Top 10 Best CS:GO Players of all time

Ever since Valve launched Counter-Strike: Global Offensive several players have made the game their own. From Get_Right's incredible game sense in the early days to Olofmeister's unbelievable plays to Coldzera's explosive fragging, we have seen it all.

Since 2012, several players have made their mark on the game. Many have been called the best player in the game. Here I will take a look at 10 of the greatest to ever grace the game. Every player has been considered in CSGO's history. From the early days when the game was in beta to the current scene, every player has been considered.

Let's take a look at the top 10 players ever to play CSGO:

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10. Nikola "NiKo" Kovac

Bosnian prodigy Niko is currently one of the best players in the game

One of the newer players to have made an impact on the scene, Bosnian prodigy Niko is one of the best players in the game today. Born on February 16th, 1997, Niko shows incredible aim and game sense at just 21 years of age.

He began his career as a stand-in for a Serbian player made team called iNation in 2013. He gained notoriety while playing for Mousesports from 2015 to 2017 and got by Faze where he plays today.

Niko is a rifler and an occasional AWPer. After joining iNation, he would play for several smaller teams like GamePub, Team Refuse and Aimface before finally being signed by Mousesports in March of 2015.

However, he would be benched after just two months in the team. Niko would be reinstated in the starting line up three months later in August and he proved himself by posting some incredible performances.

Niko started 2016 strong with Mousesports but couldn't win any Major/Premier Tournaments. He ranked at #11 in 2016's Top 20 Players.

But 2017 changed everything for Niko. After establishing himself as one of the best players in the world, it was clear that his team was holding Niko down. That's when he decided to leave Mousesports for Faze.

At Faze, Niko was given the role that would suit him best- The star player. The team revolved around him and depended on his fragging potential to win matches and win they would. His performance got him to #2 on 2017's HLTV Rankings. Winning several Major/Premier tournaments and accumulating a career prize money of $522,000, the only thing that eludes Niko is a Valve Major.

After finishing second in Valve's last Major at E-League: Boston, Niko looks to take the title home in the next one at London.

9. Richard "shox" Papillon

Shox started playing Source in 2006 at the age of 14

Shox is a former Counter-Strike: Source player who made his switch to Global Offensive a while after the game was released in 2012. Already one of the best Source players in the world, Shox took the Global Offensive world by storm.

Born on March 27, 1992, Shox started playing Source in 2006 at the age of 14. He got his big break in 2008 when he signed for Team Redline. He quickly established himself as one of France's best players and got signed to France's best team, VeryGames. He would play for some of the best French teams like LDLC, Team Roccat and 3DMax before switching to Global Offensive.

Shox would join Epsilon Gaming at the end of 2012 to begin his Global Offensive career. He would bounce around in among several smaller teams before getting his big break in 2014 when Titan introduced him to the CSGO world.

He would join LDLC.com at the end of the year and with LDLC Shox would go on to win the Dremhack Winter 2014 Major. LDLC's team soon signed with EnvyUs and then everything went downhill for French CS.

Internal problems would force Shox out of the team and he would rejoin Titan. But Titan would release their team soon after. He would join G2.Esports following that and he plays there till today.

Shox was the third best player of 2013, 8th in 2014, 13th in 2015 and sixth in 2016. 2017 was the first year of Shox's career that he failed to crack the Top 20 list.

Several controversies with G2.Esports have been the cause as Shox has spent most of the year benched. Regardless of his current situation, he has accumulated $420,000 in prize money including a Valve Major victory at Dreamhack Winter 2014.

Recently, G2.Esports has given Shox full control of the team where Shox can form the team as he pleases. Their first tournament will be the London 2018 Major where Shox will look to redeem himself.

8. Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski

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Snax is the only member of Poland's Golden Five on this list. One of the greatest players in Poland's rich Counter-Strike history, Snax is certainly the best CSGO player among all of them. Born on July 5, 1993, Snax is one of the older players on this list.

A former 1.6 player, Snax switched to CSGO in late 2013 joining ESC Gaming. While playing for ESC Gaming he would be signed by Poland's best team, AGAiN.

There alongside Pasha, Taz, Neo and Byali they would form the longest standing five-man team in CSGO history.

While playing for AGAiN, the team became one of the best teams in the world and they got signed by one of the world's most successful E-Sports organisations, Virtus.Pro.

With Virtus.Pro, Snax won the EMS Katowice 2014 Major on their home soil. Snax is known for his over-aggressive playing styles and can play both as a rifler and an awper.

Over their 5 year course with Virtus.Pro, Snax has been the in-game leader and Primary AWPer multiple times. After VP's downfall in 2017, Snax would follow Taz and leave the team. He joined Mousesports and plays there today.

After missing out on 2013's Top 20 list, Snax debuted on the said list at No.4 in 2014. He would be placed 4th again in 2015 and drop a place to fifth in 2016.

Most recently due to VP's drop in form, Snax placed 20th in 2017's list, the lowest of his career. Over his career, he has gone on to become one of the highest earning Polish players ever. His total earnings are around $576,000.

Snax is having a new beginning with Mousesports and will play the London 2018 Major with them. Hopefully, he can again reach the heights he once attained.

7. Kenny "KennyS" Schrub

KennyS is synonymous with AWPing. His flick-shots, his quick-scopes are a thing of legend. One of the best AWPers, if not THE best AWPer to ever play the game, KennyS is a living legend. Born on 19th of May, 1995, KennyS is by far France's best player ever. Kenny was a prodigy in CS Source but before he could really get any success, Global Offensive became the talk of the town. He switched to CSGO for VeryGames in 2012.

After VeryGames turned into LDLC, Kenny was let go from the team due to poor performances. He had a few stints in much smaller teams like Warmaker, Recursive and Clan Mystik. Then he was picked up by Titan E-Sports. In Titan, KennyS became one of the best AWPers in the game. He became Titan's ex-factor and Titan would build their team around Kenny. From Titan, he would be signed by EnvyUs in one of the french shuffles. While in EnvyUs, the team would finally click and they went on to win the Dreamhack Cluj-Napoca Major.

After his run with EnvyUs, KennyS found himself in G2 after yet another French shuffle. He at #12 in the top 20 players of 2013. 6th in 2014 and 2015.13th in 2016 and finally 7th in 2017. He has earned $512,000 in winnings throughout his career. Currently with his future uncertain due to the volatile nature of the French CSGO scene, Kenny will be looking to make amends to his playing career soon enough.

Still considered one of the best AWPers in the world, Kenny will be playing the London 2018 Major and will be hoping to turn his career around.

6. Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács

One of the most legendary players in Global Offensive history, Guardian is among the best AWPers in the world. Born on 9th July 1991, Guardian is the oldest player on this list. At 27 years old, he is still one of the best players playing the game today. The Slovakian AWPer started his career at Reason Gaming in Counter Strike Source. He switched to Global Offensive playing for temporary lineups like ex-Beasts and myDGB.

After some more stints in mediocre teams like 3DMax and TCM Gaming, he broke into the big leagues by signing for Virtus.Pro in 2013. But his tenure with VP would be short as he left the team within one month. Three months after quitting VP, Guardian joined Natus Vincere and the rest is history. In Na'Vi, Guardian became one of the greatest players of the game. He is considered as one of the best AWPers in the game alongside KennyS. He helped Na'Vi reach new heights and was the backbone of the team. However, he never got his hands on that elusive Valve Major. Perhaps being the greatest player to never win one.

After some internal problems with his team, GuardiaN left Na'Vi for Faze where he plays now. With the super team of Faze Guardian reached the grand finals of a Valve Major but again couldn't win it. Guardian is perhaps the most devoted CSGO player ever. He is even married to Nina "Foxglove" Kovacs, a Swedish CSGO player. He has been on the Top 20 Chart every year since 2013 till 2017. He placed 10th, 11th, 2nd, 17th and 9th respectively. He is also one of the richest players in the game earning $645,000 in winnings.

Guardian is at the end of his career, and all he wants is a Valve Major victory. With Faze's line-up, London might be his last chance.

5. Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev

As of writing this article S1mple is the undisputed king of CSGO. There is no other player who is close to s1mple in terms of skill. The closest is Device who is still quite a bit below. Born on 2nd October 1997, the Ukrainian has an uncanny ability to carry his team no matter what the condition. Possessing incredible aim and game sense, S1mple is an expert with both the AWP and the rifles.

S1mple started his career for amateur teams in 2014. He showed immense talent from early on and got signed to Hellraisers early in his career. After impressing with Hellraisers, Flipside Tactics picked him up as part of their Ukrainian squad. While playing for Flipside, S1mple received an invite from Spencer "Hiko" Martin to play for Team Liquid. Under Hiko's guidance, S1mple became one of the best players in the world. He pushed Liquid to a second place finish at Valve's 2016 ESL One Cologne Major. The 2nd place was the best result a North American team had posted in a Valve Major.

After Liquid, S1mple finally joined Natus Vincere, a team he wished to play forever since he was a boy. It was at Na'Vi S1mple established himself as the undisputed best player in the world. Carrying Na'Vi on his back to several tournament victories S1mple holds a record of 8 Premier Tournament MVPs. He placed 4th in 2016's Top 20 players and 7th in 2017's. He has accumulated $333,000 in winnings and with his talents, it is sure to increase. With S1mple as the backbone for Na'Vi, they won 3 Premier tournaments in a row.

Having established themselves as one of the best teams in the world, S1mple and Na'Vi will look to win their first Valve Major at London.

4. Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz

Device is one of the all time greats. The best Dane to ever play the game, Device can work both as an AWPer and as a rifler. Born on September 8th, 1995, he is one of the most prolific players to ever play the game. Having played his entire career with teammates Xyp9x and Dupreeh, the trio is the longest standing 3 man core in CSGO today.

Device got his start in CSGO for the Copenhagen Wolves. The aforementioned trio would meet here and go in and out of Copenhagen Wolves for a year. From there, the trio would move to Uber Geekz before finally settling down in Denmark's biggest team, Team Dignitas. At Dignitas, the team would establish themselves as one of the best and Device would make a mark on the pro scene. From there the squad was picked up by Team SoloMid, there the team became the best in the world and Device became one of the best in the world. A contract dispute with TSM soon had them leave and form an organisation of their own- Astralis.

With Astralis, Device came into his element. He won the 2017 E-League Major winning his first Valve Major in the process. Currently, the best team in the world, Device looks for more success with the FaceIt London major coming up. He was voted the 20th best player in 2014. 3rd in 2015 and 2016. 5th in 2017. With strong performances as of late, he is one of the favourites to become 1st in 2018. He has amassed $798,000 in prize winnings making him one of the richest players in the world.

Device and Astralis are unstoppable as of now. They will look to continue their domination and win the London Major.

3. Olof 'olofmeister' Kajbjer Gustafsson

One of the all time greats and one of the most famous E-Sport players of all time, Olofmeister was born on January 31, 1992 in Sweden. Olof's breakthrough came when Fnatic signed him and he became one of the bests. He is a rifler and can play any role given to him whether it is an entry fragger, a lurker or even an AWPer. His game-sense and aim combined make him one of the most lethal players to ever play.

Olof had a pretty uneventful 1.6 career. But his CSGO career took a flying start. After impressing early in lower level teams such as H2k Gaming and Absolute legends, Olof signed for LGB eSports. With his raw potential on full display, Olof was soon scouted out and signed by Fnatic. For Fnatic, Olof had one of the best careers in CSGO history. He won 2 back to back Majors with the team- ESL One Cologne 2015 and ESL One Katowice 2015. He won the MVP award at Katowice. He would have more success with Fnatic before finally leaving the team for FaZe Clan in late 2017. With FaZe, Olof would shine again becoming one of the strongest teams of the 2017-18 season. They would go in to the Boston 2018 Major as favourites but lose in the finals to Cloud 9.

Apart from all his trophies and medals, Olof was named the best player of 2015 in HLTV's rankings. He was also ranked 12th in 2014, 8th in 2016 and 19th in 2017. Over his illustrious career, he has earned a total of $683,000 in prize money. With several injuries and personal issues plaguing his career, Olof is having a hard time performing as per his usual standards. He recently returned from an unplanned hiatus and looks to keep playing without any more unprecedented interruptions.

If Olof is to redeem himself and prove to the world he is still one of the best players in the game, London 2018 Major is the right place to do it as he and his team Faze Clan look to win it all.

2. Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund

Born on May 29th, 1990, Get_Right is the oldest person on this list. But he is also one of the greatest. Get_Right was a decorated CS 1.6 player. He was among the best in that game. He played for several top-tier teams like Fnatic, SK Gaming and Giants Gaming. His last stint in 1.6 was with SK and when Valve launched CSGO, they immediately made the switch. A switch that would etch their name in history.

On switching from 1.6 to CSGO, SK's roster got signed by Ninjas in Pyjamas. Get Right and NiP would go on an unbeaten streak of 87 games. A streak that is yet to be broken. They became the pioneers of CSGO. Get Right himself set the standard at which the game is to be played. Unmatched in his game sense, Get Right reinvented and perfected the role of the 'Lurker' in CSGO. NiP reached the finals of the first 5 CSGO Majors. A feat no team will ever match. But unfortunately, NiP would lose 4 of those 5 finals and manage only one Major victory over their existence. This does not undermine Get Right's achievements as he remained one of the best players in the game.

Winning one Major and finishing as runners-up in 4 can be tough. But Get Right still managed to finish as the #1 player in HLTV's Top 20 rankings for 2013 and 2014. He dropped to 11th in 2015 and further down to 18th in 2016. 2017 was the first year his name was not on the list. He has earnings of $518,000 to his name. NiP's downfall started in 2015 and now they are way off the top of the CSGO scene. They qualified for the London Major which will be their first Major in 2 years. Hopefully, they get back on track.

After missing out on two consecutive Majors, Get Right and NiP will look to reclaim his spot on the top of the CSGO scene at London 2018.

1. Marcelo "Coldzera" David

Was there any doubt? The Man, The Myth, The Beast. Coldzera is the best player to ever grace the game. Period. Coldzera was signed to Luminosity Gaming by team captain Gabriel 'Fallen' Toledo in mid-2015. Known for his explosive fragging power and aim Cold is nearly unmatched in consistency. He was born in October 31st, 1994 in Brazil and started playing in the local scene at the age of 19.

Coldzera was a huge name in the Brazillian CSGO scene. He was even considered one of Brazil's brightest talents. His reputation didn't go unnoticed as when Fallen's Luminosity Gaming lacked a player he turned to Cold. After signing with Luminosity, Coldzera started to prove to the world what the hype was about. He started slaughtering his opponents left and right with ease in any game he played. Such was his impact, Luminosity went from being a Mid tier team to the best team in the world in the span of 3 months. Cold came to his element once 2016 started as he won two back to back Majors. He got the MVP of the tournament both in MLG Columbus 2016 and ESL One Cologne 2016.

Apart from being one of the best ever, Coldzera is perhaps the most consistent player ever. In his 3 year plus career he has never suffered a drop in form. He has always been that top fragging beast for his team. Coldzera has also won a record number of tournament MVPs. He made his debut on HLTV's Top 20 list in 2016 at #1. He held his place in 2017 as well and remains the second player to do so. He has an $808,000 collection in prize money. His team moved to Immortals playing under the banner of Made in Brazil in mid 2018 and will go into the London Major this way.

After several downs over the past few months, MiBR has finally found a stable team. They will look to reclaim their glory days by winning the London 2018 Major. A feat they are well capable of.