The popularity of Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) was unabated in 2016 as the game continued to be one of the mainstays of eSports along with League of Legends, Dota 2, Hearthstone and newcomer Overwatch. Player movement and team reconfiguration was a constant, but over the course of the year it was possible to identify the top players in the world. Here are the current best five players.
#5
s1mple stumbles to fifth
s1mple comes in at number five mostly due to Na’Vi’s limited success over the last few months. At his best he is arguably the most talented player in the world and s1mple broke onto the scene with this incredible aim at the forefront of his play.
While finally displaying his abilities on a global stage with North American side Team Liquid, s1mple would eventually join Natus Vincere and help carry them to a 1st place finish at ESL: One New York back in October. If this list was made then, s1mple may have been as high as second, but with recent poor showings, he finds himself sliding down to number five.
#4
FalleN one of two SK Gaming stars
Brazilian FalleN of SK Gaming is another player who would have been rated higher if these ratings were taken just a few months ago, but instead he checks in at number four. FalleN has been one of the cornerstones of the ever dominant Brazilians, handling two of the most pivotal roles in a team simultaneously, that of in-game leader and primary AWPer (or sniper).
Performing one of these tasks is difficult enough, but FalleN was arguably the best in-game leader and a top three AWPer for a large part of 2016. In the same vain as s1mple, FalleN’s recent poor showings are the main reason he does not feature higher in this list.
To be fair to FalleN, he is dealing with a stand-in in the form of fox, who is temporarily filling the void after fnx was removed, but FalleN’s recent play has dropped off significantly. With his generally poor performance at the most recent ELEAGUE Major, FalleN will now have to prove himself going forward if he wants to remain this high on the list.
#3
Snax flies under the radar
At number three is the star player of the most consistent team throughout all of 2016; Snax of Virtus.pro. Snax has flown under the radar as one of the most dominant game-to-game players in all of Counter Strike, rarely putting in a poor showing and demonstrating the ability to excel with both pistols and rifles, even while maintaining his role as the dedicated AWPer.
Snax’s greatest asset is that which most other players lack; the ability to play well in the biggest events and during the biggest rounds. When VP need to win a round, all eyes fall to Snax as the player to come through in the clutch and bring his team the victory.
#2
dev1ce the strength of Astralis
Now with a major title under his belt with Astralis, dev1ce comes in at number two. Even with karrigan leading the way, dev1ce put in star performances over and over at every event he attended. The removal of karrigan and addition of gla1ve as captain gave dev1ce the opportunity to show he could be the key player to lead his team to the biggest prize of them all; a major championship. Winning the ELEAGUE Major 2017 this past weekend, dev1ce displayed brilliance in his ability to perform no matter the weapon or circumstance.
Essentially dev1ce is as close a comparison to Snax as they come. However, dev1ce is currently playing at the top of his game and has never looked better. If dev1ce can maintain this dominance for the entirety of 2017, look for Astralis to not only win more majors, but to go down as one of the greatest teams in the history of Counter Strike.
#1
coldzera the best in the world
To no-one’s surprise SK Gaming’s coldzera tops this list, joining his teammate FalleN inside the top five. Coldzera has been the dominant player in Counter Strike for the past year, displaying an incredible ability to perform at his best when the pressure is on. An argument can be made that SK have the two best AWPers in the world, with cold and FalleN both grabbing the AWP on a consistent basis.
Cold is a player who plays with no fear, as he has displayed in tournament after tournament where he has been by far the best player on the server. With SK bringing in a new player to start the year, all eyes will be on coldzera to see if he can maintain his incredible level even with a new voice within the team. Consequently, look for coldzera to battle it out with dev1ce for the title of best player in the world all year long.
