sh1ro lands #5; records 5th consecutive HLTV Top 20 entry

Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov has finished 2025 ranked #5 in HLTV’s Top 20, making it five straight years that his name has appeared among Counter-Strike’s very best. In a season dominated by louder stars and flashier highlights, sh1ro once again did what he’s always done- showed up, stayed reliable, and quietly delivered from start to finish.

sh1ro’s rise to the top began with Gambit in 2021, where two years in the academy setup laid the foundation for his breakout at the highest level. While LAN conditions and roster instability slowed Gambit down in the years that followed, sh1ro’s individual level rarely dipped. A short-lived stint with Cloud9 in 2023 failed to produce silverware, but the move to Spirit would prove to be the turning point in his career.

sh1ro has never been the loudest voice in the server or the most aggressive presence on the map. Instead, his value has always come from stability. With Spirit, that role became even more important. Paired alongside donk, sh1ro became the steady backbone of Spirit’s system. His calm, positional AWPing allowed his teammates freedom to play aggressively, and the duo quickly formed one of the most effective partnerships in Counter-Strike. Spirit opened 2025 in dominant fashion, lifting BLAST Bounty Season 1 before following it up with a deep run at IEM Katowice.

Spirit’s 2025 campaign started exactly how they would have hoped. They stormed through BLAST Bounty Season 1 and carried that momentum into the early part of the year, picking up trophies and consistently finding themselves deep in playoffs. While donk often stole the spotlight, sh1ro was right there every step of the way, anchoring rounds, locking down bombsites, and closing out games when the pressure peaked.

Even when Spirit hit turbulence mid-season, sh1ro rarely disappeared. Losses at big events and roster changes forced the team into uncomfortable territory, but the Russian AWPer remained the one constant. Whether Spirit were lifting trophies at PGL Astana and IEM Cologne or grinding through tougher losses at the Austin Major and Esports World Cup, sh1ro’s level stayed largely intact. sh1ro never posted a rating below 1.00 at any event throughout the year.

Spirit found their strongest form late in the year at IEM Cologne, where they went on an undefeated run to lift the trophy. sh1ro played a crucial role throughout the event, posting another EVP-worthy showing and helping Spirit overcome several of their long-standing rivals. The season concluded with a deep run at the StarLadder Budapest Major. sh1ro once again proved dependable on the biggest stage, earning his sixth EVP of the year before Spirit’s campaign ended in the semi-finals against Vitality.

sh1ro’s most defining EVP run of the year came right at the start of the season during Spirit’s BLAST Bounty Season 1 triumph. In the grand final, Spirit conceded Anubis despite sh1ro opening the series with a strong 1.48 rating, setting the tone in a losing effort. With Spirit on the brink and donk struggling to find impact, sh1ro took control of the series on Nuke, dragging his team back with a dominant 1.71 rating performance to keep the final alive. That stability allowed donk the space to recover on Dust2, where the youngster exploded with a colossal 2.77 rating to level the series. In the deciding map, sh1ro once again led from the front, topping the server with a clinical 1.92 rating and a 24-8 K-D on Dust2 as Spirit closed out the final and lifted their first trophy of 2025.

Throughout 2025, sh1ro bagged EVP(6) nods at BLAST Bounty Season 1, BLAST Open Lisbon, PGL Astana, IEM Cologne, BLAST Bounty Season 2 and the StarLadder Budapest 2025 Major. The Russian AWP also appears at the top end of several statistics with a 1.19 Big Event rating (#4), 26.8% rounds with an AWP kill (#2), 46.2% survival rate (#1), 1.20 rating (#4), 68.3% opening kill success (#2) and a 1.22 T-side rating (#4). sh1ro's consistency throughout the year nets him his fifth HLTV Top 20 entry and his third appearance in the Top 5. The Russian star closed 2025 with title wins at BLAST Bounty Season 1, PGL Astana, IEM Cologne and BLAST Bounty Season 2 while narrowly missing out on a title win at IEM Katowice.