In a yr break up by the discharge of Counter-Strike 2, the perfect gamers on the earth discovered themselves going through a brand new problem. Combining the primary half of the yr in CS:GO, and the second half with CS2, these have been the perfect Counter-Strike gamers of 2023.
Counter-Strike: World Offensive lastly got here to an finish this yr. After greater than a decade of majors, elite rosters, legendary moments and iconic performs, it’s now all relegated to historical past.
The upcoming launch of CS2 made for an odd begin to the 2023 season, with some groups clearly checked out from grinding CS:GO, resulting in some shocking outcomes at even the most important tournaments.
Vitality and FaZe dominated the yr, with some G2 success sprinkled in, and will probably be no shock to see their stars function right here. This rating will take into account each match outcomes in addition to particular person performances.
Listed here are our prime 5 CS:GO and CS2 gamers of 2023.
Greatest CS:GO and CS2 gamers of 2023
5 – Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov
ESL
A number of names may argue for fifth this yr, and lots of of them are AWPers. However, for such a younger participant to be so essential to a roster like G2 Esports, with NiKo and HuNter, and in such a significant position, m0NESY hardly ever exhibits any indicators of being a relative rookie.
Whereas followers will bear in mind his flashy performs and clutches, his worth can be in not making an attempt to be the hero, understanding he can depend on his veteran teammates to safe rounds with out risk-taking from the participant with the costliest gun.
m0NESY maintained a 1.17 HLTV ranking on LAN, which included monster performances at IEM Cologne (1.34), the place G2 lifted the trophy, and IEM Sydney (1.40). Nonetheless, he did disappoint on the BLAST Paris Main, and performed his half in G2’s surprising early exit by the hands of Fnatic, crashing out 12-14th.
In CS2, 18-year-old m0NESY’s ceiling is the sky.
4 – Robin ‘ropz’ Kool
FaZe Clan
FaZe Clan had a tricky begin to the yr, possibly resulting from CS:GO burnout, however with CS2 on the horizon, ropz wasn’t taking something without any consideration. He put within the hours, and his relentless pursuit to grasp the brand new sport helped propel FaZe to 3 straight match wins.
Regardless of FaZe’s common inconsistency over the yr, ropz was hardly ever a sufferer of it individually. FaZe might have crashed out of the Paris Main early too, however he nonetheless had a decent exhibiting.
If it wasn’t for the discharge of CS2, 2023 would have been a yr to neglect for the roster, however ropz made positive that he did all he may to shut the yr out robust. He has now misplaced his duo Twistzz, however frozen’s addition to the FaZe crew is a tantalizing prospect, as one other ex-MOUZ participant joins the lineup.
3 – Lotan ‘Spinx’ Giladi
BLAST
When Spinx impressed the world of CS throughout his time on ENCE, it appeared a positive factor that he would change into one of many world’s perfect gamers. His transfer to Vitality was the right platform, and after some early teething hassle, 2023 was the yr Spinx fulfilled the potential that had been clear to see.
Along with his teammate ZywOo usually taking the MVP trophies, it may be laborious for Spinx to get his flowers, however he has made positive nobody is sleeping on him with elite fragging performances on the largest tournaments of the yr.
His 1.24 ranking on the BLAST Paris Main was certainly one of his highest of the yr, exhibiting that the large occasions are the place he can shine, and Vitality can thank his performances for his or her eventual trophy raise. And, outdoors a one-off at Gamers8, Spinx maintained these high-impact performances all yr. One other stellar exhibiting on the BLAST Premier World Finals helped Vitality finish the yr because the crew to beat.
If Vitality are to win the primary Main of CS2, it would virtually actually be as a result of Spinx turns up on the largest second as soon as once more.
2 – Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovac
João Ferreira for Dexerto
CS:GO’s finest rifler missed his probability at a significant for the ultimate time this yr, however his affect total signifies it could be unfair to put blame at his ft.
And, regardless of what would have been a crushing disappointment, NiKo didn’t let it have an effect on his sport. Among the many prime 5 rated gamers of the yr, NiKo is the one one to not use an AWP primarily, exhibiting as soon as once more why he’s the sport’s best-ever rifler.
G2 missed out on quite a few trophies this yr, that a lot is true, however did do the double of IEM Katowice and IEM Cologne, with NiKo all the time main the server in each occasions. All that’s left now’s for him to lastly win a Main, albeit now in CS2.
1 – Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut
João Ferreira/Dexerto
Little extra could be stated about ZywOo that hasn’t been already, however at the least with CS2 right here we will look ahead to the potential of the Frenchmen actually dominating a sport, maybe with out the s1mple rivalry because it was in CS:GO.
ZywOo tops all of the charts statistically, and it’s not even actually shut (his 1.28 HLTV ranking is forward of second-place dev1ce on 1.21). And, in contrast to a few of his fellow high-rating gamers, his performances have really resulted in trophies, together with, after all, his first Main win, in entrance of a French crowd in Paris no much less.
There’s at the moment no contender for the throne that ZywOo sits comfortably upon, and shutting out 2023 with one other couple of trophies and MVP medals, 2024 would possibly even eclipse something he has executed up thus far.
With s1mple out of the image in the interim, there are just a few AWPers who can be hoping to mount a problem – m0NESY, shiro, dev1ce, SunPayus, broky, and many others. – however till any of them may even come near ZywOo’s affect, we’d count on this younger phenom to be the perfect participant of 2024 too. There’s little doubt about 2023 both.
Try our prime gamers of 2023 for Name of Responsibility and Valorant right here.
