With the news that Azbayar “Senzu” Munkhbold is looking to leave The MongolZ, he has instantly become one of the most talked-about players in the Counter-Strike transfer market. His skills have attracted attention from top teams around the world.

However, the excitement was quickly tempered by a surprising report. It suggested that the Mongolian star wants to switch roles and become a main AWPer on his next team. This would mean returning to a position he played earlier in his career.

While a few flashy highlight plays with the sniper rifle might make this seem like a good idea, it is actually a very risky path. Signing Senzu as an AWPer would likely be a terrible decision for any organization that does it.

Think of a player like Nikola “NiKo” Kovac. He is widely considered one of the greatest riflers in the history of the game. Even he has tried to take up the AWP in the past. This naturally leads to the question: why would he do that?

Using a second AWP occasionally is a valid strategy. It can catch the enemy team off guard and lead to an easy round win. But this usually only happens once or twice a half. If you try to do it more than that, the enemy team adapts with fast strategies and utility usage that puts the second AWPer in a difficult position.

Because it works in those few rounds, ego often takes over. Players enjoy the success of a secondary AWP and wonder what it would be like to do it full-time. However, doing it constantly is a completely different beast. When you always have the AWP, you face constant pressure from utility and aggressive plays that punish you every single round.

The dominance of the AWP in CS:GO tricked many people into thinking it was an easy weapon to master. In reality, AWPing has always been incredibly difficult. The best snipers are rated highly because they are special talents. This is even more true in CS2, and that is just on the Counter-Terrorist side. The Terrorist side is even harder.

Just look at the statistics for top-tier AWPers on the T side. Aside from the absolute best snipers, most struggle on the offensive side. As noted by experts, many AWPers today are forced to do the “dirty work” on T side. Instead of taking gunfights, they are often throwing utility or acting as the entry fragger for bombsites.

Furthermore, turning a superstar rifler into an AWPer means you lose their proficiency with a rifle. This is bad for two reasons. First, you likely end up with a worse AWPer and a worse rifler. Second, the player is no longer putting up superstar numbers with the rifle, so you have decreased your firepower twice.

Now, let’s look at the statistics. Despite the occasional highlight clip, Senzu was not actually very good with the AWP in his hands. It turns out that a round where he gets a no-scope kill does not mean he is a reliable sniper.

Aside from the highlights, data shows that Senzu was the only semi-regular AWPer who actually made his team less likely to win a round when he held the gun. That puts him in a very difficult position compared to other snipers who have struggled in the past.

It is not just about positioning; he is simply not accurate enough with the weapon. Interestingly, given his famous no-scope clip, his actual accuracy with the AWP is quite low. Statistically, he ranks far behind other established AWPer in the scene.

If this wasn’t clear already, signing Senzu as an AWPer would not just be a bad idea—it would be a terrible one. But there is another question to consider: is signing him at all a good move?

International teams are the standard today, but culture and communication still matter. While the players from The MongolZ have improved their English, they are still more limited than European or South American talents.

There are teams he could improve, such as Liquid, G2, NAVI, and MOUZ. However, it is obvious that two of those teams might not work as intended. NAVI became the best team in 2024 without a single superstar, relying instead on the power of friendship and team atmosphere.

MOUZ is a similar story. They hold a core of players who have been together for a long time. That type of connection might not be possible with an Asian player thrown into an EU team; the cultures might be too different. The only real evidence we have is Hansel “BnTeT” Ferdinand’s time on Gen.G. While he didn’t struggle there, he wasn’t the same player he was on TYLOO.

In all likelihood, this question probably won’t be answered for a couple of months. The announcement of Senzu’s availability came too late for him to join a new team in the recent roster shuffle. We just have to hope that when a move does happen, it ultimately works out for him.

Otherwise, Counter-Strike might lose one of its great riflers far too soon.