Who Will Be The First Major Winner In Both CS:GO And CS2?
Ranking every Major winner by how likely they are to win another Major in the newest edition of Counter-Strike.
Preamble
The stories of the CS:GO Majors have been written, and a full stop was placed at Paris this year - CS2’s first Major takes place in Copenhagen, an entire season away. And so the speculation begins - what teams and players will be the CS2 equivalent of 2013 NiP, and perhaps 2018 Astralis? I’ve looked at the Major winners we have accumulated over this past decade and decided to put my words where my mouth is.
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The Very Retired Tier
Let’s get this out of the way, since it’s pretty easy. I won’t rule out the possibility that any one of these players could become a coach and be a “Major winner”, but as a player, there’s a lot of Major winners who will be on the sidelines and not the main stage for CS2. Here’s the list:
Most of fnatic 2013 and olofmeister (schneider, Devilwalk, pronax, olofmeister)
V.P 2014 (pashaBiceps, Snax, byali, TaZ, NEO)
NiP 2014 (f0rest, GeT_RiGhT, friberg, Xizt, Fifflaren)
Most of the LDLC/EnVyUs players (SmithZz, kioShiMa, Happy, kennyS)
fer and fnx from LG/SK
Most of Gambit 2017 (Zeus, Dosia, mou, AdreN)
Part of C9 2018 (Skadoodle, tarik)
These players have all either announced a retirement or have retired de facto by shifting to coaching, streaming, and playing in mix teams for fun. Nothing much to say here, but there are a few who could coach a Major winning team, such as Xizt.
The Washed Tier
It is the fate of many CS:GO pros to play long past their prime in lower tier teams, simply because they love competition so much. I rarely rule out players, but a Major is a tall height to reach for players that are struggling to begin with, so it’s best to be honest here.
JW - Not individually strong enough to be an AWP in a top team, unlikely to keep up on a rifle and while he has dabbled in IGLing, it’s nothing convincing enough.
coldzera - for an ex-star rifler turned IGL/supportive element, coldzera is unlikely to join a team of top Brazilian talent, and there are undoubtedly better international options for any role he provides.
Kjaerbye - retired, unretired, and now practically retired again, Kjaerbye is now just another unimpressive rifler. If he was going to have a resurgence, he would’ve done something the first time he came back!
autimatic, RUSH - it hurts to put autimatic here because he is alright as a supportive/clutch player, but most non-IGLs who aren’t very good at their role right now will not be able to find a top tier home in CS2. Add that to the fact that he’s likely to remain in an NA team and it’s the final nail. As for RUSH, he stated recently that he is open to coaching, but as a player I’m not convinced he could do anything beyond create a half decent NA team or develop talent.
qikert - already not good enough for the Major he did win, qikert is simply outclassed by the vast CIS talent pool.
The “dupreeh’s Fifth Major” Tier
Five Majors sounds great, but don’t point to Blast Paris as a mark of what dupreeh was capable of. There’s a host of players who aren’t retired as of writing this, but if they won a Major in CS2 I’d say “yeah, and dupreeh has five CS:GO Majors”. They’d have to be carried by superior teammates, and would be kept on purely for their experience or as a role player who scrapes by.
dupreeh, Xyp9x - the namesake of this tier makes an appearance for obvious reasons. Xyp9x, as a supportive element, could be serviceable enough to play alongside some Danish star riflers in the future, but it would be nothing like his previous glory.
Similarly, dupreeh could be a functional 1.01 rated entry player who is traded by the future youth of Denmark, and just like Paris, you would hyperfocus on the Major trophy and not dupreeh’s performance at the Major.KRIMZ - While KRIMZ has shown that he is still relatively capable, fnatic doesn’t seem like it’s ready to spend money on a Major winning lineup. On the perfect international team he could be a big game player, but he can’t keep his consistency forever - it’s not impossible though!
shox - shox is like KRIMZ but worse. A functional support player and still a good clutcher, which is a skill that should stay relevant in CS2, but international teams can surely do better.
IGL Tier (Requires Further Analysis)
IGLs are a tricky thing to analyse. Nobody knows where the CS2 meta will shift, and proven leaders are valuable regardless of their current form. This isn’t a tier that groups players by a similar conclusion being drawn, but rather a group of IGLs with different potentials.
Boombl4 - unlikely. The protégé of B1ad3 and Zeus, he only really reached this position thanks to a godlike s1mple Major MVP performance and being given strats by one of the best coaches in the business. It’s back to QBF for you!
gla1ve - a real possibility. Currently, gla1ve is lost in both individual form and calling identity, and serious doubts are forming over whether it was zonic who kept the calling strong on Astralis, but don’t doubt a four time Major winner in a new game. Especially with new utility tricks and a mental reset, if gla1ve is open to international rosters he could very well create another era for himself and prove current doubters wrong.
flusha - probably not, sadly. The last time flusha was calling against top tier opposition, his numbers went off a cliff, and he’s not impressing with his Swedish academy prospects. An international team may try him out, and he’s prone to a few smoke kills, but a realistic outlook would say he’s out of the picture.
NBK - I wouldn’t bet on it as an IGL. NBK still has some years left, and could be a secondary caller who has experience at the highest level, but if he insists on IGLing his teams will likely have a ceiling below that of a Major trophy. An advisor to a young IGL would be a better role and would give him a real chance at it.
FalleN, TACO - unlikely. Tactically alright, the firepower of these two Brazilians would be far too lacking for a trophy lift given the fact they aren’t known for tactical prowess and haven’t won in a long time.
Stewie2K - A small chance, if he doesn’t call. Stewie2K, despite the memes, is still young enough to delve into CS2 with a fresh mind and secondary calling was where he found his most success. The real problem is that NA has no players to give him a team, and EU won’t need him - on the off chance CS2 actually increases active NA players, he’s the most likely to be on their best team.
Active Cores - Who’s Good Enough?
The recent Major winners have stayed together in close enough proximity to group them as teams rather than individuals - so they deserve to be rated as they are now going into CS2, as well as how they might stack up as CS2 develops.
Outsiders (Jame, FL1T, n0rb3r7, fame) - mir taking qikert’s spot is a firepower upgrade, but this team will remain a dark horse as a colllective. n0rb3r7 is most likely to be replaced and will probably not be in high demand, but FL1T and fame are both strong riflers who may participate in a CIS shuffle that results in a Major trophy (especially since they are so young).
Jame, while you may hate his style, is a very smart player and strong individual who is on a long term contract which guarantees he can curate a team to his tastes; a Major win for him is entirely possible, but likely is too strong of a word.NaVi (s1mple, b1t) - while b1t is a coin flip in terms of CS2, s1mple is probably the player you would bet on winning a CS2 Major. Now that NaVi is international, their talent pool and supporting cast can actually give him a roster that wins trophies, and with some of the best tacticians on his side, he’s got everything he needs (as long as he believes!)
C9 (electroNic, Perfecto, Hobbit) - this team could very well dominate CS2 for a year with how strong the players are. Hobbit’s window is waning (and if not for C9’s changes I might’ve put him in washed tier), but electronic and Perfecto have years to spare and could definitely win with different iterations and teams. These players are incredibly strong for their roles, and especially since they were recent winners, they remember how to be champions.
FaZe (rain, broky, Twistzz, karrigan, ropz) - this core could peak early, but karrigan and rain are riding out their careers on this roster. If they don’t win in 2024, the aforementioned older players may leave, but the core (broky, Twistzz, ropz) are all individuals who could thrive in a new game and have years to try their hand.
I would give an edge towards ropz, who has shown an individual prowess beyond his peers and a talent for clutching that could become the cornerstone of other teams beyond his current one. karrigan has a year or two to find those titles and make history for himself - but I suspect his individual form may eventually be his downfall in an unrefined CS2 era of fraggers.Vitality (ZywOo, Spinx, apEX, Magisk) - ZywOo alone makes this team worth considering, and it’s obvious that he’s up there with s1mple for “most likely to win in both games”. Spinx and Magisk also are both talented in their roles, and should at least be capable of contending for a while longer. apEX, however, is on a timer and is unlikely to stay past the first CS2 Major, and I have little faith in him as a caller or player beyond that.
device - The best AWP in Denmark isn’t playing on a team good enough to win Majors, and that’s the truth. However, device himself is good enough to do it - for however many years he has left! If he leaves Astralis or they somehow find another magical roster, he’s capable - but the question is whether Astralis, not known for spending, will do so in the future, and I don’t think it’ll happen.
Conclusion and Bold Prediction
Thank you for reading this little article - I had the thought and wanted to go through the list of Major winners to find out for myself. After this, I’ll definitely have to finish off the pistol round article, so look forward to that!
My bold prediction - Jame will win another Major in CS2, in a similar fashion to how he did it in Rio.