CS 2
Cloud9 results show that playing without a main sniper is hard these days. If you examine their players and their outcomes, they are different from what you might expect.
Their players are top players in the world, and they had much better results when they all played in other teams; now, they're like the only team out there trying to play it without a sniper, which is very difficult on most maps.
Cloud9 Past Tournaments Achievements:
- 5-6th place at BetBoom Dacha
- 5-6th place at BLAST Premier: World Final 2023
- 2nd place at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024: European Qualifier A
- 9-12th place at BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2024
- 13-16th place at Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2024
Five Players That Would Seem to Make a Good Upgrade
degster
degster
Name: Abdulkhalik Gasanov
Age: 22
Country: Russia
Current Team: Inactive
Role: Sniper
Statistics: 1.20 Rating 2.0; 1.29 K/D ratio
Biggest Achievements:
- 1st place at DreamHack Open January 2021: Europe
- 1st place at Pinnacle Cup II
- 3rd-4th place at BLAST Premier: World Final 2022
Additional Info:
Degster had a good start playing with Team Spirit and was later invited to join the international team OG. Since then, he got a 1.20 average rating to his name, and it wasn't just some random teams. He played against such Top teams as Vitality, FaZe, and Cloud9 itself, back when Cloud9 still had one of the top snipers in the world as their main sniper. Degster didn't drop below a 1.00 rating for most games, which shows this guy's consistency and skill level overall. This guy's extra advantage might be that he seems like one of the players who can hype the team throughout a game, and it's something that Cloud9 previous sniper 'sh1ro' did well. He is currently benched in his organization, OG, so buying this guy out might cost much less than it seems.
m0nesy
m0nesy
- Name: Ilya Osipov
- Age: 18
- Country: Russia
- Current Team: G2
- Role: Sniper
- Statistics: 1.28 Rating 2.0; 1.30 K/D ratio
Biggest Achievements:
- Top 7 player in the World in 2022
- Top 4 player in the World in 2023
- 1st place at Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2023
- 1st place at Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2023
- 1st-2nd place at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024: European RMR A
Additional Info:
He is one of the most prominent young star snipers out there. There are no words needed about this guy. Everyone who is even a little fan of Counter-Strike 2 knows him and what he is capable of. He could be an upgrade for almost any team out there.
This guy is talented in everything, whether holding a site or entry-fragging, and his clutches abilities are on top of that. There is no such test, but if you look at his games and any other player, you might think he is the fastest player in the world. The most challenging part about getting him is the Insane Buy-Out price because of the big organization he plays for and his level.
headtr1ck
headtr1ck
Name: Danyyl Valytov
Age: 19
Country: Ukraine
Current Team: NiP
Role: Sniper
Statistics: 1.12 Rating 2.0; 1.20 K/D ratio
Biggest Achievements:
- 1st-3rd place at BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022
- 9th-11th place at BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023
- 1st-3rd place at BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2023
Additional Info:
He is yet to get his experience. The only experience this guy had was playing in NiP, a team that hadn't been successful for a long time, and it's hard to say who or what the problem was. headtr1ck has a 1.12 average rating across his big-stage career so far. Although he has potential, he needs to find the right team and players to become a consistent and experienced player. His extra advantage here for Cloud9 might be that he is new and ready to learn and play anything they want. The hardest part about getting this guy will also be because it's not a tiny organization he's currently representing, NiP, which will end up in a significant amount of money they must pay him.
ArtFr0st
ArtFr0st
Name: Artem Kharitonov
Age: 22
Country: Russia
Current Team: PARIVISION
Role: Sniper
Statistics: 1.18 Rating 2.0; 1.33 K/D ratio
Biggest Achievements:
- 1st place at BetBoom Dacha
- 1st place at CCT West Europe Series #1
- 1st place at CCT North Europe Series #6
- 1st place at Dunav Party LAN
- 1st place at Thunderpick World Championship 2023: European Series #2
Additional Info:
I am among the youngest out here if we talk about experience on a big stage. Artem had a good rating of 1.18 with an average of 1.04 while he played against the ten best teams in the rankings. His first serious team to play against was Team Spirit Academy. After that, he got into their main roster, and now he is trying to find his success playing for PROVISION. Other than that, there's not much to say, but this guy looks promising, and at some point, the big team will try him out and see what he is capable of on a big stage.
deko
deko
Name: Denis Zhukov
Age: 22
Country: Russia
Current Team: Aurora
Role: Sniper
Statistics: 1.23 Rating 2.0; 1.36 K/D ratio
Biggest Achievements:
- 1st place at Malta Vibes Knockout Series #2
- 1st place at BetBoom Playlist. Freedom
- 1st place at CCT Online Finals #3
- 1st place at CCT East Europe Series #2
- 1st place at CCT East Europe Series #3
Additional Info:
This guy is known for his high individual skill, which he shows in most of the games, and he does it with consistency. But he didn't have a chance to show himself on a big stage. He was expected to do extensive at some point and be in one of the top world teams, but he has yet to find that success. It could be his time and chance, and one of the advantages is that he recently played in the same team with current Cloud9 in-game leader 'Boombl4'.
Summary
However, we will see more of Cloud9 playing without the main sniper once again very soon at BLAST Premier Spring Showdown, which kicks off on March 6, and who knows, maybe they show us that they don't need one yet. But so far, it's hard to believe because if you look at any other team, you can see the impact of a sniper. Even if it's not a top player, it's one of the game's leading and most essential roles.
