Nostalgia for CS:GO Player Autographs: Something You Won’t See in CS2
As we anticipate the first CS2 Major, many users wonder how stickers from such a significant event will look. Various speculations about the visual concept of stickers for the upcoming tournament have already surfaced online. Recently, professional players have been mass-reporting new rules regarding the appearance of autographs. Valve sent an email to participants, requiring autographs to resemble real signatures that esports athletes leave for fans by hand.
Recently, players have become very meticulous about sticker design, even turning to designers. It seems that this approach will soon become obsolete or, at the very least, limit the imagination of authors. Because of this, the first autographs in CS2 risk becoming extremely dull. Let’s recall the most original ideas from pro players in designing personal stickers.
Dosia | Boston 2018
This sticker may not be considered one of the best, but it perhaps reflects what awaits us in the near future. Even in 2018 when this sticker was released, it exuded the vibes of the early internet era. Mikhail “Dosia” Stolyarov is an old-school player, and it’s possible that this is how he wrote his nickname back in 2007 when his career was just beginning. The dollar symbol instead of the Latin letter “S,” a crosshair symbol instead of “O,” a heart instead of a dot, and a hand-drawn star replacing “A.” This sticker vividly reflects the techniques often used by players when creating autographs. Judging by requests from developers, these are the types of variants they want to receive from Major participants in Copenhagen.
pashaBiceps | London 2018
The legendary Polish player took an original approach to choosing a sticker for the London Major. This autograph is a great example of when you don’t necessarily need designers to create a cool sticker. “Pasha my friend” is a shortened phrase from one of the player’s streams, which became viral within the community. Originally, it sounded like “you are not my friend you are my brother my friend,” and it quickly spread across the internet. The player seized the moment and reflected a scene from that livestream on his own autograph.
Liazz | Berlin 2019
The Australian player doesn’t have a large fan base and is not known to every Counter-Strike player, but his sticker from the Berlin Major managed to attract attention. All he needed to do was draw a cat above his nickname. Many users bought this sticker because of it and were delighted with the idea. By the way, this isn’t the only feature of this autograph. Liazz replaced “ZZ” with “22,” referring to his age during this tournament. While this might not attract additional attention, it underscores his creative and innovative approach.
VINI | Antwerp 2022
The stickers of the Brazilian player always stand out for their originality. He has been fortunate to participate in many CS:GO Majors, and it feels like personal stickers are more than just a digital image for him. On the trading platform, you can find many variations of his nickname, but this one is one of the best. Unlike the previous autograph, the animal image is organically integrated. The fin of a whale replaces the letter “V.” This simple and brilliant solution couldn’t leave players indifferent and significantly boosted demand on the Steam market.
WOOD7 | Paris 2023
Another Brazilian player with a cool and popular autograph. His nickname is inspired by a character from the old cartoon Woody Woodpecker, which he decided to depict in his own sticker. A cool move, as it attracted the attention of fans of this animated hero and significantly increased his recognition in the community.
INS | Rio 2022
When an autograph consists of only three letters, it’s difficult to find an original solution that will appeal to a large audience. But the Australian found a way to cope with this task. The resulting snake-shaped autograph has been used not only by Grayhound team fans. Many skin enthusiasts erase the sticker background, leaving only the symbol of this animal visible.
Karrigan | Paris 2023
The player decided to leave his mark in the game not only in the form of an autograph but also to immortalize the “meme” that he once created. At one of the tournaments, Karrigan appeared on stage wearing a Batman mask, which caused a real sensation. The audience reacted so positively that the Dane began to repeat this from time to time at other events. Symbolically, he decided to immortalize this performance on a sticker at the last CS:GO Major. And he did it right because there might not have been another opportunity.
ropz | Paris 2023
One of the main stars of Faze Clan decided to follow his captain’s example and not miss the opportunity to make a small reference in his own autograph at the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023. In the middle of his nickname, instead of the letters “O” and “P,” he drew a broken heart as a sign of regret about the end of the CS:GO era. It turned out to be very symbolic, as they made it to this tournament from the last chance stage. The player was unexpectedly close to missing the last Major and approached the creation of the sticker with great enthusiasm.
saeng@res | Boston 2018
When the sticker of an American player was added to the game, this capsule instantly began to be bought up by all users. Everyone wanted to get a sticker with a huge heart image and place it on their favorite weapon. Part of the player’s nickname does sound somewhat similar to the word “heart” in English, so it’s not accidental that it’s on the autograph. Nowadays, this sticker is quite difficult to buy on the trading platform, and some of its versions are unavailable.
DickStacy | Katowice 2019
The most popular autograph in the game, which somehow received approval from VALVE, is incomprehensible. And not just once. This makes all current bans seem even more absurd. Currently, this sticker is sold on the trading platform from $1,800 and is an abbreviation of the player’s nickname.
In conclusion, it’s worth noting that esports athletes have little motivation to work on their autographs. Players don’t earn money from sales on the trading platform. Their earnings come from in-game capsule sales containing their sticker. Therefore, all efforts are personal enthusiasm and sincere interest in the final result. It would be a pity if VALVE greatly tightens the rules for writing autographs and severely limits players’ creative impulse in this matter.