NAVI's Mihai 'iM' Ivan Crowned Best CS2 Player of October After IEM Rio Victory

Romanian player Mihai "iM" Ivan, a member of the Ukrainian esports teamNatus Vincere (NAVI), has been named the best Counter-Strike 2 player for October.

According to HLTV, iM sercured an impressive 63.7% of the votes, surpassing Jimpphat from MOUZ (17.3%), SAW’s roman (14.3%), and NertZ from HEROIC (4.7%). This achievement makes Ivan the first Romanian player to receive this prestigious award. In October, NAVI, with iM as part of the lineup, triumphed over MOUZ in the final of IEM Rio 2024. Notably, Ivan was recognized as the tournament’s MVP by HLTV, while his teammate, Justinas “jL” Lekavicius, received an award from ESL.

For their victory at IEM Rio 2024, NAVI earned $100,000 and secured a spot at IEM Katowice 2025. This marked the team’s sixth consecutive final appearance.

NAVI came close to matching their own record of seven consecutive finals, set in 2021, but fell short after finishing last at the BLAST World Final 2024.