Top 10 Counter-Strike Players In The World

Top 10 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Players In The World

In a historic timeline that, in many ways, mirrors the way eSports has risen to fame across the world, the original Counter-Strike has entertained millions in the gaming community for nearly 20 years. The original game and the current version, Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) have shaped the worlds of competitive gaming, eSports, and first-person shooters in many ways.

Due to the incredible impact the games have on the contemporary gaming community, there have been skilled streamers and players that have risen to record levels of fame and success in the game. The Top 10 highest paid CS: GO players alone have combined total earnings of well into the millions of dollars. The game is popular worldwide, and fans are still playing the game many years after its 2012 release. In 2016, it was even recognized at the eSports Industry Awards as eSports Game of the Year. The game’s longtime association with gambling and eSports bets give it the potential for extreme longevity in the evolving eSports industry.

Now, let’s begin and take a look at our list for the Top 10 CS: GO players in the world.

The Top Ten

1. Marcelo “Coldzera” David

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Credit: https://www.gfinity.net/news/details/thorin-s-top-20-cs-go-players-of-all-time-10-1

A true legend in the CS:GO community, Michael “Coldzera” David has for years led the top of the CS:GO leaderboards and been recognized for his skill by consistently winning tournaments and awards, winning eSports Player of the Year and PC Player of the Year in the 2016 Game Awards, at the same time CS: GO took home the Game of the Year Award.

Coldzera has been the recipient of an MVP or Player of the Year multiple times from many different groups and organizations and rose to stardom playing for Luminosity Gaming (He now plays for MIBR, or Made in Brazil, a team representing his Latin-American home country). The man takes home hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time, winning tournaments left and right, even as recently as fall of 2018. He has brought MIBR with him to record levels of Counter Strike success.

He is best known for his amazing fragging skills that make him a popular player when it comes to competitive bets on the game. For example, in 2016, in the MLG Championship, he eliminated four players and the AWP in front of millions of fans.

2. Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund

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It’s impossible to deny that Swedish player Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund is one of the greatest of all time. One of the older players in the community, at 29 years of age, GeT_RiGhT hasn’t let that stop him from setting records and making his name in history with his talent.

He holds the long-standing record of consecutive wins in CS: GO, with an unbroken streak of 87 games that he set in the early days of the game when played under Ninjas in Pajamas. Although he has slumped on the leaderboards in recent years, GeT_RiGhT maintained a “king of CS: GO” status for far longer than many others and has won 20 International Titles and placed Top 8 in dozens more.

He led the leaderboards in the early days of the game, at a time when many others struggled with accuracy and the massive rush of international attention to the top professional players. For this, many will always recognize him as a champion of the game’s glory days.

3. Richard “shox” Papillon

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Richard “Shox” Papillon, an internationally recognized French player in the VeryGames French eSports team, Shox is known for how easy he makes dominating in the game look. He was one of the top players for the original CS: Source game, and anyone who has heard or seen of his gameplay in CS: GO won’t have any doubts about this.

He not only pulled himself onto the top of the games charts but also carried VeryGames from underdog status to worldwide champions in the game, in 2013 surpassing even Ninjas in Pajamas to become the best CS: GO team in the world.

In later years, he carried team Titan to equally high levels of fame, and in between NiP and Titan he played for a host of different teams, all of which benefited from the second best player at the time (Coldzera, also of NiP, was considered just above Shox to take the top title) backing them up. In his peak, he was a feared player, and that is what puts him so high on the list.

4. Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer

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Probably the most versatile player to ever have played CS: GO professionally, Olof “Olofmeister” Kajbjer can rock any match with any role and any weapon. He rose to his high status when the eSports group Fnatic signed him onto their team in summer 2014. While extremely versatile, he isn’t necessarily consistent, often excelling in perfect moments in matches and tournaments to ensure the long term success of his team.

Similarly, while many other players on this list took off a year or two in the earlier days of CS: GO’s reign, it feels as if Olofmeister took his time to get settled in. He won his first major title in 2015 at ESL One Katowice.

He was on the first team to win more than one major title, with back-to-back successes by Fnatic, an eSports unprecedented record in 2015. He’s won nearly $700,000 in prize earnings over the course of his career, and overcame injuries and personal issues to still maintain within the top-20 status in 2016 and 2017.

5. Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz

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The 24-year-old Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz has used his formidable skills as an AWP to reach his levels of professional fame and status alongside his two closest friends and teammates, Xyp9x and Dupreeh. With a net worth of nearly $1 million , he has the skills to be able to turn down TSM over “contract disputes” and then go off to form his successful professional team-Astralis.

His team is currently the best in the world and won the 2017 ELeague Major (the first Valve major title for dev1ce himself). As recently as March of 2019, dev1ce was taking the top spot in events, taking home the win in the Intel Extreme Masters Katowice Major.

6. Kenny “kennyS” Schrub

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In a game where sniper is known for being a challenging role for even the most talented players (who, even if they may excel at sniper, often do much better in their primary roles of fragger), Kenny “kennyS” Schrub can pinpoint shots on his enemies in incredible angles and shots that make it look easy and like his only goal is simply to entertain himself. His ability to place quick shots and flashy quickscopes makes others envy his raw talent.

Unfortunately, kennyS has often been able to stick with any team for too long. The constant team movements in France or being let go from VeryGames due to poor performances may have made his career feel more unsure, but due to his unbreakable talent, he has maintained a top 10 status internationally for much of the last 6 years. That’s not something many of the best have been able to do.

7. Janusz “snax” Pogorzelski

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Polish star Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski started playing CS: GO in late 2013, well over a year after the game was released, and other pro players had hundreds and hundreds of in-game hours of experience already logged. But somehow, thanks to his energy and skillset, Snax was able to reach international levels of recognition as a next-level AWPer for Virtus.Pro and then eventually Mousesports, where he moved to with his gaming friend Taz.

Despite the hiccup of the slow burnout of Virtus.Pro, which for a time lowered his status on the worldwide leaderboards, Snax only placed #20 in 2017, an extremely high level that was still somehow the lowest he has been in his career. Things are looking up for him though, as Mousesports is becoming a larger and larger competitor every year.

8. Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev

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This Ukrainian skill powerhouse has redefined what it looks like to be successful in CS: GO. Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev started playing in amateur teams in 2014, jumped up to play with Team Liquid after making impressions online, and getting an invite from Spencer “Hiko” Martin. He was then able to make his final move to his dream team, Natus Vincere ( Na’Vi), where he found his stride.

After finding a true home for his skill, he started working his way up on the leaderboard and currently sits somewhere in about the top 10 current players. He’s sure to continue to win and surprise, and may even work his way up to the top spot if he continues at his current rate. As for now, his potential status is just higher than his current one. Only time will tell where S1mple is able to go.

9. Nikola “NiKo” Kovac

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Rising through increasingly more well-known eSports groups until reaching his position in FaZe that he has held to this day, Nikola “NiKo” Kovac has been slowly improving his game since he started playing CS: GO in 2013. He’s become one of the best players in the FaZe Clan CS: GO team, and his aim and tactics make him a very strategic player.

Although his history in top teams may be able to speak well to his talent, he has not won any major or premiere titles (yet), but as of 2016 was ranked #11 internationally.

10. Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg

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A Swedish player with not just talent but talent when it counts, Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg has done so well in the many massive games he’s been in, including many majors, that he now teaches a MasterClass in gaming skills.

He has played for Fnatic, for which he is probably best remembered, but his exploits at Ninjas in Pajamas have kept him in near-peak condition, as he is still very impressive to watch. His earnings total a little more than $600,000, and he continues to play with NiP in International Championships.