CS:GO Player Ranking

Do you know what it takes to become one of the best CSGO players? Every nickname from the leaderboard above has spent thousands of hours practicing and getting better at the game. The eSports world has noticed their efforts, putting them on the list of the best players of all time.

CS GO Player Ranking – What is Considered when Compiling the List of the Best?

When analytics from Pro Gaming Online create the ranking of the CSGO pro players, they consider a plethora of aspects of their careers. First, their sight falls on the players’ performance during main events and seasonal tournaments. Analysis teams inspect CSGO player stats which represent their skills quite accurately. Then, they reinforce that data with the amount of competition wins.

But there is an easier way to find how well the player performs. We all know that professional players are rewarded for scoring winning places at events. So, a good way to create a leaderboard is just to check out CSGO pro player salary. Thus, the more money a competitor has, the higher their skill is.

5 Best CS GO Players of All Time

The highest rankings of CS:GO professionals rarely see major changes. Some of the top names have been there for years. Here is the list of the five best CS:GO players of all time.

Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev

S1mple is the most popular and successful player in CS:GO of all time. S1mple originates from Ukraine, where he, like many other CS players, has started playing in local computer clubs.

When Valve dropped CS:GO in 2012, S1mple immediately found potential in this game and started training his playing skills in it. A little more than a year later, S1mple entered his first eSports team: LAN DODGERS. He played a couple of LANs with this team but then hopped to a couple more teams, where he found no major success.

A vital moment of S1mple’s career was switching to the famous Na’Vi team in 2016, where he finally felt comfortable playing. At that time, Na’Vi had already made its name and was invited to the ESL One: New York, an S-Tier tournament. During this competition, it was the first time for S1mple to shine: he has shown amazing skills leading his team to the finals, where he outclassed Virtus Pro and got first place.

Since then, Oleksandr Kostyliev proceeded to play with Na’Vi, showing amazing performance each time he took a player’s seat. He was often nominated as the MVP of the year by HLTV and won it three times: in 2018, 2021, and 2022.

The best years of S1mple started in 2020 when Na’Vi dominated the whole CSGO eSports scene, winning eight S-tier competitions, increasing S1imple’s total prizes to $1,713,686.

Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz

Making a list of the best CS GO players, we couldn’t pass by dev1ce. Nicolai Hvilshøj Reedtz is a Danish player who has been into shooter games since the younger years of his life. At 14, dev1ce was also a tennis player, and he had to choose between sports and eSports. Guess what he picked.

In 2013, dev1ce debuted in CSGO as a player in the Fnatic team, a temporary stand-in for the Major event. He liked the taste of professional CS:GO performance and went further in that direction, entering the Copenhagen Wolves team. With his first team, dev1ce has won many small tournaments, but during DreamHack, they took just eighth place. Later dev1ce has been through a couple of other teams but had no major success.

In 2016, the tables turned. With several of his previous roster, dev1ce has formed Astralis. In the next couple of years, the team won ten S-tier events and got a record for the most MVP trophies from HLTV. Nowadays, the total earnings of dev1ce are $1,951,450, which makes him one of the richest CS:GO player.

Jacky “Stewie2K” Yip

Stewie2K is an American gamer who underwent a classic story of becoming one of the professional CSGO players. In his younger years, Jacky watched his older brother enjoying video games, eventually trying gaming himself. His first serious game was CS 1.6, where he set the foundation for his future eSports career.

Stewie2K was inspired by Cloud9 highlights, which pushed him to get better at the game. Who could’ve guessed that, in 2016, he would become a part of Cloud9 and take the role of the in-game leader? Journalists and eSports critics questioned Yip’s skills, so he had to prove them wrong. Later the same year, Cloud9, under the command of Stewie2K, won ESL Pro League Season. Next year, the next major success of the team came when they earned a trophy from the ELEAGUE: Major Boston 2018.

Later Jacky Yip left Cloud9 and stepped into MIBR. As part of the MIBR, Stewie2K won a ZOTAC Cup Masters in 2018, which is not considered a top-tier competition. At the end of 2018, MIBR traded Stewie2K for another player to the Liquid team, and it was a great coincidence for the Yip.

As a part of Liquid, Stewie2K won seven S-tier tournaments in 2019, including DreamHacks and ESL competitions. This was the hottest Stewie2K year which led him to be one of the top CSGO players with earnings of $1,177,973.

Håvard “rain” Nygaard

Scandinavians know how to play CS:GO, and the next player to prove that once again is rain (Håvard Nygaard). He was born and lived in Norway, where he got his first eSports experience. Nygaard changed a couple of Norwegian teams at the beginning of his career, moving from Party Astronauts to LGB. While performing with them, rain was constantly considered the best player in CSGO.

The next step in rain’s career was becoming a part of international rosters. First, he was picked up by Team Kinguin, then by G2, and finally, by FaZe Clan, where rain was to stay.

After entering a FaZe Clan, rain has managed to shine as a player. From 2017 till now, rain has brought ten major wins to his team in the high-class CS:GO tournaments like ESLs, StarLadders, Epicenters, etc. By the time of 2023, total rain earnings had reached $1,177,186.

Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo

Gabriel Toledo, also known as FalleN, is one of the top Brazilian professional CSGO players. Gabriel’s eSports career started long ago in 2004, with Counter-Strike 1.6.

The first eSports team for FalleN to enter was Crashers. It was one of many Brazilian CS 1.6 eSport teams, where FalleN has won a couple of LANs but got no other major achievements. Later, FalleN changed plenty of teams, gaining precious playing experience and learning how to cooperate with teammates.

The first significant success came in 2016 when FalleN joined the Luminosity Gaming team. During this productive year, Luminosity won the Major and ESL Pro League with a strong contribution from FalleN. As a result, HLTV ranked Gabriel as the second-best player of that year.

At the end of 2016, FalleN, with a couple of teammates, left Luminosity Gaming, being transferred to SK Gaming. From that time, SK Gaming got six first places in the S-tier tournaments. Those were the best years for Gabriel, as later he left SK Gaming for MIBR. There, FalleN won a ZOTAC Cup Masters 2018 and got second place in Flashpoint Season 1, contributing to his total winnings of $1,138,479.

The Main Positions of CSGO Players in an eSports Team

To make the best possible plays during matches, pro CS GO players cover various roles. Each role chases different in-game objectives, which should contribute to the overall team’s success. CS:GO roles are:

1. Entry Fragger. It is a player who commonly has the best reaction time in the team, as his task is to enter an object and make a quick pick. If making a kill is out of reach, the entry fragger has to provide his team with enough info and facilitate the best conditions for making a further play.
2. Support. Supports’ main task is to throw grenades according to his team moves and cover an entry fragger during the push. Support players must be well aware of all the grenade spots on the map and use them at the right time.
3. Leader. Every team needs a person to make calls, and CS:GO is no exception. Leaders are putting the final word regarding in-game decisions. Rotations, time for a buy/eco round, when to push: all that is decided by the leader.
4. Lurk. Lurks are sneaky players who try to catch enemies off guard. They do it by residing in unexpected places, waiting for rotating prey. To execute a lurk role, a player must be highly familiar with a map and have a feel for the game to know when to strike.
5. AWP player. AWPer or sniper is the player who carries an AWP and uses it to cover important angles. It is essential for AWPers to perform well with their gun. Otherwise, the team’s economy might crash due to the high AWP price.

Pro CSGO Players Configs and How Does It Affect Success

To show the best possible performance, CSGO best players carefully adjust their configs. With them, each player customizes the game according to their play style and preferences, making playing much smoother. In addition, Valve does not prohibit changing a config, so it would be weird not to use that feature. Let’s compare some configs of the best CSGO players.

	s1mple	dev1ce	rain
Crosshair
Mouse settings	DPI: 400 Sensitivity: 3.09 Zoom sensitivity: 1 Hz: 1000	DPI: 400 Sensitivity: 1.90 Zoom sensitivity: 1 Hz: 1000	DPI: 400 Sensitivity: 1.65 Zoom sensitivity: 0.8 Hz: 1000
Viewmodel	FOV: 68 Offset X: 2.5 Offset Y: 0 Offset Z: -1.5 Shift right arm: 0.75 Shift left arm: 1.5	FOV: 68 Offset X: 2.5 Offset Y: 0 Offset Z: -1.5 Shift right arm: 0 Shift left arm: 0	FOV: 68 Offset X: 2.5 Offset Y: 0 Offset Z: -1.5 Shift right arm: 0.75 Shift left arm: 1.5
Players1mple	Crosshair	Mouse settings DPI: 400 Sensitivity: 3.09 Zoom sensitivity: 1 Hz: 1000	Viewmodel FOV: 68 Offset X: 2.5 Offset Y: 0 Offset Z: -1.5 Shift right arm: 0.75 Shift left arm: 1.5
Playerdev1ce	Crosshair	Mouse settings DPI: 400 Sensitivity: 1.90 Zoom sensitivity: 1 Hz: 1000	Viewmodel FOV: 68 Offset X: 2.5 Offset Y: 0 Offset Z: -1.5 Shift right arm: 0 Shift left arm: 0
Playerrain	Crosshair	Mouse settings DPI: 400 Sensitivity: 1.65 Zoom sensitivity: 0.8 Hz: 1000	Viewmodel FOV: 68 Offset X: 2.5 Offset Y: 0 Offset Z: -1.5 Shift right arm: 0.75 Shift left arm: 1.5

What Awards Can a Professional CS:GO Player Get?

During competitions, CSGO professional players are rewarded with different prizes. The most obvious reward that everyone knows about is a money prize. Depending on the scale of the competition, a player can get both small and big monetary rewards. But remember that the bigger the amount is, the harder the challenge.

A common type of reward at LAN tournaments is gear or a piece of hardware. It can be anything, starting with a pro mouse and finishing with a high Hz monitor. Although, CSGO players might also be given software like OS keys, antimalware, etc. Mostly, these types of rewards correspond to the tournament sponsor.

How are Professional CSGO Players Different from Ordinary Gamers?

CS:GO players who perform in eSports differ drastically from ordinary players. Their concept of the game is different and includes such factors:

Great Motivation

For CS:GO pros, the game has become their job and future. Thus, they feel a strong motivation to keep grinding and improving. Otherwise, they might lose their positions and get out of the business.

Decent Salary

CS:GO professionals spend much time traveling to tournament locations, improving their skills, and training with the team. But the desire to get better is not the only thing that pushes them, as they are also rewarded with a competitive salary.

Training 10 Hours a Day

Unlike ordinary players with no obligations, pro players have no choice but to play for most of their day. Don’t think it is easy; spending so much time sitting on the chair and playing CS can get you exhausted.

CS:GO is Their Meaning of Life

When you put so much effort and time into a single occupation, it stops being just a game. Pros live in a world of CS:GO eSports, and when they strive to become the best, CS:GO becomes their life.

Follow the Ranking of the Best CSGO Players and Bet on Your Favorites!

As you can see, CS GO player ranking is a system with many elements behind it. Each player who stays on top of it is a certified professional who has spent most of his life grinding and improving. And surely, they have no reason to leave, so their skill will just get sharper with time. This makes betting on given players highly consistent and profitable, as their previous performance has proven that.