For the first time in his career, FaZe Clan AWPer Helvijs “broky” Saukants, has entered the yearly “Top 20 Players List” by HLTV.org in 20th position.
Why was broky the 20th best player of 2021?
While broky‘s overall stats and lack of accolades didn’t secure a spot in the Top 20, a closer look revealed that despite his team’s general lack of success, he virtually always performed well in the largest tournaments and against the hardest competitors. The 20-year-old was one of just three players whose overall rating for the year with 1.10 rating was not lower than his rating versus teams rated in the Top 20 or above, and he played at almost the same level at the five Elite events he attended with 1.09 rating in 43 maps. He was also extremely steady from tournament to tournament, completing only one with a below-average grade.
Read more: FaZe Clan signed with “Ropz”!
Broky shone out in a number of statistical categories, most notably as a brilliant defensive-side player, finishing 8th in the league with a 1.24 CT-side rating. He was also a good AWPer, with 0.36 AWP kills per round (10th best), and was difficult to kill, with just 0.61 deaths each round (16th best). Although broky received a solid EVP at IEM Cologne, where he also demonstrated his ability to play well in big matches such as the Gambit quarter-final and had a couple of outstanding non-EVP performances such as at the Major and EPL S13, he lacked similar exceptional performances to climb any higher on the list in 2021.