m0NESY (Ilya Osipov) is a Russian professional Counter-Strike 2 player competing for the European organization G2 Esports (until the end of 2025) and Team Falcons. He was born on May 1, 2005, in Orekhovo-Zuyevo, Russia. He is regarded as one of the greatest prodigies in the history of the game. Since 2022, he has permanently lived and trained in Europe (Germany).
Prior to the full-scale invasion, Ilya's career was closely tied to Ukraine. In 2020, at the age of 14, he joined the academy of the Ukrainian organization Natus Vincere (NAVI Junior). In January 2022, just a month and a half before the outbreak of the war, he transferred from NAVI to European organization G2 Esports for a record transfer fee for a young player.
m0NESY's stance on the war in Ukraine
In early March 2022, during a live stream, he commented vaguely regarding the war:
Guys, I want peace – that's my point of view. I saw a lot of questions about what happened. I just want peace. World peace. That's all I want
Despite the political situation, m0NESY maintained friendly relations with his former NAVI colleagues — Oleksandr «s1mple» Kostyliev, Valeriy «b1t» Vakhovskiy, as well as Ukrainian esports players headtr1ck, fear, and coach Amiran Ami. Ilya was repeatedly caught on camera hugging and supporting Ukrainian players at international tournaments.
At the beginning of the war, he offered assistance to Ukrainian esports player and coach Lmbt.
In 2025, m0NESY played for the organization G2 Esports, which publicly supported Ukraine in the war.
Life in Europe and the question of citizenship
In one of his interviews, Ilya shared that he lives in Germany and has no plans to change his Russian citizenship:
I was planning to move to Europe. It's very difficult to fly from Russia to tournaments. It takes a lot of time, 15-16 hours. Very long flights that cost a lot. For now I live in Germany. About changing passports – that's not true. Someone said something and people picked it up. I have no plans to get another citizenship, a residence permit – perhaps.
Scandal with the Russian flag in Abu Dhabi
In December 2022, the G2 team found itself at the epicenter of a scandal after winning the BLAST Premier World Final in Abu Dhabi. A photo appeared online showing team players, including m0NESY, posing with a fan holding a Russian flag.
The esports community heavily criticized the team for displaying symbols of the aggressor state. The G2 organization later issued an apology, stating that the players did not immediately realize which flag the fan had unfurled in the rush of the photoshoot, and that it was not an intentional political act.
VK incident
In January 2023, a post appeared in the player's official VK community supporting the opening of a branch of the Russian Computer Sports Federation in occupied Luhansk.
The publication triggered sharp backlash in Ukraine. Later, the post was deleted, and messages appeared in the group implying that it was a mistake by group moderators rather than Ilya's personal stance:
Deleted and fired the admin. Sorry about this
m0NESY's public stance on the war comes down to cautious silence: he speaks of «world peace» and avoids direct assessments of Russian aggression.
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