What makes donk so good at CS2? | Our analysis

At the moment, there’s only one name on the lips of every CS2 fan – donk. After becoming the youngest-ever player to win IEM Katowice and tournament MVP on his first attempt, 17-year-old donk has the Counter-Strike community dazzled, with his aggro “Hold W” playstyle allowing him to put up possibly the best Tier 1 LAN performance of all time.

But what exactly is it about donk that makes him so good at CS2? We’re taking a look at how he plays, to see just what makes him arguably the most exciting talent of all time.

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God-like gamesense

If we showed you a donk demo, you might assume he’s cheating. Now that he’s done it on LAN, there’s absolutely no doubt about it – donk’s gamesense is the real deal. He seems to have a cerebral understanding of how Counter-Strike works, with perfect timing in almost every situation. It’s not a skill easily taught. For most, you either have it or you don’t. In donk’s case, he just gets a feeling for a situation, and acts on an intuition that is usually correct. Take a look at this moment from the Grand Final of IEM Katowice 2024:

The ability of donk to gain an advantage for his team from nothing is almost unmatched. His two kills through the smoke with no information aren’t down to luck – he knows they can be there, and whereabouts they should be if they are there. Importantly, he trusts his gut and takes the chance to shoot in the moment. That’s not luck – that’s gamesense. This is the factor that will really stop teams from countering donk in the future – the ability to adapt to any mid-round situation.

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Perfect aim and spray control

At its core, Counter-Strike 2 is a game about shooting enemies in the head. Over the years, the stratbooks have been fattened by teams looking for every competitive edge possible, but when all is said and done, games are won and lost by the ability to effectively dispatch opponents. In this, donk is second to none. He’s a master of the fundamentals, with perfect crosshair placement and remarkable spray control. This clip from the Grand Final maybe shows it best:

Sure, FaZe are on eco, but as they charge donk down, he shows no nerves to gun down everyone that faces him. It’s too easy, as if recoil doesn’t even exist for donk. His command over this area of the game allows for one more interesting factor – his positioning.

Generally, donk isn’t a player who abuses dirty angles to get his kills. It’s quite the opposite, in fact. Because his mechanics are as close to perfect as you could hope for, you’ll often find donk wide in the open, taking any gunfight possible. It’s truly gung-ho Counter-Strike, allowing him to take positions most would consider poor due to his god-like mechanics.

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No fear about subverting the meta

In his early matches, donk has been hailed as the “CEO of Hold W Gaming,” and with good reason. This kid just doesn’t stop. No matter the situation, donk is quite happy to run you down at the start of the round and test your aim. And guess what? Because he can use his gamesense to find a timing and believes in his own ability to out-aim his opponent, most aren’t expecting it! This clip from Nuke is a great example:

It’s the start of the round, and FaZe are trying to establish presence outside on Nuke. Rather than allowing that, donk pushes instead, catching three players off-guard. Even after killing the first two, it takes more pushing forward for donk to finish the triple-kill. For this phenomenon, holding W is the key to success.

In competitive CS2 at the moment, the meta is based on slow, methodical play. Actions, followed by reactions. But donk doesn’t care for that – he’ll go in fast and first, putting an end to rounds that have barely even begun. Because of this, donk is a player who dies a lot, yet it never deters his unwavering self-belief. Such lack of ego is rare in a young player, and should make a great teammate for years to come.

Hindsight is a funny thing. The idea that donk would be nerfed by recent changes to peeker’s advantage in CS2, as well as his adaptation to the big stage, were very real worries, and the fact he actually performed better after these were floated is ludicrous.

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Belief from his team

If there’s one thing that really defines this Spirit roster, it’s a limitless belief in one another, no matter the situation. It seems like a complete “no bad ideas” environment, as long as they do everything together, giving 100%. This allows them to turn plays that seem impossible on the surface into round-winners. Take this clip, for example:

Naturally, as the star player, donk benefits massively from this attitude. When you have a player as in tune with the game as donk, “no” simply isn’t in your vocabulary. If he wants to run mid on pistol round on Mirage full-aggro, Spirit IGL chopper is never going to disagree if donk can make it work. In the clip above, he makes it work by killing three pushing mid on CT-side. A worse player dies and gives FaZe the advantage – donk effectively ends the round.

That’s all on donk for now. The excitement for this player is like nothing ever seen before, and we can’t wait to see where his ceiling truly is. He’s next in action at the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 European RMR B, kicking off on February 19th. Will donk be at the first-ever CS Major? Tune in soon to find out!