles. I think I’ve done a pretty good job at it so far and my wish is to keep going. It’s always possible to climb even higher as an individual, but when the time is right, it will come naturally."

Why was ropz the 8th best player of 2022?

ropz's MVP and four EVPs were crucial to him making this list, offering an EVP or higher in FaZe's five best events of the year. There was also several near misses for EVPs at Dallas, ESL Pro League Season 16, and BLAST World Final. Like every player around this part of the ranking, he possessed an exceptional floor with BLAST Premier Spring Final the only blot on an otherwise bright green résumé.

What made him stand out above those around him was his remarkable ability to maintain his level no matter the stage or opposition. His overall rating for the year was 1.14, and his rating against top 5 opposition (over a solid 41 maps) was the same: 1.14. In big matches, it was 1.13 — just 1% lower than his average, with 1.11 in elite playoffs.

This stood out in comparison to Martin "⁠stavn⁠" Lund, whose numbers drop off significantly against top five teams, and against Kaike "⁠KSCERATO⁠" Cerato who struggled all year in playoffs aside from at the IEM Rio Major.

Overall though, ropz did not have quite as strong peaks as the players above him. His MVP was still part of a team effort, and he lacked the visceral impact of those left above him in the list, meaning 8th was as high as he could go.

Bold Prediction by 1xBet

ropz joins Twistzz in going against the Daniil "⁠headtr1ck⁠" Valitov bold prediction meta, opting for a different Ukrainian AWPer in the form of B8's Artem "⁠r1nkle⁠" Moroz. With a 1.19 rating in 2022, r1nkle is yet another talent to emerge out of Eastern Europe in the last few years.

B8 did make it to the IEM Rio RMR, where r1nkle's rating suffered in his LAN debut. If FaZe's practices are anything to go off, however, there is a stream of untapped potential in the 18-year-old and his B8 teammates.

"I would give my bold prediction to r1nkle. This guy has a bright future when he gets the right chance. We played them a lot in practice in 2022 and they sometimes destroyed us. We developed some kind of personal vendetta against them in the end, that we tried our best to win against these youngsters who were playing like 2018 Astralis."

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Stay tuned to our Top 20 players of 2022 ranking and take a look at the Introduction article to learn more about how the players were selected.