Nemiga's syph0 and BetBoom's zorte land maiden EVP nods at PGL Masters Bucharest

HLTV has named its five All-Stars for PGL Masters Bucharest, with Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis taking his first career MVP award despite already holding 12 EVPs and eight trophies from previous events.

YEKINDAR's case was built on a dominant grand final, where he produced four maps above a 1.56 rating to open championship Sunday for Vitality. According to HLTV, he averaged 1.10 KPRW across the whole event and posted nine standout maps, with peaks recorded against Liquid, BetBoom and MOUZ.

YEKINDAR said post-game: "Age is just a number." He added: "FalleN said I'm out of my prime, but here I am making an MVP run. Honestly, it felt amazing throughout this tournament. Everything was going my way, and maybe this is how donk and ZywOo feel."

FURIA's molodoy claimed his fifth EVP of the year, continuing a run that HLTV notes has come under scrutiny in 2026 as he has tried to repeat the form of his rookie season. Having worked through eye problems that affected him mid-year, he was reportedly the leading MVP candidate before the final itself.

His standout moments included a win over Spirit on Ancient in the groups and Dust2 and Cache wins against MOUZ in the semi-finals, rated 1.86 and 1.83 respectively, before closing with a 1.61 rating on the fifth map of the grand final.

Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut took the third All-Star spot despite playing without regular teammate Dan "apEX" Madesclaire for much of the event. HLTV credits him with five player-of-the-map showings and a 1.48 rating across Vitality's map wins, highlighting a near +10% swing performance on Cache against Nemiga. He struggled in the third-place decider, but HLTV says those matches are weighted lightly across the year and it did not affect his placing.

MOUZ's PR earned his spot after a year in which his individual form has been described as patchy despite his side's rapid rise into contention. In Bucharest he was his team's best player, posting a 1.19 overall rating that rose to 1.35 in map wins, with an eco swing of +5.06%. Four of his six standout maps came on Mirage from an unconventional B anchor role, including 23 frags in overtime during a 16-14 win over world number one Spirit.

BetBoom's zorte took the fourth slot after eight previous Big Events without an EVP, his closest attempt having come three years earlier at Pro League Season 17 with FORZE.

He finished the group stage with a 1.44 rating, level with ZywOo, and was named player of the map four maps running against Spirit and Nemiga. A poor Cache map in the quarter-final against the eventual champions dented his tally, but HLTV judged his overall body of work, against consistently tough opposition, enough to secure the award.

The fifth All-Star nod went to Nemiga's syph0, whose side reached the grand final through an even team effort that HLTV compares to PARIVISION's run earlier in the year. He stood out with two overtime performances, taking 47 kills for a 1.55 rating against Legacy and 33 kills for a 2.03 rating against The MongolZ, and was named player of the map against FUT on Nuke in the quarter-finals. He closed the event with a 1.39 rating in map wins, the only Nemiga player to earn an EVP.

Several players were listed as close misses. KSCERATO improved sharply after a slow start but still finished on a 1.04 rating in full-buy rounds. Nemiga's khaN was his side's best performer in the grand final itself but only managed a 1.12 rating in map wins, with credit split across the team.

Spinx fell just short after a strong quarter-final was followed by a weaker semi-final, while FUT's SunPayus and teammate dem0n both impressed early before dipping to 1.01 ratings in the quarter-finals. Ihor "w0nderful" Zhdanov, who faced an average opponent rank of 3.79, lacked the volume of peak performances to join the group stage shortlist.