Counter-Strike 2 analyst Alex "Mauisnake" Ellenburg has released an updated version of his top 20 professional players ranking for 2026, following the wrap-up of IEM Cologne Major 2026. He shared his latest rankings on his personal X account.
The updated list features Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut at the number one position, followed by Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov in second place and Danil "donk" Kryshkovets securing the third spot. Shahar "flameZ" Shushan and Dmitry "sh1ro" Sokolov round out the top five.
The remainder of the top 10 includes Maxim "kyousuke" Lukin, Robin "ropz" Kool, Nikola "NiKo" Kovač, Kaike "KSCERATO" Cerato, and Igor "w0nderful" Zhdanov. Notable names in positions 11-20 include Valeriy "b1t" Vakhovskyi, Danil "molodoy" Golubenko, Drin "makazze" Shakiri, Ali "Wicadia" Haydar Yalçın, Nikita "HeavyGod" Martynenko, Usukhbayar "910" Banzragch, Dorian "xertioN" Berman, Marek "YEKINDAR" Galiniskis, Viktor "Staehr" Staehr, and Bruno "latto" Rebelatto.
Mauisnake has previously published several iterations of his 2026 player rankings, evaluating competitors across different segments of the season. His methodology involves comparing individual performance metrics at various tournament stages while factoring in additional criteria.
The IEM Cologne Major 2026 took place from June 2-21 in Germany, featuring a prize pool of $1.25 million. Team Falcons emerged as champions after defeating FURIA Esports in the grand final, with m0NESY earning the MVP award for his outstanding performance throughout the tournament.
