All Counter-Strike Major MVPs (2013–2025) – Full CS:GO & CS2 History

Earning the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award at a Counter-Strike Major is one of the highest individual honors in esports. It recognizes players who not only perform at the top level but also define the outcome of an entire tournament. From unforgettable clutches to record-breaking performances, Major MVPs have written their names into Counter-Strike history.

In this article, we look back at every MVP from the CS:GO Major era and continue into the CS2 era, highlighting the first champions of Valve’s new chapter.

Counter-Strike Major MVPs at a Glance

• List of all MVPs in Counter-Strike history
• Interesting facts about the players and how they won their awards

Majors aren’t the only high-stakes events in CS2. The competitive calendar is full of exciting tournaments where future MVPs are forged. If you’re following the action closely, here are the upcoming CS2 tournaments worth betting on to keep an eye on.

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Complete List of CS:GO Major MVPs (2013–2025)

Year	Tournament	MVP	Team	Country
2013	DreamHack Winter	Jesper “JW” Wecksell	Fnatic	Sweden
2014	EMS One Katowice	Jarosław “pashaBiceps” Jarząbkowski	Virtus.pro	Poland
2014	ESL One Cologne	Adam “friberg” Friberg	Ninjas in Pyjamas	Sweden
2014	DreamHack Winter	Vincent “Happy” Schopenhauer	LDLC	France
2015	ESL One Katowice	Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer	Fnatic	Sweden
2015	ESL One Cologne	Robin “flusha” Rönnquist	Fnatic	Sweden
2015	DreamHack Cluj-Napoca	Kenny “kennyS” Schrub	EnVyUs	France
2016	MLG Columbus	Marcelo “coldzera” David	Luminosity	Brazil
2016	ESL One Cologne	Marcelo “coldzera” David	SK Gaming	Brazil
2017	ELEAGUE Atlanta	Markus “Kjaerbye” Kjaerbye	Astralis	Denmark
2017	PGL Krakow	Dauren “AdreN” Kystaubayev	Gambit	Kazakhstan
2018	ELEAGUE Boston	Tarik “tarik” Celik	Cloud9	USA
2018	FACEIT London	Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz	Astralis	Denmark
2019	IEM Katowice	Emil “Magisk” Reif	Astralis	Denmark
2019	StarLadder Berlin	Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz	Astralis	Denmark
2021	PGL Stockholm	Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev	NAVI	Ukraine
2022	PGL Antwerp	Håvard “rain” Nygaard	FaZe Clan	Norway
2022	IEM Rio	Dzhami “Jame” Ali	Outsiders	Russia
2023	BLAST.tv Paris	Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut	Vitality	France
2024	PGL Copenhagen	Justinas “jL” Lekavicius	NAVI	Lithuania
2024	Perfect World Shanghai	Danil “donk” Kryshkovets	Team Spirit	Russia
2025	BLAST.tv Austin	Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut	Vitality	France

Did you know? Each Major also introduces special souvenir packages and case drops, letting fans collect skins tied to the event. You can read more about the latest CS2 cases and souvenir packages here.

DreamHack Winter 2013 MVP – Jesper “JW” Wecksell (Fnatic)

• Tournament: Dreamhack Winter 2013
• Team: Fnatic
• Country: Sweden

Of course, the first CS:GO major was much different from what we are used to now. It happened during the DreamHack festival in Jönköping, Sweden.

JW was one of the brightest players in the early days of CS:GO eSports, and he showed it. Fnatic beat the seemingly unbeatable NiP. JW was the key to his team’s victory and won the title of the first MVP in CS:GO history. But now he has the lowest ranking ever.

EMS One Katowice 2014 MVP – Jaroslaw “pashaBiceps” Jarzabkowski (Virtus.pro)

• Tournament: EMS One: Katowice 2014
• Team: Virtus.pro
• Country: Poland

At the second major, Virtus.pro won in its native Poland. At that time, the Polish Virtus.pro Five was at the height of its popularity, leaving no one to chance. They lost only one map in the entire tournament.

PashaBiceps was the highest-ranked player, towering above the rest even in his unique team. For this, he received the MVP award.

ESL One Cologne 2014 MVP – Adam “friberg” Friberg (NiP)

• Tournament: ESL One: Cologne 2014
• Team: NIP
• Country: Sweden

The Ninjas in Pyjamas only managed to win one major, even though they had reached the finals twice before. Friberg was the MVP, beating out legends like Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund and Patrick “f0rest” Lindberg. And Friberg also got a nameplate at Inferno: Via Adamo.

But it must be said that he didn’t even make the top ten at the majors and is the lowest-rated MVP of the majors of all time.

DreamHack Winter 2014 MVP – Vincent “Happy” Schopenhauer (LDLC)

• Tournament: Dreamhack Winter 2014
• Team: LDLC
• Country: France

Since Titan and Epsilon were banned at that tournament, only six legends were invited, and the rookies could show off in all their glory. Team LDLC took full advantage of this chance.

And it was at this tournament that Olofboost happened. Olofmeister climbed up a sewer pipe in the back of the map and positioned himself so his opponents couldn’t detect him. This boost sparked a fierce debate, and the tournament administration decided to ban the use of Olofboost and remove the round where Fnatic used this tactic.

But even if you don’t dominate, taking the MVP award still takes a lot of skill and composure. And the only player who stood out among the champions was Happy.

ESL One Katowice 2015 MVP – Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer (Fnatic)

• Tournament: ESL One: Katowice 2015
• Team: Fnatic
• Country: Sweden

Olofmeister had an incredible 2015, which started at ESL One Katowice 2015. Here, he took revenge for the previous year, and his Fnatic team lost only one map during the tournament!

Olof was nicknamed “Tec9meister”, as he made 50 frags with Tec-9 during the whole tournament. Olofmeister finished the game with a high rating of 1.31 and the undisputed title of Most Valuable Player.

ESL One Cologne 2015 MVP – Robin “flusha” Rönnquist (Fnatic)

• Tournament: ESL One: Cologne 2015
• Team: Fnatic
• Country: Sweden

Fnatic winning three of the first five tournaments was a remarkable achievement. Notably, each of the three wins had three different MVPs.

Robin lost the title several times to his teammates. Robin shot 51 kills, his tournament rating was 1.38, which was the peak of his career.

DreamHack Cluj-Napoca 2015 MVP – Kenny “kennyS” Schrub (Envy)

• Tournament: Dreamhack Open: Cluj-Napoca 2015
• Team: Envy
• Country: France

This Major showed us an incredible sniper duel between kennyS and GuardiaN. They were two of the best snipers of the year at their peak, but only one could become the champion. Kenny deservedly got the MVP title and the love of the community! Kenny had a 1.23 rating.

Back-to-Back MVP – Marcelo “coldzera” David (MLG Columbus 2016 & ESL One Cologne 2016)

• Tournament: MLG Columbus 2016, ESL One: Cologne 2016
• Team: Luminosity, SK Gaming
• Country: Brazil

Brazilian Marcelo David became the first player to become the most valuable player of the two majors. At MLG Columbus 2016, Marcelo was not the team’s full-time sniper but took a rifle to hold off B-plenty. Fraga’s jump shot without a “zoom” brought worldwide fame to the Brazilian. Marcelo earned a 1.32 rating and won the MVP award.

The final opponent at ESL One: Cologne 2016 was Team Liquid. S1mple played one of the worst matches in his career (rating 0.63). And coldzera shot 44 frags, scored a rating of 1.38 at the tournament, and was recognized as the unqualified MVP for the second major in a row.

ELEAGUE Atlanta 2017 MVP – Markus “Kjaerbye” Kjaerbye (Astralis)

• Tournament: ELEAGUE Atlanta 2017
• Team: Astralis
• Country: Denmark

Danish esports player Markus “Kjaerbye” Kjaerbye won the Major MVP award at 18 and finished his career at 22.

Virtus.pro was unlucky in the finals because Kjaerbye played the best match of his career. He was the only one on the team to score a plus on every map and finished the game with a total score of 1.38.

PGL Krakow 2017 MVP – Dauren “AdreN” Kystaubayev (Gambit)

• Tournament: PGL Krakow 2017
• Team: Gambit
• Country: Kazakhstan

The story of Gambit Esports is a real gem in the history of CS:GO majors.

Gambit Esports became the first CIS team to win a major. AdreN, who finished the tournament with a rating of 1.26, became the most valuable player in the competition without any alternative.

ELEAGUE Boston 2018 MVP – Tarik “tarik” Celik (Cloud9)

• Tournament: ELEAGUE Boston 2018
• Team: Cloud9
• Country: USA

ELEAGUE Boston 2018 is considered by many to be the most spectacular tournament among the lineup of majors.

This is precisely the kind of game where the last map decides everything. With the support of his teammates and the home stands, tarik led his team to victory in a later match. Tarik was the most productive member of his team, so he was named MVP Major.

Double MVP – Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz (FACEIT London 2018 & StarLadder Berlin 2019)

• Tournament: FACEIT London 2018, StarLadder Berlin 2019
• Team: Astralis
• Country: Denmark

At FACEIT London 2018, the Dane lifted the title of major winner over his head for the second time. Dev1ce, in turn, was recognized as the most valuable player in the tournament, with a rating of 1.26.

Nikolai came to Berlin as a super-titled player. In 2018 alone, he was recognized as MVP 7 times. Dev1ce had an incredible tournament, finishing with a statistic of 1.26. He was deservedly recognized as the most valuable player of a major for the second time in his career.

IEM Katowice 2019 MVP – Emil “Magisk” Reif (Astralis)

• Tournament: IEM Katowice 2019
• Team: Astralis
• Country: Denmark

For his brilliant performances in the IEM Katowice 2019 playoffs, the organizers awarded Magisk the title of Most Valuable Player, even though Nikolai dev1ce Reedtz and Andreas Xyp9x Højsleth outperformed Magisk by a rating of 2.0 (1.28).

PGL Stockholm 2021 MVP – Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev (NAVI)

• Tournament: PGL Stockholm 2021
• Team: NAVI
• Country: Ukraine

Natus Vincere was close to conceding the first map in the tournament, but NiKo can’t kick s1mple. The CIS – team turned the tide in overtime to win the match and the entire game.

NaVi made a historic achievement for the first time, not once giving a map to their opponents. S1mple finished the tournament with a rating of 1.47 and became the MVP of the game.

PGL Antwerp 2022 MVP – Håvard “rain” Nygaard (FaZe Clan)

• Tournament: PGL Antwerp 2022
• Team: FaZe
• Country: Norway

Surprisingly, the main star of the Belgian Major wasn’t the superstar Twistzz, the mind-blowing Broky, or the awesome Ropz. It was Rain, a CS:GO veteran.

In the tournament, Havard “rain” Nygaard became the best player of the tournament with a rating of 1.24.

IEM Rio 2022 MVP – Dzhami “Jame” Ali (Outsiders)

• Tournament: IEM Rio 2022
• Team: Outsiders
• Country: Russia

Russian esportsman Jame Jame Ali became the owner of a rare achievement at the end of the IEM Rio Major 2022 in CS:GO. He was the third player in the history of the majors who was recognized as the MVP of the tournament while being the team captain.

Before Jame, only two players had such an achievement: Happy and tarik.

BLAST.tv Paris 2023 MVP – Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut (Vitality)

• Tournament: BLAST.tv Paris 2023
• Team: Vitality
• Country: France

Who else but Team Vitality was destined to win? ZywOo led his teammates to the top with an impressive tournament rating 1.39. He is one of the best players in CS:GO history, and he deservedly earned the right to lift the trophy and MVP medal above his head.

First CS2 Major MVP – Justinas “jL” Lekavicius (PGL Copenhagen 2024)

• Tournament: PGL Major Copenhagen 2024
• Team: NAVI
• Country: Lithuania

At the first Counter-Strike 2 Major in 2024, Justynas “jL” Lekavicius became the HLTV tournament MVP and finished the championship with a 1.22 rating. This is the first MVP medal of his career for the NAVI riffler.

Youngest Major MVP – Danil “donk” Kryshkovets (Perfect World Shanghai 2024)

• Tournament: Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024
• Team: Team Spirit
• Country: Russia

At just 17 years old, Danil “donk” Kryshkovets made history at the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 by becoming the youngest player ever to win a CS Major MVP award. Donk led Team Spirit to victory over FaZe Clan in the grand final with dominant performances across the event, finishing with the highest rating in Major history. His breakout showing cemented him as one of the brightest stars in the new Counter-Strike 2 era.

Want to play like donk? Check out donk’s CS2 settings here to see his crosshair, sensitivity, resolution, and more.

Multiple Major MVP – Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut (BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025)

• Tournament: BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
• Team: Team Vitality
• Country: France

At the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 (June 3–22, 2025), Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut earned his second Major MVP title (after Paris 2023) by delivering a tournament-leading average rating of 1.34 across 13 maps. This outstanding performance marked the 27th overall MVP award of his career—further cementing his legacy—with his rating being among the top five highest ever recorded at a Major. ZywOo’s pivotal impact powered Team Vitality to a dramatic 2–1 Grand Final win over The MongolZ, giving Vitality their second CS2 Major championship.

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What Does MVP Mean in Counter-Strike?

In Counter-Strike, MVP (an acronym for “Most Valuable Player”) has a special meaning as an award given to a player who has significantly contributed to a particular round, match, or even an entire tournament. The MVP concept in CS2/CS:GO is designed to recognize outstanding individual achievements that significantly impact the game.

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Understanding CS2/CS:GO Majors

The Counter-Strike Majors are the highest level of competition in CS2, officially organized and sponsored by Valve Corporation. Winning a Major is considered the ultimate achievement in professional Counter-Strike, bringing together the best teams in the world to compete for prestige, history, and massive prize pools.

While the format has evolved over the years, today’s CS2 Majors generally follow a three-stage structure:

• Opening Stage – a Swiss-system bracket featuring 16 teams.
• Elimination Stage – another Swiss-system round with 16 teams (the top 8 advance to playoffs).
• Playoffs (Champions Stage) – a single-elimination bracket played in front of live arenas.

In CS:GO, Majors originally included Regional Minors, Challengers, and Legends stages, but the CS2 era streamlined the format into its current structure.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Who has the most CS:GO Major MVPs?
Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz and Marcelo “coldzera” David share the record with two Major MVP awards each. Dev1ce won at FACEIT London 2018 and StarLadder Berlin 2019, while coldzera earned back-to-back MVPs at MLG Columbus 2016 and ESL One Cologne 2016.

Who was the first MVP in CS:GO history?
The first CS:GO Major MVP was Jesper “JW” Wecksell, who claimed the title at DreamHack Winter 2013 while playing for Fnatic.

Who is the first MVP in CS2 history?
The first CS2 Major MVP was Justinas “jL” Lekavicius at the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, representing Natus Vincere.

How is the MVP decided?
The MVP (Most Valuable Player) award is typically determined by HLTV.org, based on a combination of statistical performance (ratings, K/D, impact) and in-game impact throughout the tournament. The award recognizes the single player who contributed the most to their team’s success at the Major.