Who are the most exciting players on the market right now?
A quick look at the most valuable free agents on offer right now.
Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke
The Danish rifler has been consistently synonymous with controversy over recent months, yet the prevailing opinion still remains that he deserves further shots at the big time, and I couldn't agree more. I doubt that a top 20 team will pick him up before the roster-locks of the new season continue to slam doors shut but if a team like NiP perhaps don't make as many waves as their plans for the year would hope for, he would be an outstanding pickup. Who knows he could even be in line for a sensational return to Astralis if their fortunes don't improve. If I’m a team like OG or ENCE, I am immediately enquiring about the possibility of signing the Danish superstar at earliest convenience.
Viktor ‘sdy’ Orudzhev
The Ukrainian rifler didn’t have the easiest time during his stint with Na’Vi, never fully being given any job security, but he deserves to be mentioned here, having by no means hampered their pursuit of greatness and even securing the trophy at BLAST Premier Spring Finals. Now, do I think that he is entirely suitable for a team containing the greatest of all time? No, but he is clearly a serviceable support player and any top 20 team would surely be enriched by his addition. Due to the ongoing political situation, there sadly aren’t many options for the Ukrainian to pursue within his region, so a team like OG could be a solid shout moving forward.
Mateusz ‘mantuu’ Wilczewski
The Polish AWPer has been inactive for a while but absolutely deserves another shot at the big time. While a little inconsistent, it’s hard to see how he hasn’t found another team since being benched by OG back in July. Once again the names of ENCE and NiP reappear as potential candidates for his signature if their year gets off to a less than ideal start, or perhaps a hop across the pond to save NA with the ailing Evil Geniuses.
Patrick ‘es3tag’ Hansen
The Danish hybrid hasn’t made the best of life choices since abandoning Heroic while his ex-teammates now sit atop the HLTV rankings as the best in the world. With underwhelming forays into North America under his belt with Cloud9 and Complexity, the ‘brightest star in the Danish night sky’ has since been benched again by NiP. Role turmoil and a change in IGL did nothing to help the Dane but yet another relative failure has left him with very little option moving forward but a team like Sprout might benefit from his experience.