The Most Consistent CS:GO Players of All Time

The CS:GO conversation usually revolves around the star players, which is totally understandable. After all, Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev deliver impressive kills every waking minute – and this is exactly the kind of stuff that remains in our collective memory. But there are other kinds of stars in the Counter-Strike scene -the ones who fly under the radar, but are almost just as important to the success of their teams as the top fraggers.

We are talking about the most reliable CS:GO players, the ones who have been putting up solid and consistent performances for years now. They may not be featured in as many highlight videos, but they always bring to the table exactly what their teams need. These kinds of players are crucial for their colleagues and the entire scene. This should become obvious as soon as we start listing some of the names.

In the first years of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the Ninjas in Pyjamas were the absolute best. Everyone knows about their 87 offline maps win streak. They set a record that has not been broken to this very day. They got into all the Major Grand Finals up until ESL One Katowice 2015 and managed to win ESL One Cologne 2014. During this time, Christoper “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund was rightfully part of a lot of headlines. HLTV awarded him the 2013 and 2014 MVP medals, but in 2015, he placed outside of the Top 10 already. When NiP stopped being successful, GeT_RiGhT collapsed invididually. His six Cache kills against FlipSid3 Tactics during the ESL One Cologne 2016 Group Decider are a symbol of his decline. Even though he managed to recover after this, he never got back to the top brass of international Counter-Strike.

FOREST – THE STAR BECOMES A PILLAR

Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg kicked his CS:GO career off as a super star for the Ninjas as well. Even though he stood in the shadows of his colleague for a long time, he has never experienced a downfall of similar height. Even in the years after their success, he remain a reliable building block for the Ninjas and despite the slow decline of this legendary Swedish roster, he delivered his kills and got his round wins in. Ever since DreamHack Winter 2013, he has only secured positive ratings throughout all Majors, with the notable exception of the StarLadder Berlin Major 2019. His glory days as a star player are definitely over, but he continues to be a support pillar for his team even after seven years.

KRIMZ – THE SWEDISH CONSTANT

Why were Fnatic so successful back then? For one, it was obviously the leadership style of Markus “pronax” Wallsten and the star performances out of Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer, but the reliable and always impressive output from Freddy “KRIMZ” Johansson was just as important. When he joined Fnatic alongside olofmeister, he quickly became the anchor of the team. No matter which spot or site he was assigned to, he held sway with incredible strength. His kills might not have been as flashy as the ones from 2015 olofmeister. But even four years after the dominance of fnatic, he is still an above-average competitor. Only a few select players can really say that of themselves.

DUPREEH – THE MOST CONSISTENT DANISH PLAYER?

Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen has been a mainstay of CS:GO ever since its release. Under 3DMAX, he got his first professional experience. But with Team Dignitas, he first rose to fame and managed to get into Semi Finals of Major tournaments. For a long time, he was right on the verge of breaking through as part of Team SoloMid. But this success was denied, as they stayed in the shadows of fnatic apart from some smaller tournament victories.

In 2017, it was finally time. At the ELEAGUE Major: Atlanta, the Danes mounted a Grand Finals run and then won against Virtus.pro. In a tense and close Best-of-Three, dupreeh earned himself a Major trophy. Even though he hasn’t reached the same heights as many of his Danish colleagues, he has put up a solid show ever since the beginning of his career. So is he the most consistent Danish player of all time? Only one of his colleagues could really deny his claim to that title.

DEVICE – TOP 5 SINCE 2015

So far, we have made a rather clear distinction between the stars and the reliable fraggers. But are there any star players who have managed to retain their level over the course of an entire career? Only a few select players would make that cut. So many of these former Counter-Strike heroes have stepped down from their thrones. Barely anyone would still refer to GeT_RiGhT, Marcelo “coldzera” David, or olofmeister as star players. Obviously, they have nonetheless earned their places in the history books of Counter-Strike with their insane performances.

But one player has been at the very top almost since the beginning of his career. Nicolai “device” Reedtz first appeared in the HLTV Top 20 in 2014, and has now kept himself in the Top 5 for five consective years. This is an incredible achievement. After all, he had to beat out the likes of Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski and Nikola “NiKo” Kovač for this. He’s been in the business for longer than s1mple and has a longer tenure at the top as well. With four Major victories under the belt, he is also one of the most decorated and successful CS:GO players. Only his Astralis colleagues can reach up to him in that regard, but none of them have been as dominant as device. The (still young) Dane has a claim for the title of best CS:GO player of all time – even though s1mple and ZywOo could still overtake him with regards to tenure if he ever lets up.

MORE PLAYERS ARE ON THE HORIZON

One of the biggest pillars of modern Counter-Strike would be Robin “ropz” Kool. When he joined, he was a total newbie and – apart from some FPL and a few months spent in a mix team – he had no professional experience. But in his first matches, he already proved himself as a constant in his team’s game plan. Although he rarely ever secures these highlight worthy multi kills, he still manages to perform to exactly the level that is expected of him. Since 2017, he has continued this form and has only grown with time. Now, he takes on bigger responsibilities in mousesports and remains just as consistent as he has always been.

This conversation should also not be held without mentioning Jonathan “ELiGE” Jablonowski. As players like Russel “Twistzz” VanDulken and Jake “Stewie2k” Yip have dipped in form, ELiGE has only continued to rise. Ever since Liquid have taken on more and more international super-events, his rating has actually increased. He seems to be getting along better and better against top teams. From 2015 on, he has held a positive rating. With regards to this, he is very much alone in North America. No other player can boast to have performed as great and for as long as him.

The scene is in a constant state of change. Even a god-like player such as s1mple can be dethroned within a year. Even stars like coldzera and olofmeister can abruptly break off. This makes it ever more impressive to see what forest, device, and the likes have maintained over the course of so many years.