Top 20 Players of MW2: #1 HyDra

The #1 player of the Modern Warfare 2 season brought to you by Thunder Pick is the reigning MVP of the CDL, Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez. The superstar SMG was a force to reckon with last season and helped the New York Subliners win three total championships including CoD Champs to be crowned World Champions.

HyDra has continued to climb the Top 20 ladder each season, improving from 8th during Vanguard, and showed how great he can be this season. They were the only team in the CDL to win multiple tournaments last year, and a major proponent of their success was HyDra’s consistency, not just his peaks. That is why Paco was the unanimous best player in the CDL during the 2022-2023 season.

Season Review

During Vanguard, the Subliners had a very rough start only to win Major 5 and just make it into Champs. With the additions of both Preston “Priestahh” Greiner & Cesar “Skyz” Bueno, many thought that it was time for New York to become a consistent force.

The season started with the Subliners marching through the bracket at Major 1 to take the Championship over the Seattle Surge. Paco shined throughout the entire stage, finishing with a 1.16 overall KD (2nd highest), and had a 1.14 KD against the Surge in the Grand Finals. This would be just the start of one of the best seasons for a team in CDL history.

After a strong start, the team would hit bumpy roads for two straight stages. The team would perform well online, having a 3-2 record in both the Major 2 & 3 qualifiers, but that wouldn’t translate directly on LAN. The Subliners would finish 8th at Major 2 and last at Major 3 after losing to both Toronto & Florida. The lows in the middle of the season would only fuel the team to reach their peaks yet again.

The squad would successfully reset after the disappointing Major 3, with the Subliners going 4-1 during the Major 4 qualifiers to secure the 1st seed. HyDra & Co would go on to finish 4th at the Major before tasting victory yet again at Major 5. New York marched through to take the victory and set their form at a high going into Champs. The Subliners marched through Minnesota, Texas, and Toronto two times to raise the Champs trophy and cap off a three-championship campaign. It would be widely regarded as one of the best CDL seasons for a team in the short history of the League, rivaling the Cold War Atlanta FaZe and MW19 Dallas Empire seasons.

How good was HyDra in 2023?

Hardpoint
The best mode in MW2 was Hardpoint for HyDra. He finished the season with a 1.20 KD in the mode (2nd highest behind Cellium’s 1.23) and had 25.2 kills (#1 in CDL) and 2857.9 damage (#3 in CDL) per 10 minutes. Paco also led the CDL in non-traded kills per 10 minutes with 18.3 which gave him a 72.6% non-traded kill percentage.

The superstar SMG got even better at LAN in the game mode. He improved to a 1.26 KD (#1) on LAN with 26.0 kills per 10 minutes (#1), 2920.3 damage per 10 minutes (#2), and 1.37 KA/D (#2). This skill was at peak display at Champs, where the MVP finished the event with a 1.25 KD in Hardpoint.

SnD
HyDra’s most improved mode of the season was Search & Destroy. During Vanguard, the SMG managed just a 0.99 KD in the mode with 0.71 kills per round, 54.0% opening duel win %, and 5 clutches. Fast-forward to MW2, he improved to a 1.25 KD in SnD with 0.85 kills per round, 54.0% opening duel win %, and 14 clutches. This was one of the most impressive pieces of his season.

HyDra was at his best during Stage 5 of the season, during New York’s run to win Major 5. During the 4 week run, he put up insane numbers across the board. Paco finished with a 1.79 KD in the mode with 1.06 kills per round, 115.94 ADR, and won 66.7% of his opening duels. Without his stellar play in SnD, the Subliners wouldn’t have been able to make that championship run.

Control
Finally, we get to Control. New York as a unit was a very good team in Control, finishing with a 33-21 record during MW2. They weren’t outslaying teams massively, but instead used great teamwork and were one of the best-attacking teams.

HyDra led his team with a 1.09 KD in the mode, but what was more impressive was the 1.07 attacking side KD. The MVP added 20.4 kills per 10 minutes, 2393.0 damage per 10 minutes, and 1.3 ticks captured per attacking round. While it wasn’t his best mode individually, he was a key cog in the Subliners Control machine.

A look ahead to Modern Warfare 3

Heading into Modern Warfare 3, the New York Subliners made a shocking change with their starting roster. They became the first CDL team to voluntarily change their starting roster when they brought in Daunte “Sib” Gray instead of Preston “Priestahh” Greiner. Even with the change, HyDra should again be a front-runner for the MVP award next season. He has only continued to become a more well-rounded player who is a superstar in all three modes. It will be impossible to view the defending World Champions as anything but championship contenders for all of the tournaments during MW3 and ranked in the Top 4 with the new rosters of Texas, Atlanta, and Toronto.