Ever wondered who the best riflers in CSGO are?
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a game dominated by 3 guns: The AWP (a sniper rifle) & the two core rifle: the AK-47 (terrorist side) and the M4A1-s/ M4A4 (counter-terrorist side). The latter two guns are the tools essential to players called “riflers”. A “rifler” is the term used for players who are specialists with either the AK or the 2 M4 variants. Usually there are 3 riflers in a team, 1 AWPer (a specialist with the AWP), and 1 hybrid player who can utilize both the core rifles or an AWP depending on the current situation.
Since there are so many riflers in professional CS:GO, it can be hard to determine who the best are. Whether looking at play style, supporting team members or simply padded stats due to attending lower tier events, judging the skill level of a certain player compared to another is tricky and hard to achieve accurately. To help out, here is a list of my top 10 riflers currently in CS:GO.
All stats are provided by HLTV.org.
10. Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač
Team: FaZe Clan | Nationality: Bosnia & Herzegovina | Favorite Rifle: AK-47
Picture by HLTV
The Bosnian superstar, NiKo, burst into the CS:GO scene in 2015 with German organization mousesports. At the Cluj-Napoca Major in 2015, NiKo’s potential was fully displayed as he routinely dropped 30-plus frags per game. Exploding onto the scene, NiKo has been considered the best player in the world since 2016 to now. Now playing for FaZe, NiKo is undoubtedly the best all-around player in the world (only challenged by Coldzera or s1mple for the title) dominating his opponents with his rifle skills. NiKo is the secondary entry for FaZe Clan (meaning he follows up olofmeister as the second man into bomb sites on the terrorist-side). Most recently at IEM Katowice 2018, NiKo had an overall kill rating (kills / deaths) of 1.31, highest on his team by 13 points. Needless to say, NiKo still holds the title as the best CS:GO rifler in the world.
Career Stats for NiKo (Average Rating = kills / deaths):
2015: 1.19 | 2016: 1.16 | 2017: 1.17 | Past 3 Months: 1.18 | Overall: 1.17
FaZe NiKo Highlight Video (2017)
9. Marcelo ‘coldzera’ David
Team: SK Gaming | Nationality: Brazil | Favorite Rifle: AK-47 & M4-A4
Picture by SK Gaming
Becoming one of the best CS:GO riflers in the world can be difficult. Becoming the best and coming from the impoverished country of Brazil adds even more difficulty to the task. One of the three core players of the Brazilian SK Gaming line-up, coldzera is recognized as one of the 3 best players in the world. After signing to Luminosity Gaming in 2015, coldzera was implemented into Fallen's system as the star player of the squad. In July 2016 the Luminosity Gaming team signed with German organization, SK Gaming. Whether under LG or SK, cold utilized his hybrid playing style (using both the AWP & the core rifles) to lead his team to multiple top 4s, finals appearances and championships. Still the carry of his team, coldzera looks to continue his form throughout 2018.
Career Stats for coldzera (Average Rating = kills / deaths):
2015: 1.16 | 2016: 1.24 | 2017: 1.23 | Past 3 Months: 1.19 | Overall: 1.22
coldzera 1vs4 with AK-47 vs. Mousesports on Mirage
8. Richard ‘shox’ Papillon
Team: G2 Esports | Nationality: France | Favorite Rifle: AK-47 & M4A4
Picture by PGL
Playing professional Counter-Strike since 2006, shox is inarguably one of the greatest CS players of all time. One of the original stars of CS:GO, shox has dominated his opponents with his immaculate rifle skills for the past 6 years. Consistently relevant when discussing who the best players are, shox's mastery of the AK & M4 has maintained his status as a carry player of any team he is a member. His most notable teams (in CS:GO) have been: Epsilon eSports, Millenium, VeryGames, Titan, TeamLDLC.com, Team Envyus & G2 Esports. With the rifle, shox has utilized his proficiency as a "lurker" to best dominate his enemies. Silently creeping up to his opposition or waiting for enemies to enter his view, shox uses both his aim and game-sense to his advantage. After a small decline in form, shox bounced back at IEM Katowice 2018 showing his potential again. Holding a 1.13 kill-rating (only missing 20-plus frags in 2 games), shox managed to put out a winning performance in every game he played even though his team lost 4 of 7 games played.
Career Stats for shox (Average Rating = kills / deaths):
2013: 1.22 | 2014: 1.15 | 2015: 1.07 | 2016: 1.13 | 2017: 1.04 | Past 3 Months: 1.05 | Overall: 1.11
G2 shox ELeague Major: Boston Highlight Video
7. Aleksandr 's1mple' Kostvliev
Team: Natus Vincere | Nationality: Ukraine | Favorite Rifle: AK-47
Picture by HLTV
Gaining notoriety as the "most toxic" CS:GO player, s1mple started his fame as a member of HellRaisers in 2014. Similar to coldzera, s1mple is an incredible hybrid player who is as good at the AWP as he is with a rifle. Slightly favoring the AK-47 (compared to the AWP), s1mple puts out amazing performances on any team & any game he is a part of. Signing with North American organization, Team Liquid, in 2016, s1mple quickly showed his world-class ability to all mainstream CS:GO fans at the MLG Major. In the last 5 majors, s1mple has been a part of 2 top-4s (MLG & ELeague Boston) and 1 2nd place finish (ESL One: Cologne 2016) as a member of Team Liquid & NaVi. From 2017 to the present, s1mple has managed to maintain the best stats of any player (in a premier team) with an average kill-score of 1.27. Undoubtebly the player with greatest potential on this list, s1mple is improving his proficiency with the rifles every tournament he plays in.
Career Stats for s1mple (Average Rating = kills / deaths):
2014: 1.19 | 2015: 1.18 | 2016: 1.15 | 2017: 1.24 | Past 3 Months: 1.31 | Overall: 1.20
NaVi s1mple Highlight Video (2018)
6. Dauren 'AdreN' Kystaubayev
Team: Gambit Esports | Nationality: Kazakhstan | Favorite Rifle: AK-47
Picture by ELeague
Entering the Counter-Strike 1.6 professional since 2009, AdreN has been a CS mainstay for almost 10 years. Playing with Gambit Esports since 2016, AdreN has been the primary rifler of the team since joining. The CIS player has played in 9 of the 13 total Valve Majors and made the play-off of 5 of those 9, even winning one (PGL Major: Krakow). An overall well-rounded player, AdreN does not utilize any particular playing style, simply preferring to simply take aim-duels and utilizes his aim to defeat his enemies. Currently flanked by AWPer mou, AdreN is the sole rifle carry for Gambit, only occasionally missing the top of his teams scoreboard. With a poor performance at the past 3 tournaments (Boston Major, StarLadder Season 4, IEM Katowice 2018) AdreN must use his rifle skill to help bring his team out of its current poor run of form.
Career Stats for AdreN (Average Rating = kills / deaths):
2013: 1.03 | 2014: 0.96 | 2015: 1.02 | 2016: 1.13 | 2017: 1.06 | Past 3 Months: .95 | Overall: 1.04
Gambit AdreN Highlight Video
5. Håvard ‘rain’ Nygaard
Team: FaZe Clan | Nationality: Norway | Favorite Rifle: AK-47 & M4A4
Picture by theScore esports
The second carry of FaZe Clan, rain is one of the best riflers in CS:GO since his rise in 2015. First becoming a popular figure under Team Kinguin in 2015, rain has managed to showcase his rifle ability to match players like NiKo or coldzera. The star of G2 Esports (after G2 acquired Team Kinguin) and FaZe Clan (after acquiring G2 Esports) until NiKo & guardian’s inclusion to the team, rain is the best entry fragger currently a part of professional CS:GO. Due to his role as an entry player (since NiKo & olofmeister joined Faze), rain’s stats have slowly declined throughout 2017 and into 2018. However, flashes of rain’s greatness shine through in late round situations or on the Counter-Terrorist side as he lives past the initial storm of entering/ losing a bomb site. Current upsets at the hands of Cloud9 at the Major in Boston and Fnatic at IEM Katowice has put question to rain’s safety as a Faze member. Past showcases of his skill and recent highlights of ability will keep rain in a Faze jersey for months to come as there simply is not an equal caliber player that can replace rain currently in CS:GO.
Career Stats for rain (Average Rating = kills / deaths):
2014: 0.98 | 2015: 1.09 | 2016: 1.08 | 2017: 1.10 | Past 3 Months: 1.03 | Overall: 1.07
FaZe Rain Highlight Video (2017)
4. Robin ‘flusha’ Rönnquist
Team: Fnatic | Nationality: Sweden | Favorite Rifle: AK-47
Picture by ESL
The “mouse-lifter” himself, Fnatic’s flusha has been an icon of Swedish Counter-Strike since late 2012 as a Western Wolves player. Fnatic has been lucky to keep such an amazing rifler for almost 5 years, signing flusha in August of 2013. Once under heavy community scrutiny for alleged in-game cheating, flusha is without a doubt one of the all-time CS:GO greats. The anchor of the team, flusha has won 3 majors (DreamHack Winter 2013 and ESL One: Katowice 2015 & Cologne 2015) under the Fnatic organization. flusha’s style is based on his consistent, yet explosive game-to-game performances. Recently named the MVP of IEM Katowice 2018, flusha still manages to dominate his opponents. flusha, alongside JW, is of the last of 2 core players that brought endless success to the Fnatic organization since June 2014. Winning 2 consecutive events (IEM Katowice 2018 & WESG), flusha, 6 years into his professional career, still produces world-class performances on a regular basis.
Career Stats for flusha (Average Rating = kills / deaths):
2013: 1.06 | 2014: 1.17 | 2015: 1.08 | 2016: 1.13 | 2017: 1.01 | Past 3 Months: 1.09 | Overall: 1.09
Fnatic flusha Highlight Video (IEM Katowice 2018)
3. Freddy ‘KRIMZ’ Johansson
Team: Fnatic | Nationality: Sweden | Favorite Rifle: AK-47 & M4A1-s
Picture by ELeague
Team: Fnatic | Nationality: Sweden | Favorite Rifle: AK-47 & M4A1-s
Possibly the greatest support player of all-time, KRIMZ has been the cornerstone of Fnatic since signing to the team in June 2014. Part of 2 major victories (ESL One: Katowice & Cologne 2015), KRIMZ is to Fnatic what Xyp9x is to Astralis. He was part of the core Fnatic squad with JW, flusha & olofmeister that had an almost year long reign over the CS:GO competitive scene. Not until after the MLG Major in 2016 did Fnatic lose its place as the best team in the scene to SK Gaming (then Luminosity Gaming) with these 4 players. KRIMZ, throughout the peaks and the lows, always held his place as the rock that supported his other 4 teammates. His supportive style always was mixed with explosive performances that helped Fnatic gain so much success. Recently putting up big numbers at IEM Katowice 2018 & winning WESG, KRIMZ, along with flusha, still maintains his world-class rifle ability & form 5 years into his professional career.
Career Stats for KRIMZ (Average Rating = kills / deaths):
2013: 1.06 | 2014: 1.09 | 2015: 1.12 | 2016: 1.00 | 2017: 0.99 | Past 3 Months: 1.17 | Overall: 1.07
Fnatic KRIMZ Highlight Video (2016)
2. Robin ‘ropz’ Kool
Team: mousesports | Nationality: Estonia | Favorite Rifle: AK-47 & M4A4
Picture by HLTV
First earning a spot on a professional team in 2016, ropz is the newest member to the CS:GO scene on this list. HLTV’s “Top 20 players of 2016” both dennis & NiKo said ropz would be the breakout player of 2017. Slowly declining in overall kill-score over the past year, ropz has been victim to losing his place as the star player of mousesports due to big name signings throughout 2017. Second to oskar & sunny now, newcomer ropz has to learn to still perform to his former 1.13 average kill-score of 2016 if he hopes to keep his image as a potential star in CS:GO. So far in 2018 ropz had not had the best performances, he will look to improve his play lest he fall to the wayside as a good supportive player in the eyes of the viewers and professional scene.
Career Stats for ropz (Average Rating = kills / deaths):
2016: 1.13 | 2017: 1.06 | Past 3 Months: .95 | Overall: 1.04
mousesports ropz Highlight Video (2017)
1. Keith ‘NAF’ Markovic
Team: Team Liquid | Nationality: Canada | Favorite Rifle: AK-47
Picture by StarLadder
NAF, the final member of the list, is a wildcard pick of sorts. Opposed to ropz’s rising star, NAF has been a part of professional CS:GO since 2014. Formerly a member of Team Liquid for 2 months in 2015, NAF has become a journeyman player, most notably playing for Luminosity Gaming, OpTic Gaming & Renegades. Joining Conquest in 2015 (which was bought by OpTic Gaming in 2016), NAF has been a lead player in all teams he is a part of. Using a “lurk” style of gameplay to increase his kill count, NAF, for the past 4 years, managed to maintain a 1.09 average kill-score. Once again joining Team Liquid in February 2018, NAF immediately became a carry putting out 30-plus frag games consistently. Team Liquid’s past 4 tournament performances, since NAF’s inclusion to the team, have drastically improved. Liquid has managed 1 tournament win, one runners-up finish, and 2 3rd-4th place finishes for the 4 tournaments NAF has played in. NAF’s incredible recent form as a Liquid member has boosted the team to new heights. Hopefully, he can maintain his current form and help propel Liquid to more tournament success!
Career Stats for NAF (Average Rating = kills / deaths):
2014: 1.02 | 2015: 1.11 | 2016: 1.06 | 2017: 1.10 | Past 3 Months: 1.15 | Overall: 1.09
Liquid NAF Highlight Video (2017)
