CS:GO
With Counter-Strike 2 almost upon the final Major of CS:GO now played, it’s time to look back over the history of the game and its best players.
While legends have carved their names into that history since the game’s release in 2012, they are separated by whether they did so with a rifle in their hands or with the AWP.
This time around, we’ll be looking at those riflers. From Entry Fraggers to Lurkers, we’ll be looking at the players who had the most impact and amazed the most fans during their careers.
To start with, let’s go over some honorable mentions:
HM: Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund
The best player in the world in 2013, GeT_RiGhT was extremely effective for a NIP team that went on a still unmatched 87-0 unbeaten LAN map streak.
A Lurker who defined the meta of lurking, he was one of the key members of the team that would go on to play in the final of the first five Majors in CS:GO.
He remained a decent player for a few years, but as his ability waned, his being kept around by NIP for far too long is the reason why he doesn’t earn an actual placing on this list.
Read More: The Top 5 Nations in CS:GO History
A great player who can’t not be mentioned but one who rightfully misses out on the top 5.
Image Credits: Stephanie Lindgren/PGLHM: Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski
One of the greatest players to ever come out of the North American region, he was part of the Liquid team that became one of the greatest of all time as they won an Intel Grand Slam in 63 days.
One of the best players to never win a Major, EliGE came painfully close twice in 2016. He easily could have made the final five, but the lack of a Major and tournament victories outside of 2019 is what prohibits him.
Image Credits: Joao Ferreira/PGLHM: Denis “electroNic” Sharipov
When electroNic burst onto the scene as part of FlipSid3, it quickly became clear that he would bring big things to his region. A move to NAVI was secured just over a year later, and the Russian has never looked back since.
Now a Major and Intel Grand Slam winner, electroNic can be credited as the man who saved Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev’s sanity while the Undertaker was still stuck with teammates like Ioann “edward” Sukhariev and Danylo “Zeus” Teslenko.
A rifler with an incredible peak, electroNic has won it all in CS:GO. He only narrowly misses out on the list, but that’s only a testament to how strong the names ahead of him are.
#5: Russel “Twistzz” van Dulken
An utter headshot machine, we kick off our list with the greatest player in North American CS:GO history, Twistzz.
The only player in CS:GO to win two Intel Grand Slams, he also had the brains to leave North America and go and win a Major with FaZe Clan.
A player whose playstyle will never completely earn him the plaudits he deserves, his ability to link the gap between FaZe’s aggression and their more passive stars is key to making their whole game plan work.
If this list was created on pure skill alone, he’d be in the top two, but some players have had higher individual peaks than he has.
Image Credits: Stefan Petrescu/PGL#4: Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer
The best player in the world in 2015, olofmeister was part of a legendary fnatic team that won two out of the three Majors in that year.
A player with an exceedingly high peak level, olofmeister is regarded as one of the best players to ever touch the game.
Capable of single-handedly carving a round open like an elite Entry Fragger while lurking, olofmeister’s performances were key to many of fnatic’s early successes in CS:GO.
Later becoming part of the FaZe superteam, olofmeister wouldn’t be able to reach his peak performances with the org. However, his decision to leave the Swedish scene would lead him to more consistent glory than any of his compatriots.
Image Credits: Stephanie Liekse/ESL#3: Nikola “NiKo” Kovac
This one is bound to ruffle some feathers, but as we move into the top three, hard decisions have to be made.
Without a doubt, the most mechanically gifted rifler to ever touch the game, he would be the player placed above Twistzz had this list been on skill alone.
With some of the crispest, snappiest aim in the world and a phenomenal ability with the Desert Eagle (except for one round we won’t mention further) NiKo’s ability speaks for itself, and considering he was just behind s1mple and Nicolai “device” Reedtz, his has arguable the highest rifle peak of any player ever.
Unfortunately for NiKo, at the BLAST.tv Paris Major, he earned himself the title of the greatest player to never win a Major. However, his legacy of losing extends further than that. For all of NiKo’s talent, for all of the finals he has featured in, he will likely (depending on CS2’s release) depart CS:GO with only one premier trophy, thanks to his victory at IEM Katowice 2023.
Ultimately, NiKo’s legacy in CS:GO will be one of losing, so he can not feature any higher on this list.
#2: Marcelo “coldzera” David
Placing coldzera on this list was one of the hardest decisions we had. He is the only player on this list to have been ranked as the best in the world by HLTV for more than one year, his time on Luminosity and SK in 2016 and 2017 is the stuff of legend.
Also credited with one of, if not the most, iconic AWP clip of all time, coldzera was an exceptional Lurker whose part in that legendary Brazilian lineup that won both of the Majors in 2016 was the X factor in their success.
Great in the clutch and superb on the CT side, too, coldzera consistently bailed LG/SK out of difficult situations and won them rounds they had no business winning thanks to his ability to bait Epitacio “TACO” de Melo better than anyone else could ever have dreamed of doing.
He could have easily been in first place, but he also could have easily been placed lower. A drastic drop off in performances from 2018 onwards and even after a high profile move to FaZe Clan overshadowed his earlier peaks and sour his legacy, so for that reason, he has been placed second.
Image Credits: Joao Ferreira/PGL#1: Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen
Just like with NiKo, we expect the placing of dupreeh to ruffle some feathers.
The only player in CS:GO history to attend every Major and win five Majors, dupreeh lifted himself above his former Astralis teammates with Vitality’s recent win at the BLAST.tv Paris Major.
It’s his time with Astralis we’d like to focus on more, however, as it’s there that he featured on the greatest team of all time. After finally winning his first Major with the Danish squad at ELEAGUE Atlanta 2017, it wasn’t until the departure of Markus “kjaerbye” Kjaerbye and the arrival of Emil “Magisk” Reif that Astralis truly became the best team.
From there, Astralis would go on to win three consecutive Majors, a feat never before seen, as well as an Intel Grand Slam. dupreeh would play a Major role in those successes, with his Entry Fragging carving open for Astralis’ meta-redefining T sides.
His ability as an Entry Fragger is also key to his placing on this list. While many players have been touted as the best Entry Fragger in the world at some point in time, with names like Will “RUSH” Wierzba, Havard “rain” Nygaard, and dupreeh’s current IGL Dan “apEX” Madesclaire all featuring, dupreeh is the only one who has always been up there with them. Longevity in the Entry Fragging role is near impossible, but dupreeh has cracked the code unlike anyone else.
His ability may have fallen off slightly, but he still finds himself on the team currently ranked number one globally. With some key performances in the two recent tournament victories for Vitality, CS:GO will depart with dupreeh comfortably at the top spot as the best rifler in its history.
Image Credits: Stephanie Lindgren/BLAST