Best CS2 Players of All Time: AWPers

AWPers are the backbone of every team. They’re usually the biggest names and deservingly so, given the immense pressure and duty bestowed upon them. They wield one of the most expensive and equally powerful weapons in the entire game, the AWP, and can determine the outcome of a round with one shot.

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Many times throughout the course of history have we seen this happen. One shot or play by a team’s AWPer resulting in a domino effect that completely changes the air in the arena and swings the momentum over. Many have picked up the Big Green over the years, and many have successfully become world-class talent.

But for a class of players such as this one, even the best of the best might never reach the levels these players have. These are the best AWPers of all time.

Kenny “kennyS” Schrub

Lightning fast. The magician with his Magic Stick. Hell, even simply the GOAT. Kenny “kennyS” Schrub’s playing career may be long over, but his name is forever stuck in the history books as the definitive AWPer in Counter-Strike history. Don’t believe it?

Think about what the AWP is now: heavy, slow, reduces movement speed, and punishes anyone who tries to shoot while not completely still. Sounds completely balanced, right? The reason why the AWP exists like that today is because of one thing — kennyS in his early years was too good.

Apart from having arguably the highest peak of any AWPer in history, he is one of the greatest players ever and was the MVP of Team EnVyUs’ Major victory at DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015. His time on top of the world may be a thing of the past, but looking at the present and potentially even the future, it’s hard to imagine he will ever lose his status as one of Counter-Strike’s greatest players.

Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev

One in his name, number one in the game. s1mple made a name for himself by making such a technically challenging esports title look like child’s play, pretty much making his gamertag a fitting one. He’s not only known as one of the greatest AWPers of all time, but the consensus GOAT of Global Offensive.

His work wielding the AWP, especially during his prime with Natus Vincere, could only be described as an art form. He is responsible for an incredible amount of plays that seem impossible, especially to the average player, but it is really just another day on the server for s1mple. He shined on every single stage and proved that his precision, the quality of his game, and mechanical skills were unlike anything the world had seen before.

A 21-time MVP awardee, three-time ranked #1 on HLTV’s year-end list, twice the second-best player in the world, and the PGL Major Stockholm MVP. When you are arguably the best sniper in the world and, at the same time, the best overall player in the world, how can words even begin to describe that?

Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovács

If s1mple and kennyS fall under the category of AWPers that specialize in highlight-worthy plays, then Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovács might just be the opposite. He’s more known for his no-nonsense, consistent play, having maintained a peak that spanned multiple years while always being recognized as one of the top AWPers of his generation.

GuardiaN was ranked on HLTV’s year-end top 20 for six consecutive years from 2013 to 2018, peaking at #2 in 2015. He played under the banners of some of the biggest organizations of all time, such as Virtus.pro (briefly), Natus Vincere, and FaZe. As good as he is, silverware unfortunately eluded him for countless reasons, and he is the only member of this list without a CS Major victory to his name.

But the fact that he made this list makes all those stats hardly relevant. His eight MVP titles prove that even on stacked teams like NAVI and FaZe, he has risen to the occasion more than once and displayed exactly why he deserves to be named as one of history’s greatest AWPers.

Nicolai “device” Reedtz

If there’s a modern-day version of GuardiaN that occasionally flashes signs of kennyS’ swagger, then it’s definitely going to be Nicolai “device” Reedtz. Known up until this day as one of the most consistent players that has ever touched the game, device finds himself not only in GOAT AWPer conversations, but even in GOAT debates as a whole.

How exactly does device find himself on this list? Well, being the best player on the single best team that was ever assembled to win trophies in Counter-Strike pulls a whole lot of weight. Four-time Major champion and twice the MVP, not to mention 19 total MVP medals and a peak of #2 on HLTV’s year-end list. The stats truly speak for themselves.

Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut

It’s hard to overlook probably the greatest French prodigy of all time and the only one on this list still in his prime (or maybe even approaching it). ZywOo is still one of the very best players in the whole world and has already made a name for himself as one of the best AWPers of all time.

As of the time of writing, he is currently the record holder for most MVP titles with 27 and a two-time Major champion, both of which he was also recognized as the best player of the whole tournament. Talk about legendary, and he still has an entire career ahead of him.

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