Top 8 CSGO Players Predicted to Shine at BLAST Spring Finals 2023

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ZyWOo Named Paris Major MVP


We took a look at the top 8 CSGO players from each team participating at the BLAST Spring Finals 2023


Your favorite Counter-Strike dominators are back to another S-tier event this year, from the Paris Major MVP Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut to legendary Astralis member Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz. As the Spring Finals journey hits the start button, we looked at the best names from each team who will keep their squad alive in the toughest of battles. Here are the top 8 CSGO players ready to shine in Washington, DC.

Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut – Vitality

Credit: BLAST

  • HLTV Rating: 1.33
  • Impact Rating: 1.44
  • Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 75.2%
  • Average Damage Round: 87.7
  • Kills Per Round: 0.84

The French prodigy is one of the most talented Spring Finals players expected to shine the brightest. After claiming the MVP title and the trophy of the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, ZywOo is going to have a lot of eyes on him to continue the stellar form that we have seen from the Vitality star in Paris and IEM Rio 2023.

The AWPer had a consistent showing in Paris with a 1.39 rating. His team will count on him to get impressive openers as he has done in the Major.

Martin “stavn” Lund – Heroic

  • HLTV Rating: 1.12
  • Impact Rating: 1.14
  • Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 71.0%
  • Average Damage Round: 81.1
  • Kills Per Round: 0.73

The 21-year-old Danish youngster was one of the best players in the Fall Final last year, the only LAN out of 26 events where he took a trophy home. stavn’s consistency of the past three years has allowed him to hold the top 20 title, but it hasn’t translated to that many tournament victories.

Heroic secured the 4th spot in the Paris Major, where stavn became the 7th best player with a rating of 1.19. His performance improved even more in the recent IEM Dallas tour, as he became the best player on his roster once again with the #4 spot in the ranking. 

Håvard “rain” Nygaard – FaZe

  • HLTV Rating: 1.02
  • Impact Rating: 1.16
  • Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 69.9%
  • Average Damage Round: 79.8
  • Kills Per Round: 0.71

This will be rain’s 8th year with FaZe – the longest-standing member of the roster. In his long history of competitive play, the Norwegian rifler has won big titles like the Antwerp Major of last year and 14 more LAN trophies, including this year’s ESL Pro League.

IEM Dallas 2023 was the 28-year-old’s most recent appearance, where he helped FaZe secure the 3rd spot in the tournament. While The Architect wasn’t the MVP for his team in most of the matches, he was one of the most consistent members, and you can find his best stats in the Semifinal match against ENCE, where we saw domination from the player on Mirage with a 1.87 rating.

Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov – G2

  • HLTV Rating: 1.22
  • Impact Rating: 1.24
  • Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 74.0%
  • Average Damage Round: 79.1
  • Kills Per Round: 0.78

At only the age of 18, the Russian AWPer for G2 has become a threat to other superstar players of Counter-Strike as he is looking to become a new household name. Known as “The Flash,” this young player was the star of the show on G2’s successful journey in last year’s BLAST Premier World Final with a 1.24 rating in the tournament.

Even in a rather unfruitful journey in the Paris Major, where G2 failed to go past the Legends Stage, m0NESY impressed us with his flashy flicks and devastating shutdowns, picking up the title of the best player in the Challengers Stage with a 1.49 rating. 

Sergey “Ax1Le” Rykhtorov – Cloud9

  • HLTV Rating: 1.16
  • Impact Rating: 1.16
  • Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 72.5%
  • Average Damage Round: 80.6
  • Kills Per Round: 0.73

After a highly successful 2022, where the Russian rifler secured a #4 spot in the global ranking and became the MVP of the IEM Dallas 2023, Ax1Le has yet to show his true potential this year. The 21-year-old was a member of the Gambit roster acquired by Cloud9, a team he helped transition from a tier-2 roster to an S-tier juggernaut. 

Even though Cloud9 struggled in the recent IEM Dallas event, Ax1Le was consistently the best member of the team through victories and defeats. His most dominating form was seen against Grayhound, where the rifler shut down the Aussies with an incredible 20-9 K-D performance in a 16-2 map, getting a 1.68 rating.

Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz – Astralis

  • HLTV Rating: 1.16
  • Impact Rating: 1.28
  • Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 71.4%
  • Average Damage Round: 80.5
  • Kills Per Round: 0.78

The 27-year-old AWPer for Astralis often comes into conversations about the best CSGO players of all time, especially considering his incredible stint from 2014 to 2021, where he consistently was among the top 20 players and won four Majors.

Astralis are far from their glory days now, and their 2023 journey has been dry of significant victories, even after getting dev1ce back to the team’s lineup. Nonetheless, the player’s recent show in IEM Dallas 2023 should be a sign of hope for his squad, as he was consistently securing the MVP spot, even in defeats. The 2-0 win against Cloud9 was the best look from the Danish member, where he picked up a 1.64 rating on Mirage through a 24-9 K-D.

Michael “Grim” Wince – Complexity

  • HLTV Rating: 1.10
  • Impact Rating: 1.12
  • Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 71.5%
  • Average Damage Round: 78.6
  • Kills Per Round: 0.72

Grim’s 5+ years of journey in professional Counter-Strike is empty of any S-tier trophies. His time in Liquid was the most fruitful period of his career, with victories in cs_summit 8 and BLAST Premier Fall Showdown 2021. 

The 22-year-old is rarely the MVP for his team, but he is consistent, especially during his recent journey in the Major and IEM Dallas. If we see Complexity doing better at this event, Grim and teammates like Aran “Sonic” Groesbeek and Ricky “floppy” Kemery are going to be the turning factors for the North American squad.

Ricardo “boltz” Prass – Imperial

  • HLTV Rating: 1.06
  • Impact Rating: 1.09
  • Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 72.3%
  • Average Damage Round: 81.5
  • Kills Per Round: 0.71

The 26-year-old entry fragger has a lot of experience under his belt compared to his Imperial teammates. Alongside 5 LAN wins, boltz has also participated in six Majors, almost winning the PGL Krakow in 2017, the same year he was holding the top 20 badge.

Imperial have not participated in many S-tier event this year, and the ones they attended ended with poor results from the roster. Nonetheless, the recent ESL Brazil Premier League S14 was a playground for the squad, and boltz had an impressive run that may continue to this tournament.



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