Find some of the best CS:GO riflers/AK-47 players for the upcoming 2022 season.
All stats are based on the HLTV 2.0 rating. A description of each component is listed below.
DPR/Deaths Per Round: Generally speaking, the lower, the better. On the other hand, if your DPR and ADR (Average Damage Per Round) are low, it could signify a more conservative, but less effective playstyle. That's not to say all conservative playstyles are bad, but rather, you don't want to be too conservative.
True, it's sometimes better to save your weapon than to fight (e.g. 1v5). So yes, don't just fight because you can or to try and boost your ADR. Instead, pick and choose your battles wisely.
KAST/Kills, Assists, Survived, and Traded: The higher, the better. KAST reflects a player’s performance on an individual and team level. For example, the K and S demonstrate to an extent, how good a player’s aim and agility (maneuvering around danger) is. AST or Support Rounds, measures the level of support each player has on the team. S, or survival rate here, also helps a team out since players can drop or keep their weapons for the next round. Generally speaking, a KAST of 70% (or 70% of rounds) is decent.
IPR/Impact Rating: Measures the impact each player has on their team, based on opening kills, multi-kill rounds, and clutches. The higher the better, with one as the norm.
Opening kills, for example, generally make it easier to take or hold a site. You might also gain a man advantage, which gives you slightly more breathing room for mistakes. The same goes for multi-kill rounds.
A player’s clutch factor here is based on any 1vXs situation, not just 1v1’s. However, HLTV only keeps a win/loss ratio for 1v1’s. So 1v2’s or 1v3’s are only based on total wins. For example, shox’s overall 1v1 clutch ratio so far is ~65% (461 wins/719 opportunities). In other words, he’s winning about 13/20 of his 1v1 encounters.
An IPR of 1.15 is solid, more or less.
ADR/Average Damage Per Round: Generally speaking, the higher the better, but as I’ve mentioned before, it’s sometimes better to save your weapon (and have an ADR of 0) than to engage with it (e.g. 1v5). So while stats can measure a player’s performance, take them with a grain of salt. An ADR of 80 may be considered decent.
KPR/Kills Per Round: Generally speaking, the higher the better. Just like ADR, however, it’s sometimes better to go for the save than the kill. In a 1v5, for example, you probably should hide and save your AWP for the next round. A KPR of .75 (or 75% of rounds) is considered good, more or less.
Rating 2.0: Combines all the stats aforementioned, with 1 as the norm. The higher the better. ZywOo has one of the highest, if not highest overall 2.0 Rating at the moment, sitting at ~1.33.
Now that you know what these mean, let’s dig into some of these players' performances.
10. shox
I know for some it might be surprising to see shox on the list, but he deserves credit for his clutch factor nevertheless. In fact, his overall 1v1 clutch rate stands at 65% thus far. So he’s basically winning 13 out of 20 1v1 encounters on a consistent basis. Last year, however, he bumped it up close to 72%! That’s basically winning 7 out of every 10 1v1 encounters! Talk about helping a team out.
Born in 1992, shox is a French rifler for Liquid. He’s also played for teams such as G2 and Vitality. During that time, he maintained a KDR above 1 or so and a clutch rate of around 65%.
2022 has been a bit of a slow start for him, but so far he’s 5-1 in 1v1 situations.
Looking at his 2021 stats (the sample size from 2022 is a bit too small for the time being), shox owns a 1.01 KDR, .65 DPR, and a subpar IPR at .97.
Judging by the numbers, shox seems better fit to handle and track enemies one by one than in groups. His IPR is highly boosted by his 1v1 clutch rating instead of multi-kill rounds or opening kills. Plus, if you look at his KDR, he’s getting solo kills on a consistent basis. Even so, having one kill each round or so can make an impact on the team, from winning 1v1’s, preventing a plant, taking out a mid-round lurker, etc. This, in turn, can help you win rounds and/or change the man advantage in your favor.
There also seems to be a different atmosphere or to some extent, level of awareness for 1v1 situations compared to a 5v5, 4v5, and so on. In fact, how you play varies depending on the number of players alive. For example, in a 1v1 situation, you may need to make time to plant and hide on site. Conversely, as a CT, you need to either to defuse or kill the enemy and defuse thereafter. This, of course, isn’t merely dependent on your aim, but awareness of each particular situation as well. Is he hiding in ramp? Is he in palace? Will they molly firebox? These sorts of questions are important to consider beforehand and contribute to your game sense when applied.
Even outside of plants in 1v1’s, it might be easier for some players to gauge where the enemy is, based on dead teammates, opponents, or various behavior patterns. You can even, "manipulate" your own behavior by making your opponent think you're hiding in one spot (as they've grown accustomed to seeing you there), but in reality, you’re on a different part of the site.
To illustrate this point once more, if you pit pros in 1v1 situations (not just 1v1 maps) compared to a 5v5, I’d argue that the results would be different than what you might expect, based on their accumulated knowledge of the round (e.g. dead teammates, enemies, previous hiding spots and so on; as the round draws to an end) and from what I mentioned previously. So it isn’t just about who has the best aim, but also maneuverability, and subsequently, game sense.
It seems then that, based on his stats, shox thrives in isolating and tracking enemies to gain the upper hand, or at least in 1v1 situations. Accordingly, his clutch factor goes up thanks to his elite game sense.
By the way, did you know he got his name from a type of Nike Shoes?
Major Achievements
- Intel Extreme Masters XVI - Winter 2021 | S-Tier | 3:0 Vitality over NIP | 1st Place: $100,000/$250,000
- MVP of Gfinity Masters Summer 1, 2015 | S-Tier | 3:0 EnVyUs over NIP | 1st Place: $40,000/$80,000
- Ranked 6th best player in 2016
shox’s Twitter Account
- https://mobile.twitter.com/shoxcsgo
9. KSCERATO
KSCERATO is a 22-year-old Brazilian CS:GO player for FURIA. He was ranked the 7th best player in 2018 and 18th in 2019. Arguably, he’s one of the top players in Brazil today.
It’s a bit of a slow start for KSCERATO in 2022, but overall, he’s posted some solid numbers. He had a pretty strong performance last year as well.
In 2021, he had a 1.17 rating, given his .61 DPR, ~73% KAST, 1.15 IPR, etc. Additionally, he posted a 1.21 KDR and 48% headshot clip. Combining these stats, one might say that he’s the type of rifler that’ll consistently get kills, but on a more individual basis. In other words, even though he might not get multi-kill rounds consistently, he’ll still average one kill or so per death. And as I’ve mentioned before, you can still make an impact with single kills, e.g. a kill that prevents a plant or forces your opponent to save.
Keep in mind, however, that many kills are usually dependent on the circumstances or kills beforehand, so it's essentially part of a cumulative effect. Still an important factor though.
This notion of KSCERATO as a standalone, but occasionally impactful rifler is also based on his DPR. That is, the more you survive in-game, the less likely you are to partake in encounters. One example is saving your weapon the next round in a 1v2 or 1v3. Another example is a conservative playstyle (but not all) that steers more toward surviving than constantly engaging in combat. And, if you take a look at his opening encounters in 2021 (based on kills/deaths), you’ll see a fairly conservative number at ~800.
Lastly, his KAST, in combination with the other stats, also seems to promote this idea of a conservative rifler. Guessing by the numbers, KSCERATO has a high percentage of rounds where he gets a kill and survives, but not as much when he’s traded or given an assist. With a high headshot percentage, it wouldn't be a surprise if he had a low assist rate. With a more conservative playstyle, it also wouldn’t surprise me if he wasn’t being traded as often or didn’t rotate in time for an assisted kill, for example. Therefore, he seems to make most of his impact from isolating enemies or holding/protecting angles for longer periods of time (a more conservative approach). That’s not to say he isn’t a team player, but rather, he has his own playstyle that works for him.
Major Achievements
- ESL Pro League S12 2020 | S-Tier | 3:0 Furia over 100 Thieves | 1st Place: $77,500/$225,000
- DreamHack Open Summer 2020 NA | A-Tier | 2:1 Furia Over Liquid | 1st Place: $35,000/$90,000
- Ranked 15th best player in 2021
KSCERATO's Twitter Account
- https://twitter.com/kscerato
8. XANTARES
XANTARES is a Turkish Macedonian CS:GO rifler for Eternal Fire. He is widely known for his time with BIG and Space Soldiers from 2015-2021.
XANTARES is regarded as one of the best pure aim riflers out there, with an overall ~53% headshot rate to back it up and a solid KDR at 1.20 thus far.
Looking at his stats from last year, we see a KDR of 1.17, an IPR of 1.19, ADR of ~84, and a KPR of .81. Putting this all together, XANTARES seems to rely heavily on his damage output and moreover, laser-like aim to get kills on a consistent basis. As a result, he’s also made a positive impact on his team as well, based largely on his multi-kill rounds and somewhat on his opening kills.
Nevertheless, XANTARES’s game sense also deserves credit. Given his OKR above 1 in 2021, (~1,600 encounters total), solid ADR and KPR, he’s partaking and winning a fair amount of duels (not just from opening encounters).
In order to do that though, you need to have an idea of where all the action takes place, or where an individual player/entry fragger/lurker might be, for example. On the flip side, if you have your back turned against an enemy, as they’re about to shoot you, then more than likely, you don’t know where they are, and your ADR/KDR also takes a hit.
It doesn’t matter how good your aim is then (generally speaking) if you have your back towards your enemy. Instead, you need to be able to consistently spot them beforehand or confront them face to face if needed. Consequently, this requires good game sense or awareness as you need to position yourself in the right spots, or at least where you’ll have a fighting chance. Once you spot them, then aim comes into play. So, props to XANTARES for his aim and game sense as well.
Major Achievements
- Funspark ULTI 2020 | A-Tier | 3:2 BIG over ES | 1st Place: $150,000/$250,000
- MVP of DreamHack Open Summer 2020 by HLTV | A-Tier | 2:0 BIG over Heroic | 1st Place: $35,000/$90,000
- DreamHack Masters Spring 2020 Europe | S-Tier | 3:2 BIG over G2 | 1st Place: $54,000/$160,000
- Played in 2 majors (so far): IEM Katowice 2019 and ELEAGUE Major 2018
XANTARES's Twitter Account
- https://mobile.twitter.com/xantarescsgo
7. Twistzz
Born in 1999, Twistzz is a Canadian CS:GO player for FaZe. He’s well known for his outstanding aim and tenure with Liquid. His current overall headshot percentage sits at 62.4%, ranked 7th best in the world.
Observing his stats from last year, we see a headshot rate close to 65%, DPR of .63, KDR of 1.16, and a 1v1 clutch rate close to 70%. He had about 700 opening encounters. On the other hand, he posted a subpar IPR at 1.09, and ADR of ~77.
His overall stats are similar, with a IPR of 1.08 and KDR of 1.18 so far.
Based on this information, I’d surmise that Twistzz has a fairly conservative playstyle, despite his superb aim. It could be that, as the round draws to an end, Twistzz is more likely to save than most, depending on the situation (outnumbered or from a lack of time, for example).
But, for 1v1’s, he seems to go for it, least based on his high success rate. Not only then would he need to out-aim his opponent, but track them down. So his game sense deserves some credit here.
He might be better then at isolating enemies compared to finding them in groups, aside from trades. This can also be unintentional at times. Moreover, take into account his impact rating, which is slightly above average. Thus, most of his impact kills may come in single form.
Even so, Twistzz is a top-tier rifler in today’s game, thanks to his superb aim, swift agility (or survival rate), and overall consistency.
Major Achievements
- MVP of the Intel Extreme Masters Season XIV - Sydney | S-Tier | 3:2 Liquid over Fnatic | 1st Place: $100,000/$250,000
- MVP of the ESL One: New York 2018 | S-Tier | 2:3 MOUZ over Liquid | 2nd Place: $50,000/$250,000
- Ranked 9th best player in 2019 and 17th best in 2021
Twistzz’s Twitter Account
- https://mobile.twitter.com/twistzz
6. EliGE
Born in 1997, EliGE is an American CS:GO player (with Polish descent) for Liquid. So far in his career, he’s considered one of the best NA players in the game today. Before that, he played competitive StarCraft II.
Like ropz, EliGE is known for his calm and collected demeanor, along with his superb aim. In fact, his overall headshot percentage sits at ~49%.
In 2021, he posted a 1.14 rating (from HLTV’s 2.0 rating), based on a 1.21 IPR, .74 KPR, 68% 1v1 clutch rate, etc. He also had an OKR above 1, at 1.13. So not only was he getting kills consistently, but he made them count. This was mostly through multi-kill rounds, clutches, and other impact kills (outside of the IPR) that may have denied a plant or opened up a site, for instance.
Furthermore, when we see a strong 1v1 clutch rate like EliGe’s, two things should come to mind: aim and awareness. You can’t win all, if not most, of your clutches with just aim (or vice versa). Instead, you need both.
Generally speaking, it’s harder for the ct’s to retake a site or defuse in a 1v1 since the T’s can hide just about anywhere. Conversely, the T player needs to make time to plant and find an appropriate spot. Taking these two into account, we can see that it requires accurate knowledge or strong awareness for each particular situation (to put yourself in a better position to win, that is). That, in turn, is an indicator of good game sense.
In fact, if you position yourself properly, say in 1v1, you wouldn’t always need to have great aim to win, you’d just need to do enough damage instead. An example of this could be positioning yourself in Market occasionally while the plant seems to be for APPS. Your opponent then could have his side or back to you, and therefore, all your aim needs to be is sufficient. Of course, you should probably delay your timing (to peek) as well. On the flip side, if you’re a ct player and recognize this, you have a much better chance of winning the round.
Outside of plants, other 1v1’s are often either based on running down the clock, or tracking down an enemy. But, in order to do both successfully, you need a pretty good idea of where your opponent is.
So the better your game sense is, the easier it is to recognize plays or strategies from your opponent, which in turn, correlates not only to a higher clutch rate, but more impactful frags.
In sum, to be successful in various encounters, or 1v1 duels in this case, you need good aim and game sense, as in EliGe’s case.
Major Achievements
- MVP of the ESL Pro League S11 2020 by HLTV | S-Tier | 3:0 Liquid over EG | $90,000/$219,000
- MVP of the ESL Pro League S9 2019 by HLTV | S-Tier | 3:1 Liquid over G2 | First Place: $250,000/$600,000
- 8th and 19th best player from 2020- 2021, according to HLTV
EliGE’s Twitter Account
- https://twitter.com/EliGE
5. YEKINDAR
YEKINDAR is a 22-year-old Latvian ( Latvia is located in Eastern Europe) CS:GO player for Virtus.pro. YEKINDAR often plays as an entry fragger, but keep in mind that roles in CS:GO change from time to time. So far, he’s made about $270,000 from 2017 to 2021.
What stands out from YEKINDAR’s stats in 2021 is his IPR at 1.36, headshot rate at ~61%, and number of opening encounters close to 1,800! With a DPR at .71, he’s dying more than usual. Thus, I think it’s fair to say that he prefers a more aggressive playstyle. Dissecting his IPR, we see a modest opening kill ratio (OKR) at 1.11 and a 50% 1v1 clutch ratio. What’s left to boost the IPR (aside from the OKR) is his number of multi-kill rounds, more or less.
Sure, you can attribute his IPR to his outstanding aim, but YEKINDAR’s game sense also deserves some credit. And yet, I find it surprising that he’s able to get these kinds of impact kills from such an aggressive playstyle, but it’s working nonetheless.
If I had to surmise as to why his playstyle works, I’d say that you can play aggressively as long as you vary your timing, positioning, and occasionally, stay in the same spots. If you’re always changing spots, that ironically is predictable. Generally, though, you should just stick to what’s working, whether it’s predictable or not. If it’s not working, then maybe you change your playstyle for the time being, or just for that particular game.
A brief note about a high IPR. In order to get more 1v1 clutches, multi-kills, and opening kills, you can’t just rely on your aim. Instead, you also need to be agile (as in maneuvering around the enemy), and moreover, develop strong game sense.
If, for example, there’s a CT constantly hiding behind firebox, you can molly it next round. A more aggressive play could be something like, expecting a full-on rush on A ramp. From there, you decide to slowly walk into palace. You wait a little, and then peek, as more often than not, they wouldn’t expect you there. Normally, If they did expect someone in palace, it would be from a rotation, which would take much longer. Of course, you also want to vary your timing and positioning throughout the game.
So getting impact kills also depends on your positioning and in-game decisions. Should I hide here or there? How many players are alive? Does he normally hide there? Where did they go last round? Thus, a good IPR has some correlation with better game sense along with good aim.
Going back to YEKINDAR, the reason he has such a strong IPR is not just because of his 61% headshot rate then, but keen awareness as well. This could be something as simple as him slightly delaying an aggressive play, using spawns to his advantage, changing eye level (through self or team boosts), changing positions efficiently, rotating efficiently, tracking enemies effectively, and so on.
So YEKINDAR seems to be positioning himself well for the most part. He also seems to know where to go when his teammates need him or when he’s tracking enemies down. Moreover, his aim is on another level. Hence, he’s one of the top and most aggressive riflers in the game today.
Major Achievements
- Pinnacle Fall Series #1 2021 | A-Tier | 2:0 VP over SKADE | 1st Place: $40,000/$84,000
- cs_summit 7 2021 | A-Tier | 2:0 VP over Fnatic | 1st Place: $100,000/$200,000
- Flashpoint Season 2, 2020 | S-Tier | 2:1 VP over OG | 1st Place: $500,000/$1,000,000
- 8th best player in 2021, according to HLTV
YEKINDAR’s Twitter Account
- https://twitter.com/yek1ndar
4. ropz
ropz is a 22-year-old Estonian CS:GO rifler for FaZe. He is known for his calm demeanor and tenure with mousesports/MOUZ from 2017-2021. From the last 4 years or so, he ranked as one of CS:GO’s top performers, ranging from the 7th to 19th best player in the world.
Looking at his stats from last year, he owned a ~52% headshot rate, 1.25 KDR, IPR of 1.19, and an OKR of 1.26.
This means that, in 2021, he was getting kills consistently, winning opening duels often, and essentially, making an impact on his team. His 1v1 clutch rate was okay, and even though he did have a solid OKR, he only had about ~900 encounters or so (Niko had about 1,400 in 2021, but keep in mind that ropz is tagged as a lurker).
His overall stats are similar, but his IPR still stands at 1.10 compared to 1.19 last year.
Nevertheless, he won his opening encounters more often than not and solidified his IPR with plenty of multi-kill rounds throughout 2021.
While ropz’s stellar performance is largely attributed to his aim, his game sense deserves some credit as well. Even though we can’t directly measure it, we can get some idea of how effective it is from gameplay and stats.
For example, in order to get impact kills or multi-kills (not just from HLTV’s rating), you generally need to know where to position yourself beforehand (knowledge or awareness). In other words, if you generally have a good idea of where your enemies are, you tend to be in the middle of all the action, whether your opponents are grouped up or scattered about. In ropz’s case, that could be attributed to his OKR and multi-kill rounds. Or better yet, just watch him play and unfold.
Major Achievements
- ICE Challenge 2020 | A-Tier | 3:1 MOUZ over NAVI | 1st Place: $125,000/$250,000
- ESL Pro League S10 2019 | S-Tier | 3:0 MOUZ over Fnatic | 1st Place: $250,000/$600,000
- Ranked 18th best CS:GO player in the world by HLTV
ropz’s Twitter Account
- https://mobile.twitter.com/ropzicle
3. electroNic
electroNic is a Russian CS:GO player for NAVI. He’s arguably the best rifler on the team. Throughout 2018-2021, electroNic ranked as the 7th best player in the game (and below). He’s played a large part in what we sometimes call the “NAVI Era” today.
Last year, he had a KDR of 1.11, IPR of 1.15, an OKR above 1 (with over 1,000 opening encounters), and a 64% 1v1 clutch rate.
Speculating from the numbers, electroNic seems to make most of his impact from solo kills (like Twistzz). Since his IPR is just above the threshold, he’s getting opening kills and multi-kill rounds at a modest rate. What stands out more though is his 64% 1v1 clutch rate. That seems to bolster his IPR just above the norm. Also, keep in mind opening kills and 1v1 clutches are single, not multi-kills. But as I’ve mentioned before, you can still get impact kills even if it’s just one per round or so (outside of the IPR as well).
Lastly, if you look at his above-average KAST, the only thing that doesn’t stand out is the number of times he’s been traded, more or less. Since he has a decent KDR, assist rate (close to 15% of the rounds), and solid DPR at .64, the only thing that’s left to bring it down is the T (from KAST). Not being traded often could be the result of a more aggressive playstyle (also based on his number of OE’s), and lurker tendencies, whether you’re t or ct. But, you can still make an impact on your team if you’re getting kills consistently.
So based on his slightly aggressive, but effective playstyle, along with his tracking skills, electroNic remains as one of the top riflers in today’s game.
Major Achievements
- BLAST Premier: World Final 2021 | S-Tier | 2:1 Navi over Gambit | 1st Place: $500,000/$1,000,000
- MVP of ICE Challenge 2020 | A-Tier | 3:1 MOUZ over NAVI | $50,000/$250,000
- 7th best player in 2021 by HLTV
2. HObbit
In my book, he’s the best rifler for Gambit Esports; ranked 6th best player in 2021. Combine that with sh1ro as the 2nd or 3rd best AWPer in the world, and you’ve got a pretty lethal combination.
Born in 1994, HObbit comes from Kazakhstan, a country in Central Asia. Originally, he played for Gambit from 2016-2018, but departed in early 2019. Afterward, he signed with HellRaisers and Winstrike from 2018 to 2020. HObbit eventually came back to the Gambit organization, however, in mid-late 2020 as part of the renewed Gambit Youngsters project.
As for his personality, HObbit seems to be a fairly calm and collected player. Based on some of his statements to the media, HObbit places an emphasis on helping his teammates and taking responsibility for his own actions (or losses). As a result, this gives him room to grow and build on his potential.
Checking his 2021 stats, take note of his 1.21 IPR, .63 DPR, ~82 ADR, a HS rate of ~48%, and decent 1.17 OKR (close to 1,500 encounters last year). His 1v1 clutch rate was okay, with only 7 more wins than losses. As a result, most of his impact from the IPR came from opening encounters and multi-kills.
As I’ve mentioned before, to be successful in opening encounters and multi-kill rounds, you need to put yourself in the right place at the right time, more or less. And if you do, as HObbit’s does, it’s a good sign for your game sense.
Remember, a good chunk of OE’s happen early in rounds as a way to disrupt your opponent’s timing (as players don’t really think about themselves dying early in the round). But, in order to get that opening kill, regardless if it happens early or not, you need a general idea of where your opponent is, factoring in your spawn, utility, unpredictability (to an extent), previous moves, positioning, etc. The better you understand this, the more likely you’ll get the opening kill or at least have an opportunity to do so. Also, keep in mind that analyzing your opponent’s behavior should be more on a cumulative basis, or based on the previous rounds, and not just the round before.
As I’ve touched on before, for potential multi-kill rounds, generally speaking, you need to have an idea of what areas or sites your opponents tend to gravitate towards. You also need to react quickly and efficiently for rotations. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of working off a trade (as there are no mind games here), and I get that. That said, a strong IPR based on multi-kill rounds correlates to better game sense than the norm.
It’s fairly safe to say that ~ 1,500 opening encounters in a single year stems from a semi-aggressive to an aggressive approach. But, also keep in mind that, sometimes an opening encounter will come to you. For example, you might be waiting in Inferno’s Apps for an early lurker push. Or, you might be sitting in Dust 2’s pit for awhile for a mid-round door push. Or if you’re a t player, you wait outside A doors for a CT push. So to be fair (more or less), not all opening encounters result in you pushing or rushing into an area right away.
Based on my observations, I don’t see HObbit as a super aggressive player, but one that anticipates aggressive plays and reacts accordingly. And if you’re successful at anticipating plays, even if your aim isn't the best, it’s a good display of strong in game-awareness. At the very least, HObbit’s playstyle, I would argue, reflects a counter-aggressive approach. I could be wrong though.
With HObbit’s exceptional aim and strong game sense, he can afford to anticipate aggressive plays occasionally and use a semi-aggressive playstyle. Thus, he deserves this spot as one of the top riflers in the game today.
Major Achievements
- Funspark ULTI 2021/2022 | A-Tier | 2:0 Gambit over Entropiq | 1st Place: $150,000/$250,000
- MVP of BLAST Premier: Spring Finals 2021 | S-Tier | 2:0 Gambit over NAVI | $225,000/$425,000
- Won his first major in the PGL Kraków 2017 | 1st Place: $500,000/$1,000,000
- 6th best player in 2021, according to HLTV
HObbit’s Twitter Account
- https://twitter.com/HObbitcsgo
1. NiKo
NiKo is arguably the best rifler and/or AK player in the game today. Born in 1997, he is of Bosnian Serb descent and was a former semi-professional Counter-Strike player. Now, he plays CS:GO for G2 alongside the likes of JACKZ, hunNter-(cousin), m0NSEY, and Aleksib.
Aside from his background, NiKo is well known for his aggressive, but effective playstyle and crisp aim. In fact, if you look at his number of opening encounters last year, it was about 1,400! Compare that to s1mple’s ~1,200 OE’s as an AWPer, ZywOo’s ~1,070 as an AWPer, or misutaaa ~800 as a rifler. Nevertheless, he maintained a solid OKR, with roughly 800 kills and 600 deaths overall (1.33). And, if you look at his overall headshot rate, it sits at about 51%.
Digging further into his stats, we see an IPR rating of 1.33 last year (1.3 overall), a KPR of .78, and an overall 1v1 clutch rate at 60%. As I’ve mentioned before, having a good impact rating (based on clutches, multi-kills, and opening kills) is not just an indicator of good aim, but also good awareness. In other words, NiKo seems to have a pretty good idea of where his enemies are on a consistent basis. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to have those kinds of opportunities to make an impact in the first place!
So I think it’s fair to say that NiKo’s unique and aggressive playstyle (along with his superb aim) gives him an edge, doing so in such a way that he’s constantly disrupting his opponent’s timing. So there’s nothing wrong with an aggressive playstyle as long as you can make it work. Thanks for the tip, NiKo!
Major Achievements
- BLAST Pro Series: Copenhagen 2019 | A-Tier | 2:0 FaZe over NIP | 1st Place: $125,000/$250,000
- EPICENTER 2018 | S-Tier I 2:0 FaZe over NAVI | 1st Place: $150,000/$295,000
- Intel Extreme Masters XIII-Sydney 2018 | S-Tier | 3:0 FaZe over Astralis | 1st Place: $100,000/$250,000
- 2nd Place in the PGL Major Stockholm | 0:2 NAVI over G2 | $300,000/$1,000,000
- 1st player to win multiple HLTV MVP awards in 3 consecutive years
- Holds the record for most kills in a map standing at 52
- Ranked 3rd best player of 2021 by HLTV
NiKo’s Twitter Account
- https://twitter.com/G2NiKo
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