10 most popular Counter-Strike players

Counter-Strike is an evolving game, and there are several players that can be considered very good. However, only a few made it to the spot of legends. These players are known for their clutches and consistent ability to get their team through.

Today, let’s look at the ten best players in CS that the majority of the fans agree to be the greatest of all time.

S1mple

Arguably the best player in CS prior to his hiatus with the release of CS2, s1mple was always among the top players. Starting his career back in 2013, the player jumped many teams before landing with his first major organization, Hellraiser, and later moving to Team Liquid in 2016.

During this time, his performance and skills were notable, but s1mple was not able to make much of an impact. His glory days started after joining his home organization Natus Vincere which has been a permanent home for the CS star.

ZywOo

Another beloved player who is arguably the fastest one to climb the leaderboards. ZywOo is dubbed as a prodigy and the next s1mple. His skills with the AWP have been compared to the GOAT himself.

The players found a permanent home in Team Vitality, a popular French esports organization, in 2018. He is also backed by other talented players like Spinx, flameZ and apEX with whom he won the last CS:GO major.

NiKo

Nikola Kovač, the star player for G2 focusing on entry fragger, also boasts a good reputation among fans. He is also considered one of the closest rivals to s1mple. Despite his immense skill set, NiKo has never won a Counter-Strike major.

The player has been honing his skills even before the release of CS:GO and has appeared in 12 Majors. He has come close to the trophy multiple times, however, the team always fell to behemoths like FaZe and NaVi. Fans are even theorizing that the player is cursed to never win a major.

Ropz

Ropz is one of the most consistent CS players who joined the already star-studded team for Faze back in 2022. It was also the time when he secured PGL Major Antwerp.

When the world was complaining about the bugs and glitches in Counter-Strike 2, Ropz was learning and providing feedback to fix them. CS2 changed a lot of things that left many players salty. Ropz was one of the few who mastered the mechanics early, which showed during the early tournaments.

Jame

Probably the only player who loves AWP more than winning a round, Jame is infamous for prioritizing saving AWP. His habit is also termed the phrase ‘it’s Jame time’ whenever a player tries to run away with the AWP in a losing round.

Despite everything, Jame is still considered the best when it comes to AWPing and can go head-to-head with top players. He joined Virtus.pro in 2019 and has been a permanent player since.

XANTARES

Another popular player gave us CS lingo ‘XANTARES peek’ for his high-speed peek duels. Apart from being a great player on a mechanical level, he is famous for his jiggle peek. Peeking can often turn disadvantageous if your opponent is holding an angle, especially with a sniper.

There are many talented players in CS, however, his ability to win these makes is very popular. He currently plays for Eternal Fire. Prior to this, he was seen in other big organisations like BIG and Space Soldiers.

m0NESY

Hailing from NaVi junior roster, m0NESY made headlines for being one of the youngest AWPer going head-to-head with the likes of s1mple. His aggressive play left everyone 

He was later acquired by G2 in a massive $600k deal, which many believed was fair for his skill level. While relatively new to the scene, many expect him to reach great heights in the competitive CS scene.

Coldzera

Coldzera may be one of the other talented yet controversial players in CS. His glory days might be gone but at his peak, he made some huge plays including his iconic round-saving play on Mirage that inspired the AWP graffiti on the B site.

After his time in big organisations like SK Gaming, MIBR and Faze, he is currently playing for Legacy. He might not be on top of the leaderboards, but he certainly left his mark in being the all-time best.

Olofmeister

Another player that inspired the burning man graffiti on Overpass, is known for his bold plays in CS:GO. After getting his big break with Fnatic in 2014, the team was infamous for wreaking havoc in matches.

He also did the infamous olof boost that was so broken that it caused one of the biggest controversies in CS. Even after winning the game, the team had to forfeit the match.

kennyS

Popularly known as the AWP magician, the now retired kennyS was once called the best AWPer in the history of Counter-Strike. Not only he was great with the AWP, but he was also a very aggressive player in matches.

kennyS was known to play too close to the danger. One missed bullet could give an advantage to opponents, however, he managed to succeed more than any other players. He was the star AWPer for G2 before being replaced by m0NESY.