Xelex jumps to fourth in June Prospects ahead of Cologne

Adrian “xelex” Vincze moved from 17th to 4th in the June Prospects ranking after making his main MOUZ debut, the update published in late June shows. The ranking lists young players based on recent official and LAN results ahead of the Cologne Major.

Nikita “tenzy” Kochenyuk and Andrey “AW” Anisimov each climbed nine places since early May following strong performances at PGL Astana. Abdurakhim “mo0N” Issa returned to the top 50, joining tenzy and AW among the season’s notable risers. Vladislav “lattykk” Vydrin and David “Dawy” Bibik advanced after LAN appearances and monthly ratings above 1.18.

The June list added several first-time entries. B8’s 16-year-old Danylo “s1zzi” Vinnyk entered after playing at IEM Rio and PGL Astana. Roman “n0te” Hamze of Young Ninjas appears at 50th with a 1.21 rating across 30 maps in the past month, representing a Western European presence in the ranking.

Some players dropped positions. Vladislav “xiELO” Lysov and Emil “nota” Moskvitin slid following poor results at the Central Asian Championship. Nikita “cmtry” Samolotov and Anarbileg “cobrazera” Uuganbayar lost places, Jan “cej0t” Dyl was benched by 9INE, and Lukas “Beccie” Bauder Balcells posted weak results in Prague with Sashi.

The update included an analytical comparison of players’ maximum FACEIT ELO, taken from the end of FACEIT Season 7 or Season 8 on May 26, and unadjusted ratings in official matches over the last six months. The analysis reports a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.22 between FACEIT ELO and official-match rating.

Specific cases cited in the analysis include Daniil “qw1nk1” Kabilov, who reached 4043 FACEIT ELO and recorded a 1.12 rating against top teams at PGL Astana, and Daniel “syph0” Ageyev, who passed 4500 FACEIT ELO while playing for Nemiga. Liam “MaiL09” Tügel appears in the top-right of the chart as a player converting matchmaking success into competitive results. Players who play little FACEIT, such as Su “Zero” Jingshen, appear lower on the FACEIT axis.

A new monthly mini-segment identifies prospects suited to higher-level teams by grouping players by playstyle rather than fixed roles. The segment divides prospects into aggressive riflers, passive riflers, and AWPers and excludes players unlikely to change organizations in the short term or those already on tier-one squads.

The ranking’s methodology combines weighted ratings against top-50 teams over six months, recency-weighted form, contributions to round wins, weighted LAN performance, playoff ratings based on event tier, EVP points at notable events, and age, with younger players scoring higher when stats are similar. The update also includes a tally of how often a player has been named by top-20 professionals.

The June update notes upcoming events that will affect prospects’ standings, including Stake Ranked matches featuring Kacper “xKacpersky” Gabara and magic, and the travel of many young players to Cologne for the Major. The next ranking update will be the final one before many players become ineligible due to age.

An interactive dashboard with detailed data accompanies the Prospects ranking for readers who want to review the metrics and underlying results.