Best CSGO Players: New Blood and Old Legends
CSGO is one of the most popular esports titles in the world, counting with millions of registered players who battle against each other every day in the classic multiplayer first person shooter, with the possibility to play up to nine game modes as well as a Battle Royale option.
The game was officially released by Valve in 2012 and received critical acclaim very quickly. Thanks to its matchmaking system, everyone can have a shot at ranking fast and perfecting their abilities to become the best in the world. Of course, it is a long climb and a hard road to travel. However, a few have managed to surpass the average level and crown themselves some of the best CSGO players. Who are they? And what makes them so good?
How Is The Best Player Defined?
As you can imagine, there are different statistics and parameters to keep in consideration. A lot of gaming institutions, organizers, news websites as well as esports talents and hosts have compiled their list of best CSGO players, citing different sources and criteria. Some of these are the following:
- Valve titles won;
- MVP awards received;
- rating 1.0 and 2.0. They were introduced in 2010 and 2017 to HLTV, a CSGO news coverage website.
Apart from purely mathematical numbers, some other factors need to be considered. Often those who are considered “legends” are the ones who made history with the game in the past and thus occupy a special place in the hearts of every CSGO fan even though they might not be mechanically the best anymore.
With all these criteria in mind, we have drawn up our personal list of the 10 best CSGO players in the world. Do you agree with the list?
The Top Ten Best CSGO Players
10 – Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut
This 20 year old French player is recently experiencing much success with his team, Team Vitality, which recently won a few tournaments (BLAST Premier: Fall 2023 and Intel Extreme Masters XV – Beijing Online: Europe, to name the last two). The team is also ranked 2nd according to the ESL World Ranking, which puts it right behind top team Astralis.
ZywOo has also been nominated for best esports athlete at the 2023 Game Awards, the only player in the CSGO category. Having an exceptional 1.34 rating 2.0, there is no doubt he is to be included in our list. Here are some of the incredible stats concerning ZywOo.
| Total kills | 17132 |
| Headshot percentage | 41.6% |
| K/D Ratio | 1.38 |
| Damage per round | 89.7 |
| Kills per round | 0.86 |
| Assists per round | 0.13 |
| Deaths per round | 0.62 |
9 – Emil “Magisk” Rei
One of the players that now compete under the (probably) best CSGO team right now, Astralis, Magisk has accomplished many achievements in his career. He recently won, with his team, the Intel Extreme Masters XV – Global Challenge and the BLAST Premier Circuit 2023.
He is certainly one of the reasons Astralis managed to be at the top of the CSGO team rankings for so long, and his dedication is remarkable. His 2.0 rating is 1.12, and here are some of the stats that prove he is worthy of being in the list.
| Total kills | 10842 |
| Headshot percentage | 48.1% |
| K/D Ratio | 1.11 |
| Damage per round | 78.8 |
| Kills per round | 0.71 |
| Assists per round | 0.14 |
| Deaths per round | 0.63 |
8 – Kenny “kennyS” Schrub
Another French player to make it into the ranking, one of the reasons kennyS’s here is because of his long history and dedication to the game. He started to actively play back in 2011, when Global Offensive wasn’t out yet, putting a lot of time into Source, its predecessor.
He is currently playing for G2 Esports, a team that was doing very good earlier this year and that now, despite some disappointments, is still ranked among the ten best teams in the world. KennyS is considered by many one of, if not the best, AWPers currently in the game.
| Total kills | 11581 |
| Headshot percentage | 31.7% |
| K/D Ratio | 1.13 |
| Damage per round | 73.0 |
| Kills per round | 0.72 |
| Assists per round | 0.10 |
| Deaths per round | 0.64 |
7 – Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovács
Holding the record for the second most recorded AWP kills of all time, Guardian consolidated throughout his long career as one of the best CSGO players. After facing some difficulties with one of the most acclaimed teams in the pro scene, Na’Vi, he was picked up by FaZe Clan with whom he won some prestigious titles. He has previously announced his intention of retiring (he is 29 years old) and is now inactive, but the following stats remind us of his dominance.
| Total kills | 10977 |
| Headshot percentage | 27.9% |
| K/D Ratio | 1.11 |
| Damage per round | 71.5 |
| Kills per round | 0.71 |
| Assists per round | 0.10 |
| Deaths per round | 0.64 |
6 – Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski
He recently entered in the top 10 best teams with Team Liquid after their fantastic performances lately. They came second in the Intel Extreme Masters XV – Global Challenge and finally made their way back to the top.
EliGE is a young, talented player that proved, time and time again, incredible results, as demonstrated by his high 1.0 rating.
| Total kills | 11140 |
| Headshot percentage | 48.7% |
| K/D Ratio | 1.06 |
| Damage per round | 82.0 |
| Kills per round | 0.74 |
| Assists per round | 0.15 |
| Deaths per round | 0.70 |
5 – Marcelo “coldzera” David
We are at the top five, and we meet the protagonist of this milestone in a whole different continent. Coldzera is a Brazilian player, currently FaZe Clan’s captain, and is considered an all-time best having ranked #1 by HLTV two years in a row (in 2016 and 2017). He still holds the fourth-highest rating 1.0 (currently at 1.12), demonstrating how his ability and capacities haven faded away after past successes.
He has changed a few teams in the past, reaching his notoriety with SK Gaming during his golden years.
| Total kills | 13088 |
| Headshot percentage | 49.5% |
| K/D Ratio | 1.20 |
| Damage per round | 78.1 |
| Kills per round | 0.75 |
| Assists per round | 0.11 |
| Deaths per round | 0.63 |
4 – Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund
The reason this legend is in the list, despite currently being inactive and far away from the spotlight, is that GeT_RiGhT is one of the first CSGO stars ever. There from the beginning, he was widely considered as one of the absolute best between 2010 and 2016. He was ranked by HLTV as the best player in 2013 and 2014 and won ten MVP medals from 2012 to 2014.
Following his departure from Ninjas in Pyjamas, seven years after he first joined the team, he has been part of Dignitas and showed that, despite the age and the glorious past, he is still willing to prove his passion.
| Total kills | 32791 |
| Headshot percentage | 49.2% |
| K/D Ratio | 1.15 |
| Damage per round | 76.6 |
| Kills per round | 0.74 |
| Assists per round | 0.15 |
| Deaths per round | 0.64 |
3 – Nikola “NiKo” Kovač
NiKo’s performance greatly improved during 2023, especially at the beginning of the year when he led his team FaZe Clan to victory at the Blast Premier Spring 2023 Regular Season, during which he earned the MVP award. Capable of turning even the most impossible situations in his favor, NiKo rightfully sits at the top three of our list.
After a quite successful run with FaZe Clan, he is now part of G2 Esports alongside his cousin, huNter-.
| Total kills | 15428 |
| Headshot percentage | 50.3% |
| K/D Ratio | 1.15 |
| Damage per round | 85.2 |
| Kills per round | 0.78 |
| Assists per round | 0.13 |
| Deaths per round | 0.68 |
2 – Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz
Dev1ce holds an incredible number or records and MVP titles collected throughout his career, which started in 2009 with Source but which met its peak with team Astralis from 2017 onwards. One of the key reasons for the success of his team, he recently won with them the Intel Extreme Masters XV – Global Challenge. His stats confirm our belief that dev1ce is one of the best AWPers in the game.
| Total kills | 16824 |
| Headshot percentage | 33.8% |
| K/D Ratio | 1.23 |
| Damage per round | 80.5 |
| Kills per round | 0.77 |
| Assists per round | 0.12 |
| Deaths per round | 0.63 |
1 – Aleksander “s1mple” Kostyliev
Did you have any doubt? If there was one certainty we had before making the list was that s1mple had to be at the top. A combination of extraordinary mechanical skills, legendary reputation, and mind-blowing plays are the reason for our decision.
Long-time Natus Vincere player, with which he reached incredible success since 2016, he was crowned champion and MVP numerous times throughout the year. Even though his times with Na’Vi haven’t always been the best, now the team seems to have found strength again and now sit at a respectable top-3 in the CSGO World Ranking.
After showcasing unprecedented personal performance in 2018 and the following year, he still claims top #1 spot in the HLTV rankings with the highest ranking 1.0 (1.23).
| Total kills | 11214 |
| Headshot percentage | 42.6% |
| K/D Ratio | 1.32 |
| Damage per round | 85.4 |
| Kills per round | 0.84 |
| Assists per round | 0.10 |
| Deaths per round | 0.64 |
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