BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 11. Kazakh Counter-Strike 2 player Danil Golubenko, known in the esports community as “molodoy,” has been named Rookie of the Year by statistics portal HLTV, TurkicWorld reports via Qazinform.
The award was presented at the HLTV Awards 2025 ceremony in Belgrade. HLTV noted Golubenko’s rapid progress and consistent individual performance throughout the year, which set him apart from other emerging players.
“Molodoy had a breakthrough in 2025 after his signing for FURIA in April. He averaged a 1.17 rating across the year (1.14 in FURIA) and helped his team secure titles at FISSURE Playground 2, Thunderpick World Championship, IEM Chengdu, and BLAST Rivals S2. The youngster also took home the MVP awards at two of those tournaments, namely FISSURE Playground 2 and IEM Chengdu, EVP awards at IEM Cologne and Thunderpick World Championship, and placed No. 6 in HLTV’s Top 20 Players of the Year list,” the organisation said.
The ceremony also marked Golubenko’s 21st birthday, which he said made the achievement especially meaningful.
“Top 6 and Rookie of the Year in my very first year is something to strive for, especially when it all happens on my birthday,” molodoy wrote in a social media post.
