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It has been a few months since CS:GO became CS2 and yet, some Counter-Strike legends remain active even with the game changing constantly. The first-ever Major held in 2013 was won by Fnatic. Since then, Counter-Strike legends such as gla1ve, dupreeh, and s1mple have emerged.
With formidable skills and an overwhelming presence, there are just some players that dominate the scene. Is it possible to decide who is the best? Here’s a compiled list of five of the greatest CS:GO players to perhaps ever grace the community with their unique plays, strategic minds, and just raw power inside the famous FPS shooter. Starting the list off with Counter-Strike legend and AWP icon, kennyS.
Top 5 greatest Counter-Strike legends
1) Kenny "kennyS" Schrub
How can one create a list of Counter-Strike legends and not have the AWP magician himself? ‘kennyS’ had a beautiful prime in his career where he became the man to look for when googling, ‘How to use the AWP?’ And for one very big reason. The player has the most AWP kills on CS:GO LAN with a last recorded 9259 kills. This estimate came in right before the game was transitioned into CS2.
His flexibility with a weapon that’s a massive sniper was exceptional. It earned him a victory at the major, ESL One: Cologne 2015, and MVP recognition as well. Unfortunately, despite giving the world unbelievable clips, his career would soon start spiraling downwards. But his contributions were never in vain.
2) Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander
The leader and mastermind behind four major victories for Astralis, Gla1ve is a name everyone in the Counter-Strike community still knows and respects. Thanks to his strategic brilliance, Astralis achieved much fame and success winning over 19 tournaments during their time together.
He has earned about $1,900,931 from his winnings in the game, has the second most wins in Majors of any player, and was the eighth-best player back in 2018. With an insane headshot percentage of 46.9%, his contributions to the team and CS:GO and CS2 in general are still worthy of binge-watching on a Sunday evening.
3) Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo
FalleN has done a great deal in teaching Brazilian Counter-Strike players the way the game works. From lineups to mechanics, he has mastered everything and even given it away to his fans to become one of the most admired Counter-Strike legends. On top of that, he’s won two majors out of the 15 that he played in and been MVP on four separate occasions.
He has over a million dollars in earnings from tournaments alone. He has a total of 32,704 kills in the game and has a striking damage/round percent of 71.1. It also helps that he’s taught so much that he’s now considered the Professor of Brazil’s Counter-Strike scene so don’t be surprised when fellow players and pros spam "Presente" meaning "Present," whenever FalleN hits a clip.
4) WarOwl
The CS:GO community benefited a lot from the presence of one WarOwl who taught us everything that we ever needed to learn. Let’s be honest, CS is a game that can feel overwhelmingly difficult for new players. And this was especially the case when it was a new game itself.
The WarOwl is the man behind the YouTube channel that taught everyone how to go about their gameplay making him a Counter-Strike legend for the ages. He taught hundreds and thousands of watchers every day with his tutorials and other pieces.
Even today, the WarOwl continues doing his bidding by creating more and more videos. You won’t see him on a pro team winning a major but he’s still responsible for at least one of the many lineups you know today.
5) Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev
This should come as no surprise, s1imple is one of the greatest players to grace the Counter-Strike franchise coming in with a headshot percentage of 41.1%. Whether it’s about his insane plays or about that one time he tossed over his AWP to his enemy’s head just to shoot him with his pistol instead, he gets it done.
He has recorded 38714 and has his deaths standing at about 29045 which gives him the applaudable K/D ratio of 1.33. He made CS:GO even more popular with his confident attitude and overwhelming power inside the game.
He manages to be a dominant force to play against and has garnered everyone's respect making him one of the greatest Counter-Strike legends out there. For many, even the best.
These were just some names that could be dropped while having the GOAT conversation with fellow players. Of course, there are still many Counter-Strike legends out there like Shroud, dupreeh, and ZywOo who contributed to the game like no one else and could be ranked even higher on a list. Would you swap one of these players for them instead?
More CS2 Articles from Sportskeeda:
- "CS2 is going to be a dead game" - Shroud speculates Counter-Strike 2 will be the end to a decade-long legacy
- 5 best CS2 riflers of 2023
- 7 tips for Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) beginners
