Igor "w0nderful" Zhdanov, Ukraine's teenage best-kept secret

In the precarious chop-and-change world of the post major shuffle, the destination of one CIS wonderkid has dominated the attention of the Counter-Strike savvy – and yet the transfer of another has gone almost entirely unnoticed.

HellRaisers made their return to Counter Strike after a quiet eight months without a roster. They completed the signing of Ukrainian side Gucci Squad in early December to minimal media attention, acquiring an economical but competitive team that houses my breakout star of 2022: Ihor "w0nderful" Zhdanov.

Unfamiliar with the name? With 570 followers on Twitter and only just over a year of competitive experience, I'll let you off just this once. Let's dive in and find out what this starboy is all about.

Who is w0nderful?

Playing out of Odessa, the Ukrainian south capital has produced yet another Black Sea pearl.

The 17-year-old AWPer landed his first big break in a locked-down 2020, earning himself a permanent spot on MAJESTY following an impressive performance at the CIS Esports Open Cup in August that year. A bootcamp in Dnipro followed, but the team fizzled out quickly. Second place in the ESEA Open Division would be their only noteworthy finish before a December disband.

Zhandov split from his teammates, replacing the departing DemQQ on Project X a month later. The ex-CR4ZY roster seemed promising and were undergoing a transitional period following coach Johnta’s retirement from Counter Strike. Transitions soon fell through however, and while the roster was short-lived w0nderful managed to play 51 maps for the side. He won 56% of his maps played, averaged a 1.12 Rating and was the youngest member of the team. Project X disbanded shortly after in March 2021.

He would follow teammate 7oX1C and coach Nevar to Trasko Esports – w0nderful's true proving ground. The then 16-year-old was exceptional for this side, with an eye-catching performance against world #16 forZe stating his case. Zhandov was not killed by another AWPer throughout Overpass’ 30 rounds. He registered 11 AWP kills out of his 24 overall and was the most impactful player on the server at 1.70.

Even with consistently strong performances, w0nderful announced his sudden departure from the side for reasons unknown.

"...his explosivity reflects how he wants to make each little push count."

He joined Gucci Gang in December 2021. Here he played alongside Trasko teammates Templ and 7oX1C, adding in fellow Ukrainians alex666 and OWNER. The new roster played just 5 official maps before being picked up by HellRaisers.

While flip-flopping rosters may have stifled his momentum in the past, the stability of an established organisation in HellRaisers should finally give him the consistent platform to prove his ability – one that he is already looking to redeem. At the time of writing, w0nderful is yet to register a below-one HLTV rating for HellRaisers. He has averaged a 1.15 Rating 2.0 for his new side so far, with a 1.22 average Rating over the past 3 months.

In fact, over the last 6 months, he boasts the highest online average HLTV Rating in the world at 1.32 - the third highest average in the world across all platforms behind only s1mple and ZywOo.

Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here though. Many talents have excelled online against subpar opposition, only to crack on stage against some actual competition. Yet when we analyse w0nderful’s style of play, the Ukrainian seems to be more than just a set of flattering statistics.

Risk, Reward and Results - Playstyle Analysis

This analysis of w0nderful pays particular attention to his most recent game (at time of writing), a 2-1 loss to PACT in the 39th Season of ESEA Advanced. I’ll also be referring to w0nderful by his Romanized name Zhandov in places as done above.

Former Project X IGL Psycho described w0nderful as a “player who knows his role” and who knows “the feeling of the moment when you need to make a play, either alone or with a teammate.” It is easy to see why when watching w0nderful – a multifaceted and dexterous player who can slot into any role necessary, with risk and reward being the buzzwords behind his playstyle.

This is specifically true on the Terrorist side. Being nurtured in the infamously slow-paced CIS scene, it is no surprise that w0nderful can spend the majority of rounds methodically scoping out the map. The style means he can be slightly limited in terms of time to shine, but his explosivity reflects how he wants to make each little push count.

"Zhandov’s volatility convinces me that he could thrive making the jump from CIS to other regions in the footsteps of s1mple and m0nesy..."

Zhandov’s AWP style is more akin to the Ukrainian superstars who have come before him. When given the green light with the green gun, w0nderful makes an effort to pay off the trust by going direct with his AWP approach. He begins the round by shutting down off-angles such as boosts, but quickly moves forward to lead the charge. His confidence in his mechanical aim lets him give static CTs the cold shoulder – often shutting down angles such as Bank from Long or Monster from Alley. While he statistically does not get the most entry frags – 15.8% in won rounds compared to teammate OWNER’s 17.5% - his aggressive AWPing is essential to HR’s trading as they push onto sites.

His post-plant game is equally as explosive, often swing-peaking pressing CTs in a heavy risk-or-reward manner. Zhandov also likes to be relentless in his counter-stratting – often adopting a slight lurk in the post-plant to close down flanks and read the enemy’s movements before they get too close to the bombsite. This too is risky; not in the sense that it puts himself at risk (he often picks off enemies from behind as they push from hotspot flanks like T Spawn), but risky in the sense that it leaves him isolated away from the bombsite if teammates fail to win duels.

It reminds me of those playing further West in Europe, such as huNter who often pushes further ahead of his teammates to gain a post-plant advantage. Notable plays are times where he pushes into Library while his G2 teammates are taking control of A on Inferno. Zhandov’s volatility convinces me that he could thrive making the jump from CIS to other regions in the footsteps of s1mple and m0nesy – especially in a time where he could be frozen out of the top two CIS rosters due to their academy setups and red-hot rosters.

As a rifler, he has an inclination for hanging back from his teammates. He moves alone and operates in the “half-spaces” between his teammates pushing towards one bombsite and the Terrorist spawn. For example, he often occupies Playground/Alley while his teammates try to control Toilets/Sandbags. Zhandov gives the team another angle on a push here, placing himself in an unexpected off-angle to deal with any opponents trying to get in behind the Terrorist push. It does not happen too often – especially in the slow playstyle of the CIS game – but w0nderful is there to deal with it easily when it happens.

It is a bit of a bad habit however, as it can often inadvertently isolate himself against opponents. Counter Terrorists can push and catch him off-guard with nobody around to trade him, or he can find himself too far away to trade his teammates further up the map. In both of the screenshotted rounds above, he dies with minimal impact and is not traded.

However, his pistol and eco round playstyle is much different – and it’s just another reason to be so excited about this young Ukrainian. He has a tendency of passive lurking and moving entirely away from his teammates in these rounds, using his confidence in aim to tag damage onto unsuspecting opponents moving out of their positions. In our Overpass game, he sits in Upper Tunnels – moving towards Fountain and Connector as his teammates create chaos on B. Zhandov gets damage onto opponents in transition, and often escapes relatively unscathed.

While it can often result in mixed success, it once again shows w0nderful’s versatility in his playstyle. Zhandov can lurk effectively, hold tight angles alone and entry frag with the AWP when called upon; quality individual aspects of each of Counter Strike’s main roles. He is still young enough to be mentored and moulded into any sort of player he needs to be within a roster, and a “player who knows his role” should be selfless enough to make these adjustments to his game. Zhandov may develop into a leading star player based on his early mechanical skills, but his versatility shown so far shows that he may possess the skills to be well-rounded enough to play any role required of him.

An insight into his CT AWPing tells familiar tales. While more rooted or rigid AWP players such as device, Jame or latto would sit back and take less risks in areas such as Heaven or Graffiti, heatmaps show w0nderful’s kill positions being much more spread out and offensive.

Zhandov’s gung-ho peeks can be compared to fellow CIS player h0bbit, particularly on Overpass where he frequently contests Sandbags and the front of the A bombsite.

His death positions are likewise offensive, however. It comes back to that idea of risk and reward that w0nderful’s game can be summed up in. When it works, it seriously works. His pushes and off-angles can often catch out the other team and instantly put his side a frag ahead. But when it doesn’t work, it does the complete opposite and can land Hellraisers in hot water on the CT side.

But in some of his earlier games several months ago, he could be especially reckless in force-buy rounds; often putting himself close range with a FAMAS against a Terrorist’s AK. Is it really worth putting yourself in vulnerable positions when you are underpowered, or would it be much more beneficial to hold angles closer to your teammates for trade potential?

It is an offensive playstyle often seen only online sure, but pandemic-era youngsters have proved to transition without too many issues – see B1T, sh1ro and Ax1Le for local CIS examples. Zhandov is a couple of years younger than the names mentioned above, and would not need to be in a rush to perfect his LAN style anytime soon.

That being said, ESEA Advanced is nothing compared to the heights of elite CS. Against better opposition, w0nderful’s aggression may struggle to find an impact versus top professionals who have the raw ability to stomp out the PUG style.

Even with a year or two of competitive experience, w0nderful (much like any wonderkid) is still green and we can’t expect his game to be flawless – with him being so promising now, we can only imagine the peaks his ability can hit in the years to come.

Given the opportunity, I believe he'll begin to turn heads this year, and once he does, I can assure you that you'll be hearing his name for years to come.

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That one was a bit longer than I expected it to be. Thanks for sticking with it until the end! This is my first full-length player analysis article, and I’m dying to hear any feedback you may have – as constructive as it may be. Make sure to send it over on Reddit, and make sure to drop me a follow on Twitter too.

All statistics correct at the time of writing; 5th January 2021.

Heatmaps and photo credit courtesy of HLTV.

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