Top 10 CS:GO players of all time

The Counter-Strike franchise is 20 years old and throughout its history, there have been legendary players with the skills and knowledge to reach the top tier of competitive play. Global Offensive released in 2012 and in the last seven years has seen many challengers for 'best CS:GO player of all time' emerge. Early scene dominators, young prodigies with mechanical prowess and skilled, consistent veterans can all stake a claim to the title with no clear winner that will appease everyone.

This top 10 list of the best CS:GO players of all time will look at skill, longevity and achievements to try determine who deserves to be crowned king of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Rather than simply listing players by MVP awards or pure aim, this list will seek to combine all these factors to respect historically strong players while giving credit to the relative newcomers with superior aim and talent.

10. Nikola "NiKo" Kovač

Speaking of aim and talent, kicking off this list is NiKo.

Whether wielding a Desert Eagle, AK-47 or AWP, NiKo was only a threat when killed, as he is capable of winning any round even with the odds against him. After being 'saved' from mousesports by FaZe, NiKo got in shape both in and out of the server, enabling FaZe to be a looming threat to top teams for the last three years.

His insane ability saw him rise from the 11th best player in the world in 2016 to second in 2017 and third in 2018, earning a total of five MVP medals. The total is even more impressive when we look at when they were won, with BLAST Pro Series: Miami 2019's accolade coming at the expense of Team Liquid, the best team in the world who went into the final of the event having not lost a single group stage match and Astralis, who they were able to topple 16-5 on Dust II being the best example.

A stint as in-game leader for the European all-star roster has seen his personal level drop below the previous NiKo standard, but the addition of Brazilian superstar coldzera and young talent broky could see the 22-year-old return to his previous level and once again dominate in the server even if he is leading once again.

Valve Major titles: 0

MVP awards: 5

9. Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg

It has been arguably claimed that f0rest is one of the CS:GOATS due to his ability to still perform at a high level after 15 years playing Counter-Strike. Perhaps this assessment is made so frequently due to f0rest's impressive beard being so similar to the farmyard animal rather than being the one true Greatest Of All Time.

Ninjas in Pyjamas' legendary 87-0 map run at the start of CS:GO and their sole Major won in grueling fashion at ESL One Cologne 2014 have locked the members of that historic roster into the history books. Individually, f0rest has skill and impact that made him crucial back in 2013 and still a valuable asset in today in 2019.

While NiP have seen their public reputation tarnished and fellow Swedish veteran GeT_RiGhT benched this year, f0rest remains a member of an ever-shrinking 1.6 club of players still active in GO while holding their own in the server. He might not be the greatest player to ever touch the game, but he is undeniably one of the legends Counter-Strike has and deserves a place on this list.

Valve Major titles: 1

MVP awards: 8

8. Robin "flusha" Rönnquist

Fnatic emerged as the dominant force in CS:GO in 2015 and a new nickname was found for flusha as a result of this era: Señor VAC. The mouse-lifting Swede has had his fair share of VACcusations due to numerous clips that involve wallbangs, smoke kills and prefires as well as 'locks' onto unseen players.

From 2013-2016, flusha appeared in the top 20 best players of the year and placed in the top ten in three of them.

While Fnatic struggled and failed to secure any trophies throughout 2017, back-to-back victories at IEM Katowice and WESG 2017 in the first half of 2018 before the removal of Maikail "Golden" Salim saw flusha add another MVP award to his collection and proved that he was still more than capable of rolling back the years.

His return to Sweden following time in Cloud9 and a break for personal reasons saw Fnatic win on home soil at DreamHack Masters Malmo alongside the now venerated Golden.

Valve Major titles: 3

MVP awards: 4

7. Marcelo "coldzera" David

The core responsible for the LG/SK era was similar to a body. Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo as the brain leading the way, Fernando "fer" Alvarenga the feet that pave the way, Epitácio "TACO" de Melo as hands to carry and enable his comrades and coldzera at the heart of its heart and brawn.

As a result, success for coldzera came as a result of a whole team effort, with the star player rarely the first to die but instead left alive and set up to clean up rounds. coldzera was the one to fear most during the Brazilian upsurge.

His success in his role also opened up questions and challenged the perceptions surrounding how 'support players' should perform.

Taking the top spot in the HLTV Top 20 Players list in both 2016 and 2017, coldzera looked untouchable going into 2018 as SK won ESL Pro League Season 6 Finals and remained the best team in the world.

From SK's transfer to MIBR, coldzera and his teammates struggled to recapture old glory, the American additions to the roster took things from bad to worse and a return to the SK era lineup with Felps did little to alleviate the problems this year. His self-benching and addition to FaZe Clan to join NiKo could be the remaking or the breaking of the Brazilian heading into 2020.

Valve Major titles: 2

MVP awards: 8

6. Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács

GuardiaN is considered one of the best AWPers of all time, having the second most recorded AWP kills of all time that make up 63% of his total professional kills. His style might not be as flashy as some other snipers, but his consistency with the $4750 investment of a weapon makes up for that.

A slump following Na'Vi's internal issues, lack of motivation and surgery on his wrist hasn't stopped GuardiaN. FaZe Clan provided him with a new environment where the GuardiaN the world knew and loved could come alive again and show why he is one of the best.

He is yet to win a Major, with his latest venture on Natus Vincere likely being one of the last chances for the 28-year-old who had previously intended to retire after his time on FaZe.

His immense effort of 75 frags in the Grand Final at the ELEAGUE Major 2018 in Boston looked set to win the trophy for FaZe, but the hometown heroes of Cloud9 were the victors instead after an epic best-of-three clash that went the distance.

Valve Major titles: 0

MVP awards: 8

5. Kenny "kennyS" Schrub

One of the most iconic names in the game, you don't have to be a Counter-Strike fan to know the name kennyS.

The French player has a storied history from ruthless hunter-carrier in 2014, to Major success at DreamHack Cluj-Napoca with EnVyUs in 2015 to his position in the French superteam roster under G2 Esports.

In that 'superteam', kennyS still shone and won MVP medals at all three events they won in 2017 despite the roster having issues with consistency and interpersonal clashes.

Plagued by motivation issues and prone to self-doubt, the 24-year-old has bounced back from a dip in 2018 following roster changes for G2 and now sits on an international roster for the first time in his career.

Valve Major titles: 1

MVP awards: 10

4. Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev

S1mple is one of, if not the definitive, Counter-Strike's greatest players in terms of game mechanics. His ability and skill ceiling surpasses all of those who came before him.

Despite his talents, s1mple has often had his career restrained. Many of his teammates were seen as limits on his true potential and there is plenty of space in the trophy cabinet next to s1mple's growing pile of MVP medals. 

Not for his lack of trying, Na'Vi have struggled to achieve long term success with only a scattering of trophies and a second place finish at the FACEIT Major in London following an incredible summer run in 2018.

With a revamped Na'Vi with deep tournament potential and a solid debut at DreamHack Masters Malmo landing the team a 3-4th place finish, s1mple could see himself climb in this list with further success for his team and his individual level maintained.

Valve Major titles: 0

MVP awards: 9

3. Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund

The first true star of Global Offensive, GeT_RiGhT racked up ten MVP medals from 2012 to 2014.

Opponents needed to watch their backs at all times as a lurking GTR was all too likely to pounce on unsuspecting victims and spray them down with ease.

He was also ranked by HLTV as a top 20 player from 2010 to 2016, claiming the title of best player in both 2013 and 2014.

'NiP Magic' was certainly at GTR's fingertips as NiP continued to win LAN trophies on-off until IEM Oakland 2017, following which NiP fell into a victory drought that has continued into 2019.

The 29-year-old is not done yet, not looking to retire despite his benching from the organisation he has been part of for over seven years. While his star player potential has faded and made way for new young talent, his passion for the game has not waned.

His latter years on NiP have been marred by poor performances but GeT_RiGhT remains one of the greatest CS:GO players of all time due to his legacy.

Valve Major titles: 1

MVP awards: 10

2. Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer

Superstar and a frequent poster boy for the game due to his popularity and legendary status, Olofmeister is as iconic to the game as Dust II itself.

Olof was part of Fnatic for over three years and was part of the core defined as the greatest of all time, with modern Astralis being the only true challenge to that throne.

Back-to-back Majors for three in total and 14 trophies with six in a row during their era were won by Fnatic to cement an era for the Swedish organisation.

While not needing to break his back carrying Fnatic, Olofmeister was the standout star.

While the man himself does not consider himself the CSGO GOAT, he is nevertheless a strong candidate and many would place him at the top of this list for good reason.

Major titles: 3

MVP awards: 6

1. Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz

In terms of performance and MVP titles, device wins this top CS player list by a length.

A star player who still manages to shine on a team where each player is more than capable of holding their own, device.

He has not been the best player of an era like olof or coldzera, nor a lone carry dragging teams to playoffs like kennyS, nor even the strongest ever mechanical player like candidates s1mple or Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut, but device takes the best of many of these players to be individually great and secure wins for his team as a whole.

If we take into account all of the factors mentioned before the list began, longevity, skill and achievements, device stands unrivalled individually in that respect.

Some may say device was 'carried' to his position thanks to Astralis being such a strong team, but the argument that device plays a crucial role within Astralis to elevate them to a level in which an incredible era looked effortless is the obvious counter.

While NiP's 87-0 run saw multiple players on the team win MVP medals, 15 in total for all of NiP through 2012-13, device alone has earned 14 in his career with nine of them being earned in the last two years.

Major titles: 4

MVP awards: 14

Do you agree with our list? Who would you have as your #1? Let us know in the comments!