HLTV Awards 2025 Results: Vitality's Historic Sweep, donk Dominates
Ceremony Date: January 10, 2026 - Sava Centar, Belgrade, Serbia
Voting Panel: 35 experts including on-air talent, HLTV editorial, and team representatives
HLTV officially announced the complete results of the 2025 Awards, drawing the final line under the Counter-Strike 2 season. The ceremony celebrated both expert-voted role awards and community-driven honors, with two dominant narratives emerging: Vitality's historic supremacy and donk's phenomenal rise.
The awards were structured into Panel Awards (voted by 35 experts) and Community Awards (decided by HLTV users), providing both professional evaluation and fan perspective on the 2025 season.
Expert Panel Awards
35 experts voted across specialized role categories, evaluating player performance throughout the 2025 season:
Opener of the Year
donk
175 voting points
Runners-up:
flameZ (59 pts), YEKINDAR (26 pts)
Closer of the Year
ropz
169 voting points
Runners-up:
KSCERATO (79 pts), frozen (29 pts)
Anchor of the Year
mezii
163 voting points
Runners-up:
HeavyGod (60 pts), b1t (35 pts)
AWPer of the Year
ZywOo
163 voting points
Runners-up:
m0NESY (91 pts), sh1ro (32 pts)
IGL of the Year
apEX
171 voting points
Runners-up:
FalleN (85 pts), bLitz (20 pts)
Coach of the Year
XTQZZZ
140 voting points
Runners-up:
maaRaa (50 pts), hally (35 pts)
Rookie of the Year
molodoy
Breakout AWPer for FURIA with 1.17 rating, ranked #6 in Top 20
Runners-up:
kyousuke (Falcons), makazze (NAVI)
Team of the Year
Vitality
Historic 9-trophy season including 2 Majors
Runners-up:
Spirit, MOUZ
All-Star Team 2025
Opener
donk
Closer
ropz
Anchor
mezii
AWPer
ZywOo
IGL
apEX
Coach
XTQZZZ
The All-Star lineup perfectly reflects Vitality's dominance with five representatives, plus donk as the only outsider—testament to both the team's supremacy and his individual brilliance.
Highlight of the Year
donk - 1v5 Clutch vs. Vitality
For the second consecutive year, donk claimed Highlight of the Year. His iconic 1v5 clutch against Vitality became the defining clip of 2025, instantly etched into Counter-Strike history with 133 voting points.
Runners-up: Twistzz Deagle 1v3 vs. NAVI (47 pts), ropz two-second ace vs. 3DMAX (39 pts)
Women's Awards
BIG EQUIPA and ASTRA claimed the women's awards, ending a three-year period of dominance by Imperial Valkyries and ANa:
Women's Team of the Year
BIG EQUIPA
Dominant late-season performance after August rebuild
Runners-up:
MIBR fe, FURIA fe
Women's Player of the Year
ASTRA
IGL with 1.20 rating, led BIG EQUIPA to Impact S8 title
Runners-up:
vicu (BIG EQUIPA), bizinha (FURIA fe)
Community Awards
HLTV community voted across five categories celebrating the CS2 ecosystem beyond professional play:
Talent of the Year
BanKs
Second consecutive win
Runners-up:
SPUNJ, Freya
Event of the Year
StarLadder Budapest Major 2025
Runners-up:
BLAST.tv Austin Major, IEM Cologne
Streamer of the Year
ohnePixel
Third consecutive win
Runners-up:
fl0m, Evelone192
Creator of the Year
dima_aimbots
Runners-up:
NadeKing, Virre
Skin of the Year
AWP | Printstream (JTPNZ)
First ever Skin of the Year winner
Runners-up:
Glock-18 | Shinobu, M4A4 | Full Throttle
Season Reflections
The HLTV Awards 2025 provided a comprehensive snapshot of the CS2 season. Vitality emerged as the benchmark team through unprecedented consistency and trophy collection, while donk cemented his status as the defining individual talent of the new generation. The ceremony recognized excellence across all aspects of Counter-Strike, from professional players to content creators and community figures.
With Vitality claiming five of six expert awards and donk standing alone as the only non-Vitality representative in the All-Star team, the 2025 season will be remembered for both team dominance and individual brilliance.
The HLTV Awards ceremony concluded the official recognition of the 2025 CS2 season. For more information about the awards and detailed category breakdowns, visit HLTV.org/awards.