Sulfur
The popularity of esports and CS:GO in the modern world cannot be overstated. Tweens and teens from all over the world are battling it out amongst themselves to reach the top tiers of CS:GO. Amidst the chaos of the palace, a few brave warriors stand out. Out of the many talented youngsters, there are some brighter ones, chosen by the kings themselves.
It’s an yearly tradition to evaluate the top 20 players of the CS:GO world. With as spicy as it gets, these players then state a bold prediction, as to which up-and-coming player can make it into the Top 20 in the near future.
sh1ro was a bold prediction himself. SERGEJ, 2019’s World Number 13, picked sh1ro as his player for the future. “sh1ro is my pick. We have practiced a lot against him and his team and it seems he is always doing smart moves and has a really good aim.” That turned out just right, with sh1ro bagging an astonishing fourth place in his debut in HLTV’s Top 20.
KSCERATO was s1mple’s 2019 bold prediction. blameF was picked by quite a few people too back in 2019.
The eye of the goldsmith is the most valuable when telling gold from glitter.
That said, let’s get into the 10 players whose names were floated and echoed in the CS:GO palace this time.
1. m0NESY (5)
Is that even a surprise? The Ukrainian AWPer was literally the s1mple of the academy world. Everyone following CS:GO knew about this 16-year-old who was painting the walls crimson with the blood of his rivals. This NaVi Junior star was teammates with none other than b1t, probably the greatest rookie in the history of the game.
After seeing the levels of success that b1t reached with NaVi in 2021, there is no doubt he dreamt of the same. b1t replaced flamie in the NaVi squad in 2021, an understandable move. But m0NESY couldn’t dream of the same, as that would mean replacing the CS:GO GOAT himself, s1mple.
Dreaming of doing that at this stage is quite comical. So m0NESY made his move to G2, the only top-tier team without a reliable AWPer (sorry, Amanek).
I could go on and on about the 16-year-old, but I’ll keep that for another discussion.
Five players in HLTV’s Top 20 this year picked m0NESY as their bold prediction for 2022 and years to come. Given m0NESY’s immense talent, even casters and analysts were at ends whether or not it’s even worth including m0NESY in the list.
Because let’s be honest, saying m0NESY will become a successful AWPer and find his way into the Top 20 is as bold as saying it will snow in Antarctica. Nevertheless, teammates and countrymen alike picked him; huNter-, NiKo, s1mple, b1t, and lastly the odd man out, stavn.
To halt this bullet train of praise, I’ll just say it would be more of a shock if m0NESY doesn’t end up in the Top 10, or even Top 5 list in the next 2-3 years.
2. xertioN (3)
Every player from here will be relatively unknown, and a genuine yet-to-be-proven high potential kid, unlike our Number 1 previously.
xertioN is an Israeli rifler who plays for MOUZ NXT, the Mousesports Junior team. His skills have been proven in a plethora of tournaments, with MOUZ NXT being crowned the champions of both WePlay Academy League Season 1, and Season 2. For extra sweetness, he and his team defeated none other than m0NESY’s NaVi Junior in the Grand Finals of Season 2, back in November 2021.
xertioN is quite a package. From playing mind games to raw intimidation of enemies (have you heard his screams?), he continuously strives to get the mental victory over his opponents.
He’s someone who takes smart and calculated risks. A great example comes to mind against NaVi Junior. He was boosted up in B on Ancient, so he could keep an eye on both Cave and Ramp. Quite exposed, but played to perfection, as he ended up killing a NaVi Junior player.
His spamming ability reminds me of rain. His Cave spams in the same match were highly effective too, and he’s learned the timings and angles perfectly.
Overall, he has an immaculate third eye, a superior game sense, well beyond his years. There’s no wonder a certain chubby French superstar picked him as his bold prediction.
That said, there are three players who picked xertioN as their bold prediction: broky, Twistzz, and none other than The Chosen One himself, zywOo. If zywOo says that you have the potential of becoming one of the best CS:GO players in the whole damn world, you better eradicate all dark glitters of self-doubt and work day in day out to fulfill the prophecy.
xertioN is still playing for MOUZ NXT, meaning we won’t be seeing him in Tier 1 CS right away, unlike m0NESy and try. Who’s try, you ask? Read on.
3. try (2)
try is an Argentine player who is my personal favorite on this list. The 17-year-old AWPer is a visible prodigy, and South America’s greatest hope.
He’s played in the lower leagues against smaller teams so far, except in April 2021 when 9z qualified for BLAST Premier Spring Groups. We, for the first time, got glimpses of what to expect from try. He put in an absolute masterclass against Vitality in his first-ever match against a top 20 team. He shut down zywOo on Overpass like never before, posting a 2.15 rating.
He was at his absolute best on Overpass. On the CT side, his aggressive maneuvers were a problem for Vitality all half. He had a plethora of options and different places to be in, becoming unpredictable for Vitality. That is top-tier positioning, and try was just 16 years old during this match.
He positioned incredibly to support MAX on A site, and the fluid duo was unbeatable all game.
9z ended up defeating Vitality and then losing to Heroic in the next round. Regardless, try put in some otherworldly numbers despite MAX’s presence. The potential this kid has is amazing.
He was picked as a bold prediction by KSCERATO (15) and Ax1Le (5). try quit 9z to make his professional debut in the top-tier CS scene. He has joined 00Nation, a team where he will be mentored by none other than the legendary Brazilian AWPer, coldzera himself. This is a huge opportunity for growth for the young kid.
He was ranked as the second-best player of 2021 in Brazil by DRAFT5, and by viewing his demos, it’s evident that he will soon have a similar rank in HLTV’s Top 20.
4. fame (2)
fame is an 18-year-old Russian rifler who’s played for K23 for almost a year now. K23 may sound like a team unheard of, but they’re actually HLTV’s World Number 16 right now, a far cry from a “random” team.
fame and his team have made 4 Grand Finals of B-Tier tournaments in 2021. They had red hot form when closing the year, and they continued it by defeating Astralis in Funspark ULTI in their first match of 2022.
fame’s rifling abilities have a high ceiling, and there’s a distinct charm about him. His 1.16 Impact Rating speaks for itself, and going forward, he’s going to be an important asset for K23. (That is until he gets picked up by a Top 10 team or even a Top 5 team.)
The two players that picked fame as their bold prediction are countrymen, electroNic, and HObbit, two of the most astute and experienced riflers in the CS scene right now.
It will be interesting to see what becomes of fame. I personally would love it if he gets picked up by Gambit themselves, as a sixth man who would occasionally replace the aging HObbit and would soon take on the mantle permanently. Let’s cross our fingers, and hope for the best.
5. The Rest Six
This seems unfair, right? Me glamouring about 4 young players, while stacking the rest 6 in a single file. Do they have less potential and skill than the upper 4? Definitely not. It’s just that they got only a solitary vote from a Top 20 player, with no other players picking them again.
Clearly, that doesn’t matter. Why? Because sh1ro was also picked by one solitary player back in 2019. And the World Number 4 has shone the most amongst any former bold predictions this year.
That said, let’s get into the 6 remaining players.
Minus
Minus is an American player, just 18-years-old. He was picked by fellow countryman EliGE as a bold prediction. His stats reflect just that, as he has put in an average rating of 1.19 in the past 6 months. Thanks to his great AWPing and rifling abilities, he has found a place in daps’ Orgless roster, alongside Swisher and Infinite, famous tier-two players.
Hopefully the mechanical and analytical veteran in daps will help Minus realise his true potential and help him reach the top. (Or at least bag a transfer to a tier-one team.)
torzsi
torzsi is a 19-year-old AWPer and played alongside xertioN in MOUZ NXT. He was promoted to MOUZ’s main team in 2022.
I’m very surprised that only one player picked him as a bold prediction, as I feel like he’s one of the most talented players on this list. He was VAC banned back in 2016, but since he was very young and the fiasco took place on a non-official server, he was banned only for 5 years, unlike the lifetime bans Valve gives away.
That’s a good practice, as banning talented youngsters for life for something they did when they were so young seems unfair.
Regardless, torzsi is turning his reputation around and is definitely one of the most skilled AWPers to look forward to. ropz would agree with me.
mhL
mhL is the Polish AWPer that replaced torzsi in MOUZ NXT. He was playing for AGO, winning a heavy bunch of B and C Tier tournaments. With how quickly he’s progressed and developed, I have no doubt that he would shine quite brightly for MOUZ NXT, and will soon make his first heavy buck transfer to a top-tier team.
His mettle will be seriously tested in 2022 with MOUZ NXT, and this team had practically dominated the academy teams so far with the now promoted torzsi. He will have a lot of pressure on his shoulders, but I’m sure he’ll live up to the hype.
The player that picked mhL is NAF, World Number 14 of 2021. Another great youngster to look forward to.
KaiR0N-
KaiR0N- is a player who currently plies his trade for Spirit’s Academy team. He’s 18-years-old currently and is German/Russian. Two historically interesting countries to belong to, eh? Lame war jokes apart, this rifler surely knows how to click some heads.
In the past month, he has played 250 maps and averaged a beyond astonishing rating of 1.38 on them. His impact rating of 1.51 can only make Spirit Academy salivate on the decision they’ve made to sign this guy.
Is it even a wonder that Jame picked KaiR0N- as his bold prediction?
shield
shield is a relatively unknown player. He played for LowLandLions and Wolsung as an AWPer. The 19-year-old Latvian has won a bunch of B and C Tier tournaments with Wolsung and LowLandLions.
He has averaged a 1.19 rating in the past 6 months, an amazing output. With an impact rating of 1.14 and kills per round of 0.78, he’s definitely a hot commodity in the CS:GO world of youngsters right now.
He was picked by fellow countryman, YEKINDAR. “shield is a great guy with a bright future if he continues to put the effort that he puts in now, I hope everything will work out for him because I see him as a great prospect and most importantly — HE IS LATVIAN, LET’S GOOO, so this is my pick.”
Another great youngster to keep an eye on.
deko
deko is another fairly unknown youngster, but he surely caught the eye of sh1ro himself. The 20-year-old Russian AWPer plays for 1WIN currently.
He has posted an amazing rating of 1.25 in the past 12 months. He’s also won a bunch of B Tier tournaments, with 2021 being quite a standout year for the youngster.
Interestingly, deko is older than sh1ro himself, something we do not expect (5 days older!). And isn’t that the most interesting fact to end an article with? XD!
Eagle-eyed readers must’ve noticed one famous name missing out in the article. Not that of a youngster, but that of a Top 20 player. World Number 11, dev1ce, opted to not pick anyone as a bold prediction. That is understandable, as he had quite a tumultuous end to 2021, with him being physically and mentally fractured. He mustn’t have had time to look out for bright youngsters.
I hope Mr. Consistent of CS:GO will recover well, and return back to where he belongs: the top.