Who Are The Best CSGO Players Of All Time?

Whether you love him for his skills and hard work, or you hate him for his expressive personality that sometimes leads to toxicity, nobody can deny that s1mple is the greatest player in Counter-Strike history. He wasn’t all about natural talent, as he had to go through several hardships to accomplish all his feats.

Kostyljev had to build a name for himself within the Eastern European region, which is when he played for HellRaisers and Flipsid3 Tactics. However, he became good friends with North American player Hiko and joined Team Liquid, where he made an impressive run at the MLG Columbus Major in 2016, finishing 3rd – 4th place.

His impeccable performance finally landed him his life-long goal of joining Natus Vincere, his dream organization, and the rest was history. The Ukrainian was accompanied by some of the greatest talents in the region, most notably Denis “electroNic” Sharipov, who would become his right-hand man in the future.

S1mple would always display unnatural levels of consistency, besting his opponents with the AWP. However, he wasn’t only a one-trick, as he was also one of the top riflers in the scene, playing a mean AK-47.

Na’Vi would always make deep runs in Major events, getting extremely close to lifting the trophy, but no cigar. Finally, after making a few roster changes in 2021, the Eastern European giants clicked. Not only was s1mple playing some of the greatest Counter-Strike we’ve seen in history, but he also had a dependable team to back him up. 

In 2021, s1mple finally lifted the final achievement he needed to go down in Counter-Strike history: winning the PGL Stockholm Major. He also won an Intel Grand Slam title in the same year, and was named the best player in the world.

There’s nothing much else to say. S1mple has made eight appearances in HLTV’s Top 20 Players, and has made it to the top ten everytime. Not to mention, he finished first three times and second twice. The star player is also unmatched in tournament MVPs, having 21 of them, more than any player in history. 

s1mple’s HLTV Top Player Awards

• 4th best player of 2016.
• 8th best player of 2017.
• Best player of 2018.
• 2nd best player of 2019.
• 2nd best player of 2020.
• Best player of 2021.
• Best player of 2022.
• 7th best player of 2023.

s1mple’s Individual Accolades

• Tournament MVPs: 21
• Valve Major Victories: 1
• HLTV Top 20 Appearances: 8
• Approximate Total Winnings: $1,727,047

Though s1mple is currently the greatest Counter-Strike player of all time, that title might change in the near future because ZywOo is coming for that title. He has been given the nickname “Child of Counter-Strike” or “The Chosen One” because his birthday is literally on the same date Counter-Strike was first released. 

In 2018, ZywOo was dominating professional PUGs, and legendary in-game leader Dan “apEX” Madesclaire quickly took notice of that. The French captain took ZywOo under his care and ended up raising a monster. Despite a lack of LAN experience, ZywOo immediately dominated Tier 1 competition, and looked unstoppable. 

The Frenchman joined Team Vitality in October 2018, and started getting used to the professional environment. In the coming year, ZywOo was already collecting S-Tier trophies and storing them in his cabinet. In his first actual year of professional play, he was already named the best player of 2019 by HLTV’s awards at only 19 years old. 

Many fans thought ZywOo’s performance in 2019 was a fluke, but they were quickly silenced in the next year, when he became even better. Herbaut lifted more trophies and continued to receive tournament MVP awards. By the end of the year, he was named the best player in 2020, dethroning s1mple again. 

By the time 2021 and 2022, everybody understood that ZywOo was the real deal. However, s1mple peaked during this period and managed to silence the beast temporarily. In 2023, ZywOo finally joined the Major Winner club by winning the BLAST.tv Paris Major in front of his home crowd.

The scariest part is that his career is only getting started. He is still young and has a long future ahead of him. It is truly bizarre that his lowest placement in HLTV’s Top 20 Player awards is second place. 

ZywOo is trailing behind s1mple with 19 tournament MVP awards. However, it is important to note that he has only been around in the scene for half as long as s1mple did. Who knows what he’ll be able to accomplish in the next few years – it’s too frightening to think. 

ZywOo’s HLTV Top Player Awards

• Best player of 2019.
• Best player of 2020.
• 2nd best player of 2021.
• 2nd best player of 2022.
• Best player of 2023.

ZywOo’s Individual Accolades

• Tournament MVPs: 19
• Valve Major Victories: 1
• HLTV Top 20 Appearances: 5
• Approximate Total Winnings: $1,003,274

The third-best player on our list is none other than “Mr. Consistent,” dev1ce. He is notoriously known as the AWPer for Astralis, whom he won four Counter-Strike Majors with, making him one of the most accomplished players in the industry. The Dane has an incredibly long shelf life, continuously performing at the highest level for a decade. 

Dev1ce’s career dates back to Counter-Strike: Source, where he was already considered as a very promising talent. In the early days of Global Offensive, he teamed up with Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen and Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth, who would become his future partners in crime. After stints in Copenhagen Wolves, Dignitas, and Team SoloMid, the trio finally paved their way to join Astralis. 

The Astralis roster had a rocky start with their in-game leader Finn “karrigan” Andersen, but it was apparent that dev1ce was the team’s best player. He always remained consistent, rarely having bad games. You can count on him to hit nasty flicks and hold angles correctly to find incredible impact.

After the integration of Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander, dev1ce felt more enabled and the Astralis roster went on to win their first Counter-Strike Major, the ELEAGUE Major Atlanta in 2017. Thanks to his impeccable performance, dev1ce deservedly received the Major MVP award. However, this was only the beginning of the Astralis dynasty.

The Danish stack continued dominating competition and reigned over the Counter-Strike scene, winning three more Majors, an Intel Grand Slam, and a handful of other premier events. Reedtz did not slow down and picked up more tournament MVP awards, totaling his count to 19, tied with ZywOo for second place.

Dev1ce made the shocking mov to transfer to Ninjas in Pyjamas. He was still performing up to expectations, but faced personal issues in the middle of his tenure. These matters led him to take almost an entire year off the competitive scene, which is why we see a hole in his HLTV Top 20 Player awards for 2022, but he still has the most appearances at 9.

Now, dev1ce has returned to his home, bearing the Astralis jersey again. However, he is playing with an entirely different roster and is also shouldering the in-game leader role while being the team’s primary AWPer. 

dev1ce’s HLTV Top Player Awards

• 20th best player of 2014.
• 3rd best player of 2015.
• 3rd best player of 2016.
• 5th best player of 2017.
• 2nd best player of 2018.
• 3rd best player of 2019.
• 3rd best player of 2020.
• 11th best player of 2021.
• 11th best player of 2023.

dev1ce’s Individual Accolades

• Tournament MVPs: 19
• Valve Major Victories: 4
• HLTV Top 20 Appearances: 9
• Approximate Total Winnings: $2,042,878

Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund

All “OG” Counter-Strike players know GeT_RiGhT and his rich history. He was truly the early GOAT of Counter-Strike in the old days when the esport wasn’t as prominent as it is today. After 14 years of professional play, the Swede finally hung his keyboard and announced his retirement in January 2021, but is remembered as a legendary figure in the scene. 

GeT_RiGhT started his professional career in 2007 playing Counter-Strike 1.6 and Counter-Strike: Source. He was incredibly dominant in Source, and was named the second best player of 2010 and 2011. However, he continued to thrive when Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was released.

Alesund started his CS:GO competitive career in Ninjas in Pyjamas, where he played with notorious names such as Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg and Adam “friberg” Friberg. GeT_RiGhT was dominating all competition when CS:GO was released, and his team could build an 87 win streak without dropping a single map.

However, in 2013, Fnatic were the team to beat. The Ninjas in Pyjamas failed to claim their first Major title at DreamHack Winter 2013, losing the Grand Final series 1-2 to their arch nemesis. Fortunately, fans were greeted with great news as GeT_RiGhT could lift his well-deserved Major trophy at the following Major, ESL One: Cologne 2014. Thanks to his star-level performance, GeT_RiGhT was considered the best player of 2013 and 2014 by HLTV. 

During his peak, GeT_RiGhT was known for having unmatched spray control with the AK-47. At the time, most players had not mastered the rifle to its full potential, but GeT_RiGhT could spray at people accurately from a long distance. He would nickname his AK-47 | Fire Serpent skin “Sprayquaza,” as a reference to the legendary Pokémon Rayquaza.

Everyone loved GeT_RiGhT because of his humble and friendly personality. Even though he was the best, he would never show any signs of ego and was a very genuine person. Sadly, his career took a toll from 2015 onward. He still won several titles with the Ninjas in Pyjamas squad, but after 2017, he could no longer find any success.

After a very long career, GeT_RiGhT decided to pursue content creation, mainly streaming on Twitch. He is still actively involved in the Counter-Strike scene and has made several cameos at tournaments. The legend took out the PGL Stockholm Major 2021 trophy and placed it on the podium in front of his home crowd. 

GeT_RiGhT’s HLTV Top Player Awards

• 2nd best player of 2010.
• 2nd best player of 2011.
• Best player of 2013.
• Best player of 2014.
• 11th best player of 2015.
• 18th best player of 2016.

GeT_RiGhT’s Individual Accolades

• Tournament MVPs: 10
• Valve Major Victories: 1
• HLTV Top 20 Appearances: 6
• Approximate Total Winnings: $607,224

Brazil has a relatively rich history in Counter-Strike, and the credit must be given to the country’s “golden child,” coldzera. Unlike the other players on the list, coldzera has only made three appearances on HLTV’s Top 20 players, which is significantly less than the others. However, at his peak, he REALLY peaked. 

Coldzera was the star player of Brazilian’s powerhouse roster Luminosity Gaming, which rebranded to SK Gaming later on, which was one of the most dominant lineups of all time behind Astralis. 

David had his breakthrough performance at the MLG Columbus Major in 2016, where he put himself on everyone’s radar with the legendary 4K on Mirage. In this highlight, he hit two jumping no-scopes and pushed his team to complete a massive comeback against Team Liquid to reach the Grand Final of the Major and eventually win it all. 

In the same year, the Luminosity Gaming roster was picked up by SK Gaming and won the second Major of 2016, ESL One Cologne 2016, defeating Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev and Team Liquid again. With such an explosive performance in his breakout year, he was deservedly named the best player of the year by HLTV, meaning his first appearance on the Top 20 players was number one. 

Coldzera remained dominant in the following year, 2017. Under Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo’s leadership and his reliable Brazilian brothers, coldzera plowed through the year and won six S-Tier tournaments, raking in almost a million dollars in prize money alone and claiming his second best-player award. 

Unfortunately, coldzera could not maintain his form in 2018, when the core roster transferred to MIBR. Despite a rough year, coldzera was still named the tenth best player of 2018. However, this would be the last time we saw him on HLTV’s list, as the coldzera we knew completely disappeared.

He is still actively competing in Tier 3 competition, attempting to help young Brazilian prospects hone their talents, but he is not finding too much success. Despite a short peak, coldzera still won eight tournament MVPs and received the award of best player in the world twice. 

coldzera’s HLTV Top Player Awards

• Best player of 2016.
• Best player of 2017.
• 10th best player of 2018.

coldzera’s Individual Accolades

• Tournament MVPs: 8
• Valve Major Victories: 2
• HLTV Top 20 Appearances: 3
• Approximate Total Winnings: $1,035,630

Olofmeister is infamously known for the “Boostmeister” incident, where he and Fnatic abused a boost spot in the map Overpass during a Major Playoff match. The Swedes formed a three-man boost at CT Spawn, with olofmeister on top. He could see players from above the map and rake in free kills to pull off a massive comeback.

Despite the controversy, olofmeister was still one of Counter-Strike’s greatest players, especially in 2015 when Fnatic was dominating all competition. Olofmeister really peaked during this period, carrying Fnatic to two Major victories and three other S-Tier tournament wins.  As expected, he received his first best player of the year award from HLTV in 2015.

A man of many nicknames, olofmeister was also granted the title of the “Tec9meister” by the Counter-Strike community. In the same year he claimed number one, the Tec-9 pistol was totally broken, giving players high accuracy while running and spraying with the pistol. Olofmeister was seriously the best player to abuse it, as he got 24% of his total kills at ESL One Katowice 2015 with the Tec-9.

The Swede was also immortalized on Overpass after pulling off a legendary play where he defused the bomb while ticking down to an incendiary grenade. He died right after defusing the bomb, winning the round at a 14-14 scoreline against Team Dignitas at ESL One Cologne 2014. 

Additionally, he also had another graffiti on the same map after the “Boostmeister” incident. On the wall of the boost spot Fnatic used, Valve added a little easter egg of a sign reading “Do not climb” in German.

After his long tenure at Fnatic, olofmesieter spent a while on FaZe Clan, playing with Finn “karrigan” Andersen and Marcelo “coldzera” David, where he won prestigious tournaments such as ELEAGUE Premier 2017 and Esports Championship Series Season 4 – Finals. 

In 2022, olofmeister stepped back from the FaZe Clan roster to pave a way for Robin “ropz” Kool. Now, the veteran is enjoying his time streaming on Twitch, often playing with his former arch nemesis, Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund.

olofmeister’s HLTV Top Player Awards

• 12th best player of 2014.
• Best player of 2015.
• 8th best player of 2016.
• 19th best player of 2017.

olofmeister’s Individual Accolades

• Tournament MVPs: 6
• Valve Major Victories: 2
• HLTV Top 20 Appearances: 4
• Approximate Total Winnings: $933,614

Another legendary Counter-Strike player from France is none other than kennyS, the beholder of the “Magic Stick.” The Frenchman is widely known as the flashiest AWPer to ever touch the game. He had one of the fastest reaction times in the game, and was never afraid to risk a round by attempting an impossible flick. Kenny was so good that Valve had to nerf the AWP just because of him!

KennyS started his Counter-Strike career in Source, where he played for VeryGames in 2012. He was already picked up by one of the best French teams despite only being 17 years of age. During his career in Source, kennyS and VeryGames became the second-best team in the world, always losing to the legendary Ninjas in Pyjamas roster in the Grand Finals of several tournaments.

Kenny easily transitioned to Global Offensive and found himself on the best French rosters all the time. He had stints with Clan Mystik and Titan before joining Team EnVyUs, where he played under the leadership of Vincent “Happy” Schopenhauer. 

With Team EnVyUs, kennyS was able to win his first Counter-Strike Major at DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015, where he was the team’s top performer and deservedly received the MVP award for the Major. 

Aside from his monumental victory at Cluj-Napoca, kennyS bagged 18 other tournament wins, where he received 9 tournament MVPs for his impeccable performances. Another big flex kennyS holds is that he has the record for the most AWP kills in LAN tournaments: 9,259. He is undoubtedly one of the most memorable AWPers in the Counter-Strike scene. 

Throughout his long career, kennyS only made it to HLTV’s Top 20 Players five times, not missing a year through 2013 to 2017. Still, he finished within the top ten players three times, with his best placement being 6th. 

After an unsuccessful stint on Team Falcons throughout 2022 to 2023, kennyS finally decided to end his decade-long career to pursue content creation full time. You can find him occasionally streaming on Twitch, playing FACEIT games or holding watch parties for significant Counter-Strike tournaments. 

kennyS’ HLTV Top Player Awards

• 12th best player of 2013.
• 6th best player of 2014.
• 6th best player of 2015.
• 13th best player of 2016.
• 7th best player of 2017.

kennyS’ Individual Accolades

• Tournament MVPs: 10
• Valve Major Victories: 1
• HLTV Top 20 Appearances: 5
• Approximate Total Winnings: $742,033

During the early years of Global Offensive, GuardiaN was standing closely to kennyS as one of the greatest AWPers in the scene. He had a long career, but unfortunately, had the same fate as NiKo where he could not secure a Major title. Still, he was an absolute beast during his prime when he played for Natus Vincere and FaZe Clan, two of the most prestigious organizations in Counter-Strike. 

GuardiaN is one of Counter-Strike veterans, as he started his professional career in 1.6 in 2006. He continued playing through Source and eventually made a name for himself in Global Offensive where he got a shot at playing for Natus Vincere in 2013. 

The Slovakian was clearly Na’Vi’s best player, helping the team make several deep runs in S-Tier tournaments. However, the Eastern European squad could not find much success until 2016, where they made it to the MLG Columbus Major in 2016 against coldzera and Luminosity Gaming. Unfortunately, GuardiaN missed his chance to win after a 0-2 blowout. 

Still, GuardiaN’s AWPing was ripe, and in-game leader karrigan was itching to work with him. The Dane personally invited GuardiaN to be a part of Counter-Strike’s first international super team: FaZe Clan. 

After forming the roster, FaZe Clan immediately went on their winning ways, bagging three tournament victories in a three-month time span. Coming into the ELEAGUE Boston Major in 2018, the international roster was clear favorites with GuardiaN leading the charge. However, FaZe Clan were upset by Cloud9 in one of the most heartbreaking Grand Final losses, meaning GuardiaN missed his second opportunity to win a Major. 

Despite the lack of a Major title, GuardiaN still had several other S-Tier trophies stored in his cabinet. He had won dozens of international tournaments, and was awarded as a tournament MVP eight times. 

With his level of consistency, it’s no surprise to see that GuardiaN is a regular at HLTV’s Top 20 Players, making the list six times with a peak placement of second place. Sadly, we didn’t see much more from GuardiaN after his FaZe days ended, as he is now an inactive player running his esports gear shop. 

GuardiaN’s HLTV Top Player Awards

• 10th best player of 2013.
• 11th best player of 2014.
• 2nd best player of 2015.
• 17th best player of 2016.
• 9th best player of 2017.
• 11th best player of 2018.

GuardiaN’s Individual Accolades

• Tournament MVPs: 8
• Valve Major Victories: 0
• HLTV Top 20 Appearances: 6
• Approximate Total Winnings: $800,993

Finally, we have decided to include dupreeh on the list. He was never considered one of the best players in the world, but his achievements are nothing to scoff at. The Dane is undoubtedly the most successful player in the world, with five Major trophies under his belt. 

Though dupreeh doesn’t boast individual skills that rival the other players on this list, it is undeniable that he has had an immense impact on the teams he has been on. He has won too many trophies for his career to be considered a fluke.

Rasmussen started his Counter-Strike career in 2012 playing under 3DMAX, but he was quickly scouted by Copenhagen Wolves months later, forming the trio of Xyp9x and dev1ce. The buddies stuck together until they eventually made their way to Astralis where they built a dynasty.

Dupreeh was present in all four Major victories Astralis claimed. Though he never received a Major MVP award, dupreeh was filling in the hardest roles on the team, playing as the entry fragger or the secondary AWPer. 

After collecting a plethora of S-Tier trophies, dupreeh’s time in Astralis came to an end when the legendary roster was not meshing together anymore. He took Emil “Magisk” Reif to join Team Vitality, where he met ZywOo. After a rough integration to an international roster, Team Vitality finally found success at the last Major of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, where dupreeh became a five-time Major winner after claiming the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 title. 

This monumental victory meant dupreeh had outdone his former teammates in Astralis to become the only player with five Major victories. On top of that, dupreeh had never missed a CS:GO Major, as he qualified for 19 out of 19 iterations. He is tied with dev1ce for the most appearances in top 8 of CS:GO Majors at eight times.

Unfortunately, dupreeh was dropped from Team Vitality shortly after the Major victory, and was downgraded to play for Preasy Esports, a full Danish lineup. He broke his flawless Major qualification streak by missing the first CS2 Major after losing in the RMR. Still, he holds the record for most Majors attended at 19 out of 20. 

dupreeh’s HLTV Top Player Awards

• 18th best player of 2013.
• 16th best player of 2014.
• 12th best player of 2015.
• 10th best player of 2017.
• 5th best player of 2018.
• 16th best player of 2019.
• 9th best player of 2020.

dupreeh’s Individual Accolades

• Tournament MVPs: 2
• Valve Major Victories: 5
• HLTV Top 20 Appearances: 7
• Approximate Total Winnings: $2,219,917