CS2 is a flourishing competitive environment at home and on the screen. Players from all walks of life can participate in this fantastic game. Since its early days, CS2 has thrived on the competitive scene for various reasons; one of the most significant reasons was simply the fanbase esports acquired. Fans would fly across continents to see their favorite teams or players play in competitions for money and glory. The CS esports scene quickly became one of the game’s best aspects. Along with the esports fad quickly professional CS2 pros began to impact a great quantity of the fanbase.

Players added to the already contagious scene of excitement that was esports. Watching your favorite players play on the big screen, such as during ESL pro league seasons, majors, or other competitions, added much anticipation to the sport. Each player’s unique personality garners hundreds of thousands of fans! Pros slowly became celebrity status as fans gathered at events to see them and watched streams, videos, and posts from players all week. Over the years, a significant debate has constantly occurred about who the best players are. It seems like almost everyone argues to prove that their player is the best CS2 pro! Today, we will settle that debate by showcasing the top 5 players based on cultural impact!

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CS2 Esports

Who are the top 5 most impactful CS2 Pros?

5. Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo

FalleN, a famous Brazilian player, is the person an individual never forgets. This player never failed to miss an AWP shot, being known as one of the best AWP’ers of all time! Born May 30, 1991, FalleN started playing competitive Counter-Strike in 2005. Playing his last official competitive Counter-Strike match, FalleN never played competitively in CS2. Still bolstering a following of over 1.8 million followers on Twitter and hundreds of thousands more across other platforms, FalleN truly is one of the most impactful players of all time.

4. Nikola “NiKo” Kovač

Being part of the famous Counterstrike family bond with the famous player HuNter, NiKo is a highly unique player. Known for being the supposed best rifler of all time. NiKo first started playing Counter-Strike in the earliest days of the game. Quickly recognized for his talent, NiKo played higher and higher until he reached the most prestigious tier of ranked Counterstrike. Still playing professional CS2 and featuring over a million followers across various platforms, NiKo has truly succeeded as a CS2 pro!

3. Michael “shroud” Grzesiek

Shroud was a player who would strike fear into any opponent. Famous for his fantastic aim, Shroud’s short but sweet CS career was intensely impactful. Joining the scene in 2013, Shroud was a quick fan favorite; thousands appeared in support of Cloud9 almost entirely because of Shroud’s place on the team. In recent years, Shroud has pursued careers in other esports scenes and become a full-time streamer with over 11 million followers on Twitch! Even though Shrouds’ involvement in the CS scene is far from the past, surely the community will never forget this unique individual.

2. Kenny “kennyS” Schrub

Though his retirement was over four years ago, and we will not see him in any upcoming events, KennyS retains the generational hype around his name. Starting his career later than some of his AWP counterparts, Kenny rose rapidly to glory. Known for some of the most insane clips in Counterstrike history, he is one of the best players of all time, if not the best. Holding several million followers across many platforms, KennyS deserves every amount of praise attributed to him!

1. Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev

s1mple is the face of professional counterstrike. Known as one of the most famous AWPers in CS history, s1mple is a brand name. Known for hundreds of world-famous clips that have spread rampant in the CS2 community and across the internet, s1mple is really the greatest of all time. Most famous for his time on the team, Navi (Natus Vincere) s1mple gained millions of followers across many platforms throughout his career. A popular aspect of s1mple’s playstyle was his, at times, toxic way of communicating, which always led to the funniest of moments. In recent years, due to personal beliefs about CS2 and its updates, s1mple has become less active in the scene, especially after being loaned to the Middle Eastern team Falcons. S1mple will go down in history as one of the most influential players ever.

We wish we could include every player on this list, as every CS2 pro has a meaning within the community. These top five players might not even remain at the top as more players compete and rise to glory! If we missed your favorite pro, feel free to leave a comment and tell us all about them!

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