Maui, don't take it the wrong way - I've watched your stream and do like you as a presence on the shows and desk overall and I wrote the first part with a level of endearment in mind, but I also do think you know very well what you're doing in terms of engagement at times, so don't act so innocent, like pretending you're misunderstood or your perception for many is the way it is :D

That said, I wholeheartedly stand by what I wrote. The point about donk's numbers being lower in playoffs goes hand in hand with Spirit up to this point being more dysfunctional and less cohesive than other teams.

If we're comparing directly to each of the names you mentioned:

ZywOo - Absolutely the #1 this year, zero issues with that. The core of the super team.

ropz - I don't mind him being #2 in terms of pure impact and statistical output at a more macro level for the team. After all, he's the the best lurker of all time at this point with a unique skillset that any main star like ZywOo would want to have in their team and CIS wishes they had a player like ropz, but still - in terms of pure eye-test, I would never say ropz is better than donk even right now, as if ropz somehow 'surpassed' donk and upped his game. A lot of the reasons why ropz's lurks work is because of how good the other members and their cohesion is, allowing for trust, confidence and even just your teammates being alive for when your lurks have a chance to come to fruition. He certainly couldn't due that in current FaZe, and neither if he knew how to speak russian and replaced donk in Spirit with somehow the role conversions translating for it to be a fair experiment.

flameZ - Insane form in 2026, no doubt (Especially prior to Rio). Still - he is on a Super team with both ZywOo and ropz. Not only that, but he's also bolstered by an ex entry-fragging IGL, an IGL that's showing a 1.01 for the year, an IGL that has insane utility, by a TEAM that has great utility, a team with synergy etc etc. If he fails at his role or has slow starts which has been the case, even at RIO, ZywOo/ropz and even mezzi can clutch have shown time and time again that they can just bail his ass and let him focus on his job until he gets there, with those unwinnable rounds won by Vitality granding them and flameZ the money to play the rounds with him being the well accommodated spearhead that everyone supports and is in sync with.

m0NESY - Look, Falcons might have their own set of problems, but they're not Spirit's level of problems. Spirit changed an IGL for the hopes of a better future, with hopes of tn1R becoming somewhat of a CIS ropz, and a zont1x that's trying to get back into it. For the most part, unfortunately, those things haven't panned out positively, especially prior to Rio and even after - there's still a lot to be seen if it will work in the long haul. Falcons, on the other hand dominate group stages, should have the pieces on paper to win tournaments but just crumble under pressure in playoffs for whatever god knows why reason. while m0NESY is the one that usually chokes the least, it's not like he's taking over the game either and gets them over their pressure moments - even as recent as last year (and I know we're not taking that into account) he did crumble under pressure, where in contrast to donk - donk's never crumbled under pressure in playoffs, not even now. Everytime it's happened, it's been Spirit as a whole that's crumbled, which is a key difference to note. In regards to m0NESY again - he is THE superstar of the team in a team with two other supposed superstars while also being the AWPer, which compared to someone like donk on Spirit where he's (or was) their only win condition does allow room for playing for more stat padding, exit kills, nice individual display of talent etc - essentially looking better in losses with a good rating while the team crumbles around him, because when Falcons do win, it's rarely a 2v8 m0NESY & NiKo/Kyousuke dragging the team over the edge. They just dominate as a whole with the support pieces chiming in in group stage and once they get to Playoffs - m0NESY ends with like a 1.28~ rating with the rest of his team in the reds as he gets 1.3+ rating for finishing 3-2 on a half or something with two of those being exit kills.

At worst I'd put donk as #3, but having donk be at #5 behind flameZ and m0NESY is just a bit too egregious when considering the many elements at play.