Top 20 best players of 2024. Part 1: 11-20 place
Suddenly, the first half of the 2024 Counter-Strike 2 competitive season has passed. The past tournaments were largely dictated by FaZe Clan, although they failed to establish their new era due to the large number of lost grand finals. Despite this, the past six months have given us new young talents and the unexpected triumph of Natus Vincere at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024. We decided to compile the top 20 best players of 2024 at the moment. In the first material we will share the choice of esportsmen for 11-20 places. To compile the rating, we had to take into account Rating 2.0 over the past months, the presence of MVP medals and significant achievements on the LAN.
20th place: Dzhami Jame Ali (Virtus.pro)
Significant achievements on LAN for 2024:
- Rating 2.0 – 1.16;
- PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 – 9-11 place.
Our top is opened by the permanent captain and sniper of Virtus.pro – Dzhami Jame Ali. The year for him, as well as for the team, did not start very successfully. The only important achievement was participation in PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, where the team was one step away from reaching the playoffs. Many analysts note that Virtus.pro’s style remained in CS:GO and does not work at all in CS2, so Dzhami Jame Ali and coach Dastan dastan Akbaev have to come up with new solutions. One of these was the recent transfer of Denis electroNic Sharipov from Cloud9. The first tournament in the updated roster was ESL Pro League Season 19, where the team already reached the playoffs, albeit with great difficulties. This replacement should have a positive impact on Virtus.pro and they should spend the second half of the year much better.
19th place: Ozgur woxic Eker (Eternal Fire)
Significant achievements on LAN for 2024:
- Rating 2.0 – 1.12;
- PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 – 5-8 place.
Turkish players, as always, are famous for their high level of individual performance. But even having the best shooters in the country does not guarantee trophies for Eternal Fire. However, in CS2 the team performs better than before. The team’s sniper Ozgur woxic Eker makes a big contribution to the club’s victories in individual matches and stands out statistically, but they failed to win at least one major tournament this year.
18th place: Evgenii FL1T Lebedev (Virtus.pro)
Significant achievements on LAN for 2024:
- Rating 2.0 – 1.21;
- PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 – 9-11 place.
Despite the lack of trophies, another member of Virtus.pro’s core team made it into the top 20 best players. After the decline of Dzhami Jame Ali, Evgenii FL1T Lebedev became the most productive in the lineup. With VP’s tactical style no longer working, the team is mostly helped to win by clutch plays and individual performances from its key reliever.
17th place: Nicolai device Reedtz (Astralis)
Significant achievements on LAN for 2024:
- Rating 2.0 – 1.12;
- IEM Chengdu 2024 – 3-4 place.
Nicolai device Reedtz has truly returned after moving to the position of captain. Astralis has shone with new colors and is ready to fight for trophies at big championships. The sniper distinguished himself with phenomenal statistics at the first tournaments in the updated lineup, but it is too early to talk about the full return of Nicolai device Reedtz to prime form. Perhaps by the end of the year he will still be able to climb into the top 10 best players, but for this he needs to work hard and win on the LAN.
16th place: Denis electroNic Sharipov (Cloud9, Virtus.pro)
Significant achievements on LAN for 2024:
- Rating 2.0 – 1.13;
- PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 – 5-8 place.
Despite the total failure of Cloud9’s stellar roster, there was always one player who stood out and needed to be saved. Denis electroNic Sharipov was in excellent shape, but this did not allow him to go far in tournaments. After failure at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, he decided to leave the team and move to Virtus.pro, where he had long dreamed of playing. There he took on his best roles and has a chance to finish the year better than his past teammates, as well as lead VP to new trophies.
15th place: Ismailcan XANTARES Durtkardes (Eternal Fire)
Significant achievements on LAN for 2024:
- Rating 2.0 – 1.20;
- PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 – 5-8 place.
The most powerful aimer of Turkey also looked into our top. Ismailcan XANTARES Durtkardes has won almost nothing in his career, but year after year he amazes the professional scene with his individual statistics. Given his excellent performance, he has never been ranked in the top 20 best players according to HLTV.org. This year the situation may change, because Eternal Fire is no longer so weak, it can even claim one of the trophies at major championships.
14th place: Ludvig Brollan Brolin (MOUZ)
Significant achievements on LAN for 2024:
- Rating 2.0 – 1.14;
- IEM Katowice 2024 – 3-4 place;
- PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 – 5-8 place;
- IEM Chengdu 2024 – 2nd place.
On the 14th line of our rating is a newcomer to the MOUZ lineup – Ludvig Brollan Brolin. After a long performance for the dying roster of Ninjas in Pyjamas, the promising young man ended up in one of the best teams in the world, where he revealed himself to the maximum of his capabilities and proved that it was too early to write him off. While he is still just adapting to the new team, he is already showing good individual form.
13th place: Adam torzsi Torzhas (MOUZ)
Significant achievements on LAN for 2024:
- Rating 2.0 – 1.16;
- IEM Katowice 2024 – 3-4 place;
- PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 – 5-8 place;
- IEM Chengdu 2024 – 2nd place.
The top 20 best players of 2024 would not be complete without the sniper MOUZ. Adam torzsi Torzhas is not very consistent and sometimes falls out of the game, but when he is in condition, he is unstoppable. This alone earned him 13th place in the ranking, and if he could show this level on a regular basis, he would easily get into the final ten.
12th place: Nikola NiKo Kovac (G2 Esports)
Significant achievements on LAN for 2024:
- Rating 2.0 – 1.16;
- PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 – 3-4 place;
- IEM Chengdu 2024 – 3-4 place.
G2 Esports is experiencing difficult times, but its two main players continue to show excellent performances and prevent the team from falling even lower, which would be quite realistic. But, unlike Ilya m0NESY Osipov, Nikola NiKo Kovac still lost a lot in individual performance. Previously, the player was in the top five best players of the year for four years in a row, but so far he has stopped only at 12th place. The move to CS2 definitely had a negative impact on the Bosnian’s talent, but he still remains one of the best esports players on the professional scene.
11th place: Ihor w0nderful Zhdanov (Natus Vincere)
Significant achievements on LAN for 2024:
- Rating 2.0 for 2024 – 1.17;
- PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 – 1st place.
The first part of our ranking is completed by the champion of PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 and a worthy replacement for Oleksandr s1mple Kostyliev – Ihor w0nderful Zhdanov. Before moving to NAVI, the esportsman played only for tier-2 teams and this is a huge leap in his career. While he is far from fighting for the title of the best sniper in the world, he is doing everything possible for his team’s victories.
Traditionally, the top ten places in the top 20 best players do not generate that much interest among esports fans. The battle for the final places always looks more spectacular and is remembered by fans for years to come. We will tell you about the ten best players in the first half of 2024 in the next article. Many of the representatives of this list will also qualify for the highest places at the end of the year.
Top players not in the top 10 for 2024:
- 20th place: Dzhami Jame Ali;
- 19th place: Ozgur woxic Eker;
- 18th place: Evgenii FL1T Lebedev;
- 17th place: Nicolai device Reedtz;
- 16th place: Denis electroNic Sharipov;
- 15th place: Ismailcan XANTARES Durtkardes;
- 14th place: Ludvig Brollan Brolin;
- 13th place: Adam torzsi Torzhas;
- 12th place: Nikola NiKo Kovac;
- 11th place: Ihor w0nderful Zhdanov.