The 10 worst whiffs in esports

The best pro esports players are characterized by being able to perform at their best in their games when it matters most. But sometimes, even they cannot cope with the pressure.

In such moments, even the most experienced pros seem like conventional players from everyday ranked games. From questionable decisions to catastrophic misses, today we bring you the top 10 biggest whiffs in pro esports.

10. Karrigan Desert Eagle miss

At the 2019 Dreamhack Open Tours, Karrigan was leading his Mousesports roster through the group stage of the tournament when he made this faux pas with the Desert Eagle. Due to his missed shot, the round went to the opposing team Valiance, who were able to secure the map point with 6-16. Mousesports still won the tournament in the end, so Karrigan’s teammates probably didn’t hold grudges.

9. Jkaem USP whiff

A lot depends on the first pistol round of a map. It determines the start of the map and can equally affect a player’s state of mind, both positively and negatively. After this pistol round at ECS Europe, FaZe player jkaem surely only wanted one thing — get out of the server quickly, which he did after 6 rounds. Coach Robban had to step in for the Norwegian, the map and the best-of-three against Mousesports was lost 0-2.

8. NiKo Desert Eagle miss vs. NaVi

In the grand finals of the PGL Major in Stockholm 2021, Counter-Strike legend NiKo had the chance to bring his team, G2 Esports, a little closer to Map 3 against NaVi with a well-aimed shot with the Desert Eagle. However, this shot backfired tremendously. NiKo missed s1mple, who was standing with his back to him, at 15:12. The tragedy that followed couldn’t be surpassed — NaVi equalized and won the game and thus the final in overtime.

7. Ustilo USP whiff

ESL ONE Cologne was once considered one of the largest and most spectacular offline events in Counter-Strike. It can happen that some players’ nerves are already on edge in the qualifier, as in this clip from Australian professional Ustilo in 2016.

In the first round of pistols on the map, he whiffs a full USP magazine and ultimately dies as a result of his missed shots. He and his team, Renegades, were able to beat the Fluffy Gangsters in the end, but it wasn’t enough to qualify for the ESL ONE Cologne main round. With these shots, however, that is not surprising.

6. Name Graviton in Overwatch

The fact that Overwatch is fast and hectic is nothing new. An extremely fast response time is expected from the professionals. However, this reaction time can also be fatal. This is what happened in the Overwatch League Quarterfinals match between Seoul Dynasty and New York Excelsior, in which Excelsior player Nenne lost his composure on his hero Zarya and completely missed his ability, the Graviton Surge. NY Excelsior not only lost the map point but also the match and the team was eliminated from the tournament as a result.

5. Blaber trades kill and flash for Scuttle Crab

One of the League of Legends MSI 2021 matches featured a clash of then-reigning NA champion Cloud9 and Japanese organization DetonatioN FocusMe. After three minutes, the junglers of both teams were in a fight for the scuttle crab.

Not only did Blaber, Cloud9’s jungler, miss his champion Nidalee’s spear, he also traded his Flash and life as a result, only to prevent the opposing jungler from slaying the Scuttle Crab. It is doubtful whether he and his team were satisfied with this trade in the end. The game ended in victory for the Japanese org, with a little help from Blaber.

4.Mkael & Wardell Valorant Whiff Duel

The Gen.G and TSM teams faced off at the Valorant Champions Tour North America. In the final round of the first half, Gen.G’s Mkael and TSM’s Wardell engaged in hot pursuit. However, this ran harmlessly for the longest time, since both players miss any shots. Last but not least, Wardell managed to eliminate his opponent, also because he had used up all the ammunition from his gun and had to reload. TSM won the map and the best-of-three. 

3. Jdm Flank

With a map point for the opposing team, your own strategies are often thrown overboard and extravagant tactics are unpacked. Like in this clip of jdm in what could be a game-changing round between OpTic Gaming and Team Liquid. The former Team Liquid AWPer managed a cross behind the entire opposing team. But instead of keeping calm, he fired and died instantly. His team was still able to get the round, but the map was lost anyway and led to the elimination of Team Liquid at CS Summit 1.

2. Karrigan USP Whiff

This clip from Karrigan proves once again that you shouldn’t run while shooting. At the Intel Extreme Masters at Gamescom in 2015, the Danish IGL of his then team TSM tried to prevent kennyS from planting the bomb.

He died trying, as did his teammate who tried to rush to his aid. The round went to Team EnVyUs, who won the map with 16-11. However, the fact that Karrigan appeared twice in this list shouldn’t detract from his great skills as an in-game leader.

1. S1mple Knife Fail results in Map Loss

Number 1 in the rankings is this clip by none other than the GOAT, s1mple. Against his former team Team Liquid, s1mple wanted to end the first map of the best-of-three series in style and take down former teammate nitr0 with a knife. This survives and can take out both S1mple and his two teammates.

Team Liquid managed a crazy catch-up race, won the map in overtime and as a result claimed the best-of-three against NaVi. The two teams met again in the semifinals, where Liquid was able to prevail 2-0 and then followed with winning the final and thus not only the ESL ONE Cologne 2019 title but also the Intel Grand Slam.