A significant figure in Ilya's career is JACKZ, who helped him adapt to his first international team.
JACKZ gave me comfort. We both spoke poor English, maybe that's why we understood each other. He shared experiences not only in CS but also in life. For example, he said: "Sometimes it's better to play four quality games than ten in a row without a break
The first major tournaments were tough for him, especially emotionally.
I just walked onto the stage in Katowice — and that's it. First game, huge arena. I didn't understand what was happening, stress, tension. XTQZZZ came to the room and said: “Don’t overthink it, play your game, everything will be fine
The BLAST Premier World Final 2022 in Abu Dhabi was special — his first MVP and family support.
HooXi was going through a tough personal situation, but he stayed, played until the end, and fought. We won, and it was my first MVP. For the first time, my family was at the tournament — and they saw me lift the trophy
Despite criticism of HooXi in the community, m0NESY considers him a top teammate and very hardworking.
HooXi is the most hardworking person I've played with! I've never seen anyone work so much. He could stay up until 3 AM to prepare counter-strategies and gather info for the team
Towards the end of 2023, Ilya could have joined Cloud9, but they couldn't reach an agreement with G2.
My dream was the NAVI 2021 team. Me, b1t, electroNic, Perfecto, and Boombl4. Without s1mple, I took the AWP from him. Cloud9 wanted to take me, but they couldn't agree with G2. Now I don't regret it — I'm glad I stayed with G2 then
After the PGL Bucharest final, where G2 lost to Falcons, it became clear: m0NESY ended a three-year chapter with G2 and starts a new one — with Falcons and his main ally NiKo.
When NiKo left, it was hard to understand how we would even play defense. He was like a caretaker — telling us where to move and what decisions to make. Without him, we couldn't find our game and identity
The move to Falcons almost happened last winter, but the clubs couldn't agree. Now everything has come together perfectly.
When I looked at other options, there was only one team I really wanted — Falcons. Playing with NiKo was important to me. I believe we can win many tournaments together and finally give him that major
The farewell with NiKo was very emotional, but the defeat at the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 also affected emotions.
Everyone started crying on stage when we lost. And when we got to the hotel... I just stood there for ten seconds, tears in my eyes. Someone tried to hug me, support me, but I just went to my room. And for the next 3-4 hours, I just sat there and cried — I couldn't believe it
The most difficult for m0NESY was performing in Shanghai.
I don't even know what was happening to me at the major in Shanghai. I had no confidence at all. Constantly thinking about something, overthinking
NiKo had a significant influence on Ilya's development. As everyone already knows, Ilya and Nikola are something incredible.
I don't like watching demos myself. And NiKo said: “Bro, go watch the demo. Stop playing FACEIT, you're just a nerd. Review where you made mistakes.” He really pushed me to develop
In terms of coaching, m0NESY looks up to two main figures.
NAVI has a strict structure, B1ad3 has set everything up perfectly. And in the NAVI Junior academy, I said I wanted to work with zonic. And now I have that opportunity
m0NESY also admitted that at the start of his career, he tried to emulate the CS legend s1mple, but then realized he needed to build his own path.
During the NAVI Junior days, I admired s1mple a lot. He did incredible things. I tried to repeat them, but then realized you shouldn't be like someone else — you should build yourself. A rookie mistake, so to speak
m0NESY will debut at IEM Melbourne 2025, which will start on April 21 and run until April 27. The tournament's prize pool is $300,000. You can follow the tournament's progress via this link.
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