In the second part of our series on the greatest legends of CS:GO, we continue to explore the greatest pros and how they impacted the game. If you have missed Part 1, check it out here to learn who else made the list.
As we have previously mentioned, this is not a strict ranking and sometimes, skill isn’t even a factor. For a CS:GO pro to achieve Legend status, they must have contributed greatly to the competitive CS:GO scene. And with that out of the way, let’s take a look at:
Coldzera – the wonder from Brazil
The list of CS:GO legends wouldn’t be complete without him. Marcelo “coldzera” David is a 25-year-old Counter-Strike player from Brazil. He’s been actively playing this game on a professional level since 2012 and was listed as the best player in the world in both 2016 and 2017. He also won 2 Major titles and was the MVP player on both of them.
Coldzera changed everyone's perspective of this game in the semi-finals of MLG Major Columbus 2016. His team Luminosity Gaming was playing against Team Liquid and it looked like they are going to lose the game. Luminosity were losing 15-9 and T’s were about to rush B apartments on Mirage. Coldzera was there alone without kevlar or any ‘nades. He only had the AWP in his hands.
However, he made a 4K in that round with 2 no-scopes and one double kill. It was the beginning of a 10-round win streak for Luminosity and they won that game 19-15 in overtime. They ended up winning that tournament which was also their first Major title.
Valve decided to mark that moment and they added a permanent graffiti of AWP and four red skulls above it on that very spot.
Coldzera is currently playing for FaZe Clan as a rifler.
NiKo – the Juan Deag
The next player on our list is coldzera’s teammate. Nikola “NiKo” Kovač was born and raised in Bosnia and gained his popularity in the German team mousesports. At the time he arrived in it, mouz were a Tier 2 team with no perspective future.
However, NiKo managed to turn things around and he showed incredible aim and in-game sense on his first match which gave him a permanent spot in the starting 5 of the team. Later, he decided to join the team of superstars that was FaZe, where he is currently playing as the in-game leader, entry fragger and rifler. Although he is one of the best players in Counter-Stike history, he hasn’t won a single Major title... yet.
NiKo is known under many aliases but his most famous was is definitely “The Juan NiKo”. He earned that nickname thanks to his incredible skills with the Desert Eagle. Just look at his 1v5 Deagle play:
Karrigan – the in-game leader
One of the arguably smartest players in CS:GO is Finn “karrigan” Andersen. Karrigan was born to a Danish father and German mother and can currently can 3 languages fluently. In addition to that, he also has a Master’s Degree in business administration.
This player is a natural in-game leader. He’s been actively playing Counter-Stikre on a professional level since 2006 and wherever he went, the results were seen immediately. He was the man who helped Astralis through rough times, the man who helped in the establishment of FaZe Clan and the man who is currently leading mousesports as their in-game leader. With karrigan in the team, mousesports has the highest ranking ever and they are currently a Top 5 team.
S1mple – the Golden Boy
Olexandr “s1mple” Kostyliev is a Ukrainian professional Counter-Strike player. He did not play any older versions of this game on a professional level – his professional career actually started with the beginning of the CS:GO pro scene in 2013. Although he hadn’t won single major tournament, he was listed on the Top 20 list for the last 4 consecutive years, not to mention that he was also number 1 in 2018.
S1mple is known as a raw AWP talent and no one has the gift he has. This player does not have to worry about positions as he can perform well in any kind of situation.
S1mple has a permanent graffiti dedicated to his famous scope-less AWP kills. His way to get that graffiti was just spectacular: on ESL: One Cologne 2016, he dropped down from the heavens on Cache and connected 2 consecutive AWP no-scope kills.
James Bardolph who was commentating s1mple's play couldn’t hide his dismay:
"What is this clutch from s1mple? What, are you serious? What is that? You can't do that, s1mple! That's not allowed! This is not FPL! This is a Major!"
Talking about graffiti dedicated to CS:GO players, Mikhail “Dosia” Stoliarov also got a graffiti on one map. He got it on Inferno for the “smart grenade” he threw into the pit to kill the players who tried to hide there just before the C4 explosion.
Not many people know, but s1mple was the man who first thought about that. Long before Dosia’s nade, s1mple threw a Molotov cocktail from apartments into the pit that killed 2 remaining players who tried to hide there.
PashaBiceps – the Beast
Jaroslav “pashaBiceps” Jarząbkowski is a Counter-Strike veteran with 16 years of an esports career behind him. He is a part of a Polish group called the Golden Five that has dominated the Counter-Strike scene until the release of CS:GO.
Pasha continued to play, switched to CS:GO and had a very successful career. He has won 12 LAN tournaments, played on 12 Majors and even won 1 Major title. With his team Virtus.pro, he won the first Major in 2014 and was also the MVP of that tournament.
Pasha is currently without a team but his career isn’t over yet. He may switch to coaching or even continue to play as he can still deliver a great performance on a professional level.
Did you like our CS:GO Hall of Fame? If you did and you love esports, keep an eye on our CS:GO section for more exciting news about your favorite shooter and as always, keep it here, with EarlyGame.
