The best CS: GO players of 2023 – who besides ZywOo and s1mple?

ZywOo and s1mple

The leader duo has not changed for the second year in a row. In 2023, again, no one was able to impose competition between ZywOo and s1mple – both e-sportsmen showed well, quite an equal game, but still, Erbo looked a little preferable at the decisive segment of the season.

Whichever of them won, in 2023 both brought their teams the maximum benefit: Vitality is still aiming for the title of the best team of the year, and NAVI had one of the best seasons in recent years – they did not have so many hits in the top 4 with the times of Zeus. Now let’s look at those who have been eclipsed by both esportsmen.

device

It seems that device “forever third” (he has the most of these places) will enter the top 3 best players this time. The Dane once again had a wonderful year and showed no negative statistics at any of the tournaments. Ridts’s performance was also not influenced by changes in the main line-up – in all iterations of the roster, device has invariably remained one of the leaders.

In general, it is clear that the lockdown and the online era did not affect the performance and motivation of the esports player at all. Given that the Dane was struggling with frequent flights, the respite from the LAN may have been good for him. In addition, it is noticeable that Ridtz is still more used to playing in the original lineup with Xyp9x and gla1ve – which, however, is confirmed by other Astralis players. This means that now that the team has clearly rested and got back in shape, we can expect even more achievements from device – we hope that on LAN.

With a minimum of intrigue and scandals and a maximum of respect for colleagues in the scene – outside the server, device continues to be an exemplary CS: GO player. What can we say, if, given the busy schedule of tournaments and training, he takes time to learn a new language?

ropz

If anyone deserves regret this year, it is ropz. Estonian spends his best season on the pro scene, but runs the risk of being left with only a trophy GG.Bet ICE Challenge 2023which took place back in February.

The fact that mousesports did not fail the first half of the year even more is primarily due to ropz. As if karrigan neither lost control over the team, the Estonian does not shoot less accurately from this. In terms of K / D, Kohl is fourth behind s1mple, ZywOo and device, while NiKo is ahead of the overall rating. blameF and mir, but the last one, it must be remembered, played at fewer top events.

Ropz is, in a good way, an “onliner”, the first FACEIT Pro League native to have established himself at such a high competitive level. And this is another example of a player who benefits from going online more than ever. By the end of 2023, ropz will certainly enter the top 5.

NiKo

If device is a textbook example of the ideal esports player, then NiKo is a full-fledged pop star of the scene, whose number of fans and haters is growing proportionally. The Bosnian has also consistently been in the top 5 players for several years, and this time it will not be otherwise.

NiKo’s statistics fade into the background when the Bosnian is discussed in the media space. Kovacs continue to be considered almost the main culprit in the fact that FaZe Clan did not stay in the Counter-Strike elite, so his departure from the team caused a lot of discussions on social networks. Mom’s post also added drama coldzera, who, on behalf of the entire Brazilian family, asked NiKo to change his mind.

Perhaps it is the millionth transfer of coldzera to FaZe that raises the most questions – after all, the Brazilian was taken under NiKo, with whom they have long been closely friends. And who is to blame in the end – a short-sighted organization or an esportsman who escaped “from a sinking ship”? But back to statistics.

In 2023, NiKo dropped somewhat in K / D, but did not lose at all in the overall utility rating – according to this parameter on HLTV.org, it ranks fifth after the golden three and blameF. Also, keep in mind that he spent most of the year as in-game leader of FaZe, which at least made him one of the most individually strong captains of the stage.

NiKo is now relieved of his duties as G2 Esports, which means that in terms of the ratio of murders and deaths, he must add, because in the new team this is exactly what is expected of him. The debut has not yet been called successful, but still only a few online tournaments took place.

blameF

2020 has not yet allowed the most skillful in-game leader of the blameF scene to shine, but the Dane outlined his intentions – at the end of the year he shares the fourth place in the HLTV.org rating with NiKo, but is ahead of the Bosnian in terms of K / D.

For the last year Complexity Gaming was able to really prove herself only in June, when she won the first of the major BLAST championships in 2023. The team also won four #HomeSweetHome tournaments, but showed much less outstanding results in the rest of the championships.

Perhaps, Complexity Gaming had the hardest time over the past year. The team was literally torn between two regions: the backbone of the roster was from Europe, and the two players and the club’s management were in America. As a result, at the beginning of the pandemic, the players and the organization decided that the team should play in Europe. It was a serious step, considering all possible uncertainties, but the esports players decided to completely surrender to the game and remained in the most competitive region.

As a result, Complexity, of course, gained experience, but did not take into account that there was a very young American on the team. oBo – in the end, he could not stand the protracted voyage and decided that he had enough (it’s hard to blame him, just remember that at one time s1mple decided not to play in Liquid for the same reason). For this reason, since the end of October, the team has been performing with jks…

Despite the short-term bursts, the Complexity season on the whole can hardly be called successful, especially since the team did not qualify for the Major. But blameF regularly showed a high level, so it will almost certainly be among the six strongest players at the end of the year.

Aleksib

2020 has finally buried all doubts that allu destroyed ENCE with an ill-considered replacement. If not for the whim of the Finnish veteran, it is quite possible that this team was now in the top 10 of the world, and not OG.

When the OG roster had just appeared, many predicted an early disband for him, but Aleksib put all the skeptics to shame and was able to make a real team out of a set of players, which is not only capable of playing on equal terms with all the tops, but really claims to be trophies.

Surprisingly, only two players in the top 10 end up with a positive HLTV.org rating – mantuu and valde… Aleksib is the third behind them. I have never become an OG champion, although this was the primary task, as NBK said. But the language just does not turn to blame Aleksib for this, especially since the team played in the finals of major Flashpoint Season 2 and IEM New York 2023. And also thanks to the Finn for a great meme.

Deserve a mention – tabseN and cadiaN

If you focus only on statistics, then it is worth mentioning all the same electronic, Magisk, dupreeh, as well as valde and syrsoN. But in my opinion, the in-game leaders of the two main discovery teams of 2023 – BIG and Heroic – deserve more mention.

While the Swedish scene was slowly but surely going downhill, in the mid-2000s, new young talents were growing up in Denmark and Germany. And as it turned out, the former needs an experienced in-game leader who is suitable in temperament, and the latter needs a suitable mix of personalities with a shooting captain.

I don’t want to belittle the merits of the young Heroic stars (including those who have already left the team), but the team showed rapid growth just after the arrival of cadiaN. The Danes had a shock at the end of 2019, and in the online era they only improved their results, although they survived reshuffles and even changes of organizations. HUNDEN has also become an important factor in the team’s success, which is at least confirmed by the fact that he was left in the team, despite the ban from ESIC.

At the last major tournament of the year, BIG proved that in 2023 it is still stronger than Heroic. The German team played for a long time under the leadership of gob b, but it turned out that without him the team became stronger, and the veteran himself first moved to the position of manager, and then decided to play in Valorant. As a result, tabseN took over the obligations of the in-game leader – and in the new role he is very good.

BIG brought together not quite young, but already experienced and at the same time still motivated players, who in the spring and summer put out an amazing streak of five won tournaments. After the break, the team lost some form, but still never dropped out of the pool of contenders for victories. Under the leadership of tabseN, according to BIG’s colleagues in the German scene, the team began to train more than ever before – the result is obvious.