After a decent run at the PGL Copenhagen Major, Marcelo "coldzera" David was benched at the end of last month. Now the 29-year-old Brazilian is history at the organization, that he had been at since its inception.

- I would like to inform everyone that I am no longer part of the Legacy organization. After 2 years of a lot of dedication and work, I no longer represent this organization in events and championships.

- I thank everyone who has been part of these last few years, especially my teammates. I wish everyone much success! Hugs, Coldzera. News soon!

[slugORMA:{"slug":"coldzera-reportedly-set-leave-legacy","isNewTab":true}]

Jacky "Stewie2K" Yip has played as a stand-in for Legacy since the benching of Marcelo "coldzera" David.

Marcelo "coldzera" David was named the best player in the world two years in a row from 2016 to 2017, where he also won two Majors.  

coldzera

Despite coming in at the PGL Copenhagen Major as a last-minute replacement, GamerLegion still managed to come out on top in their first-round match at the tournament against AMKAL.

It was a stellar T side on Overpass that gave GamerLegion a solid push towards the win after being 5-7 down from the first half.

In the all-Brazilian derby between FURIA and Legacy, it was Legacy that had the upper hand after several clutch moments from the legendary two-time Major MVP player Marcelo "coldzera" David. The Brazilian gave his team all opportunities to win the Brazilian derby, but Legacy couldn’t make the last push at 12-10. Instead, the match had to be decided in overtime. Here Legacy finally managed to break FURIA, and won a very swingy match 16-13 while destroying a lot of Pick’em players 0-3 choice!

The second-round matches were decided afterwards: (CET)

Five spots for the first CS2 Major in history are up for grabs at the Americas qualification tournament that takes place from March 1st – March 4th.

16 teams are in the mix of rosters that will take part in a Swiss Group Format. Three wins are needed to secure qualification, but with only five spots open for the Major, only two defeats will send teams out in the dark.

The initial matches are played as bo1, while the bo3 format comes into play at the elimination or qualification matches.

Complexity (#14), FURIA (#18), MIBR (#20), Team Liquid (#26), M80 (#37), Imperial (#39), BESTIA (#43), Nouns (#49), Wildcard (#50), Elevate (#51), paiN (#53), RED Canids (#56), NRG (#58), BOSS (#59), Legacy (#60), ODDIK (#65)

: The new lineup with Casper 'cadiaN' Møller as the in-game leader will be tested to the limits in the RMR. The team has not yet been convincing in the few matches that we have seen the team in action. Team Liquid is obviously one of the favorites to go through, but we suspect that there could be a hiccup waiting for the legendary organization.

 Another legend of the game is present on the server for FURIA in the shape of Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo. The Brazilian Professor has a big job ahead of him to guide his team to another Major qualification. FURIA has had a troublesome start to 2024 with bad showings at the IEM Katowice, BLAST Qualifier, and the IEM Dallas qualifier.

 Marcelo "coldzera" David’s team went through the South American closed qualifier with three straight victories. They are the second lowest-ranked team in the mix, but perhaps the two-time Major MVP can shake things up? Their first match is against paiN Gaming, who they demolished 13-3 in the closed qualifier, so that would give coldzera and his men a great start to the event.

3-5th (Qualified): Complexity, paiN, Legacy

FalleN

cadiaN

Team Liquid

compLexity Gaming

Imperial

FURIA

MIBR

At least three out of the five spots from the Americas RMR tournament will be Brazilian at the upcoming Major in Copenhagen. At the qualification tournament in Mexico, it has been the Brazilian rosters dominating the matches so far.

[slugORMA:{"slug":"americas-rmr-copenhagen-major","isNewTab":true}]

FURIA secured their spot in Copenhagen with three straight victories against NA teams. Nouns and Team Liquid were defeated in bo1 matches, while FURIA took down Complexity last night after a closely fought match ending 2-1 to Kaike 'KSCERATO' Cerato and his teammates. The Brazilian rifler once again played a key part in FURIA’s win.

Imperial also qualified with an impressive run at the RMR. Throughout the four maps that they played at the RMR tournament, Imperial only lost a combined 14 rounds. In their match against paiN last night, Henrique 'HEN1' Teles and his teammates won 13-5, 13-4. The AWP’er has been in excellent form at the tournament leaving it with a stellar 1.62 rating.

The tournament continues today with some spicy matchups to determine the last three spots from the Americas. Most eye catching is the “Battle of NA” with Complexity and Liquid going head-to-head for a spot at the Major.

paiN and ODDIK will fight an all-Brazilian matchup, while Marcelo "coldzera" David and Legacy takes on the international lineup from M80 in the last of the three matches.

KSCERATO

HEN1

We are less than one week away from the start of the last ever Major in CS:GO history. To ease the waiting time, we have created a countdown series, where we dive into the history of all 18 Majors. Today we have reached ESL One: Cologne 2016.

[slugORMA:{"slug":"countdown-major-8-days-go-1-million-good-reasons-win","isNewTab":false}]

 Cache, Cobblestone, Dust2, Mirage, Nuke, Overpass, Train.

ESL One: Cologne 2016 was the ninth CS:GO tournament in the history of the game and was held from July 5 – July 10, 2016 in the Lanxess-Arena in Cologne Germany. Like the previous Major, this one also featured 16 teams and a total prize pool of $1,000,000!

The previous two events in Cologne were all about the Swedish giants from fnatic and NiP. But by the time ESL One: Cologne 2016 came around, the Counter-Strike landscape had changed. The Ninjas had fallen off drastically, while fnatic were still among the world’s top four teams. The previous event marked the definite end of a dynasty. For the first time in CS:GO Major history, Ninjas in Pyjamas failed to get past the group stage and weren’t even able to qualify for the following two Majors.

New teams were on top, and none of them from Sweden.

2016 was the year of the Brazilian nation. While the team won their first Major as massive underdogs under the Luminosity banner, by the time of Cologne 2016 SK Gaming were undisputed best team in the world. The famous and proud Brazilian winners were FalleN, fer, coldzera, fnx, and TACO.

All the focus was on the Brazilians squad going into ESL One: Cologne 2016. The Brazilian godfather, Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo literally took his team from the depths of irrelevancy to Counter-Strike world champions within one year.

If a professional CS:GO player gets his own graffiti on a map, he’s clearly done something extraordinary. Only few players received this special honor by Valve and one of them is Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, who achieved immortality at ESL One: Cologne 2016.

Those were the words from the renowned caster, James Bardolph when he witnessed s1mple’s outrageous play in the semi-final of ESL One: Cologne, where Liquid took upon the Swedish side from fnatic. The Ukrainian beast outdid himself by presenting a completely ridiculous double no-scope on the B-site of Cache. The iconic play perfectly illustrated his inhuman skills and mechanical capabilities, and the sequence will forever be a part of Counter-Strike history.

Watch the iconic play from s1mple right here:

On their way to the Grand final, the Brazilians from SK Gaming had to overcome some of the biggest names at the time including FaZe Clan, G2, FlipSid3, and Virtus.pro, while Liquid took down teams such as Envy, MOUZ, NAVI, and fnatic to secure their spot in the final.

It is July 10, 2016, and the Lanxess Arena in Cologne Germany is filled to the brim. Nearly 14.000 spectators are ready to watch a nerve-racking Grand final at the tournament between SK Gaming and Team Liquid.

The action of the Grand final began on SK Gaming’s pick of Train, where the Brazilians started off things on the offensive side, storming to a 3-0 lead. It looked like the first gun round between the two teams would go SK’s way, but the Brazilians couldn’t hold down the site and Liquid grabbed their first round. However, the Brazilians would immediately hit back in the following round, resetting Liquid’s economy. SK Gaming were full of momentum, especially coldzera who went huge and delivered a clutch to give his team an even more substantial lead. Down 1-6, Liquid started to wake up and managed to climb back one the scoreboard, thanks to praiseworthy performances from Hiko and s1mple who helped their team add seven rounds to the scoreline, before the second half.

Liquid was on the verge of securing the second pistol round and turn the tide in their favor, but their hopes were crushed by fer, and instead, SK Gaming went on to win all the remaining rounds to draw the first blood to the series.

Map two was Cobblestone, on which both teams had incredible moments throughout the entire tournament. But the map was especially one of Liquid’s favorite picks and the North American squad with s1mple tried their best to live up to that billing as they got out to an early lead after securing the pistol round. coldzera and SK Gaming were able to steal away the third round against the odds, winning an eco and eventually running away with the lead. From there on, the Brazilians showed no signs of slowing down, with the scoreline blooming to a 10-5 advantage. In the second half, SK Gaming only allowed s1mple and company to grab one single round before locking down Cobblestone 16-6 and securing another Major title.

SK Gaming became the second team in CS:GO after fnatic to win back-to-back Majors. They proved their critics they can win no matter what.

Highest rated players at ESL One: Cologne 2016:

1. {cflag:BR} Marcelo “coldzera” David (SK Gaming) – 1.37 Rating 

2. {cflag:DK} Nicolai “device” Reedtz (Astralis) – 1.28 Rating 

3. {cflag:BR} Epitacio “TACO” de Melo (SK Gaming) – 1.25 Rating 

4. {cflag:SE} Freddy “KRIMZ” Johansson (fnatic) – 1.22 Rating 

5. {cflag:BR} Gabriel ”FalleN” Toledo (SK Gaming) – 1.19 Rating 

6. {cflag:ES} Oscar ”mixwell” Canellas (OpTic) – 1.19 Rating 

7. {cflag:BR} Lincoln “fnx” Lau (SK Gaming) – 1.19 Rating 

8. {cflag:UA} Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev (Liquid) – 1.18 Rating 

9. {cflag:RU} Georgi “WorldEdit” Yaskin (FlipSid3) – 1.17 Rating 

10. {cflag:UA} Ioann “Edward” Sukhariev (NAVI) – 1.16 Rating

Tomorrow we take a look at the ELEAGUE Major: Atlanta 2017

TACO

We are less than one week away from the start of the last ever Major in CS:GO history. To ease the waiting time, we have created a countdown series, where we dive into the history of all 18 Majors. Today we have reached MLG Columbus 2016.

[slugORMA:{"slug":"countdown-major-9-days-go-team-envyus-path-major-glory","isNewTab":true}]

 Luminosity Gaming (coldzera, fer, FalleN, fnx, TACO)

 Cache, Cobblestone, Dust2, Inferno, Mirage, Train, Overpass

For the first time in history, a Major took place in North America. It was also the first time, that a Counter-Strike tournament had a $1,000,000 prize pool. 

16 teams were again ready to fight for the Major and the $500.000 in first prize. Fnatic entered the tournament as the number 1 ranked team in the world and was considered tournament favorites to win their fourth Major title. Defending champions from Team EnVyUs had not been on top of their game since the win at DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015. Instead, NAVI, Luminosity Gaming, and the newly formed Danish roster from Astralis were potential candidates for the Grand Final.

All four favorites made it out of the group stage with only Fnatic losing a match along the way. The Swedish favorites immediately crashed out of the playoffs after Astralis dominated them hard. For the first time in history, there would be a non-European team in the Grand Final. Team Liquid and the Brazilians from Luminosity Gaming were paired in one of the Semi-Finals. Here the Brazilians got the better of s1mple and Team Liquid after two maps with overtime, where Team Liquid missed out on 15 match points before Coldzera finished the NA team off in Luminosity's first match point. 

Over in the other side of the bracket, it was Natus Vincere who qualified for their second consecutive Grand Final with a clear 2-0 win against Astralis.

The battle for the title stood between two rosters, who had started to form a rivalry. The two teams had faced each other in several Grand Finals or late stages at tournaments in the previous year. It was NAVI who went into the match as favorites. Luminosity chose Mirage as their map pick, while NAVI leaned on Overpass. The Brazilians got off to a difficult start trailing the CIS team 6-0 before fighting their way back. Natus Vincere had not lost a single map in the tournament, but on Mirage they were finally defeated after overtime.

Now the fight was moved to Overpass which quickly turned into a catastrophe for NAVI. On their own map pick, NAVI lost 16-2 to a well playing Brazilian side, who managed to become the first team outside of Europe to win a major title. 

[slugORMA:{"slug":"https:/youtu.be/7nWxZin959o","isNewTab":true}]

Highest rated players at MLG Columbus 2016:

1. [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/coldzera","isNewTab":true,"text":"Marcelo 'coldzera' David"}] (Luminosity Gaming) - 1.32 rating

2. [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/niko","isNewTab":true,"text":"Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač"}] (MOUZ) - 1.30 rating

3. Ioann 'Edward' Sukhariev (NAVI) - 1.28

4. [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/flamie","isNewTab":true,"text":"Egor 'flamie' Vasilev"}] (NAVI) - 1.25

5. [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/s1mple","isNewTab":true,"text":"Oleksandr 's1mple' Kostyliev"}] - 1.24

6. [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/device","isNewTab":true,"text":"Nicolai 'dev1ce' Reedtz"}] (Astralis) 1.22

7. [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/shara","isNewTab":true,"text":"Oleksandr 'Shara' Hordieiev"}] (FlipSid3) 1.21

8. [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/dupreeh","isNewTab":true,"text":"Peter 'dupreeh' Rasmussen"}] (Astralis) -  1.20

9. [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/rain","isNewTab":true,"text":"Håvard 'rain' Nygaard"}] (FaZe) - 1.19

10. [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/bondik","isNewTab":true,"text":"Vlаdуslаv 'bondik' Nеchуроrchuk"}] (FlipSid3) - 1.19

NiKo

flamie

s1mple

device

dupreeh

Astralis

Natus Vincere

Fnatic

Right now HLTV is doing its annual list of the best players of the past year in CS:GO. The website has done this since 2013, and here we bring you the list of all the players, who have been ranked among the top 20.

We start with 2022, where HLTV has currently reached the top 8 of the year. The number in () marks the number of appearances. At the bottom of the article, you can see which countries have the most players on the lists.

1. {cflag:UA} Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev (7)

2. {cflag:FR} Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut (4)

4. {cflag:RU} Sergey "Ax1Le" Rykhtorov (2)

6. {cflag:LV} Helvijs "broky" Saukants (2)

9. {cflag:BR} Kaike "KSCERATO" Cerato (3)

11. {cflag:CA} Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken (4)

12. {cflag:DK} Benjamin "blameF" Bremer (3)

13. {cflag:NO} Håvard "rain" Nygaard (3)

14. {cflag:BA} Nemanja "huNter-" Kovač (3)

15. {cflag:LV} Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis (2)

16. {cflag:UA} Valerii "b1t" Vakhovskyi (2)

17. {cflag:SK} David "frozen" Čerňanský

1. {cflag:UA} Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev (6)

2. {cflag:FR} Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut (3)

7. {cflag:RU} Denis "electroNic" Sharipov (4)

8. {cflag:LV} Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis

11. {cflag:DK} Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz (8)

12. {cflag:BA} Nemanja "huNter-" Kovač (2)

13. {cflag:DK} Benjamin "blameF" Bremer (2)

15. {cflag:BR} Kaike "KSCERATO" Cerato (2)

17. {cflag:CA} Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken (3)

19. {cflag:US} Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski (5)

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/Zywoo_aykvb5","originalWidth":1200,"originalHeight":675,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg"}]

ZywOo did not have to climb the list. He went straight in as number 1 two years in a row after his debut in Tier-1.

1. {cflag:FR} Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut (2)

2. {cflag:UA} Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev (5)

3. {cflag:DK} Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz (7)

5. {cflag:RU} Denis "electronic" Sharipov (3)

8. {cflag:US} Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski (4)

9. {cflag:DK} Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen (7)

10. {cflag:DE} Florian "⁠syrsoN⁠" Rische

15. {cflag:SE} Ludvig "Brollan" Brolin (2)

17. {cflag:SE} Freddy "KRIMZ" Johansson (5)

20. {cflag:US} Vincent "Brehze" Cayonte (2)

2. {cflag:UA} Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev (4)

3. {cflag:DK} Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz (6)

4. {cflag:US} Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski (3)

6. {cflag:RU} Denis "electronic" Sharipov (2)

9. {cflag:CA} Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken (2)

14. {cflag:DK} Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth (4)

16. {cflag:DK} Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen (6)

17. {cflag:SE} Freddy "KRIMZ" Johansson (4)

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"teams/natus vincere /20211107_Stephanie-Lindgren_PGL-Stockholm-Major-_s1mple_mqi0u3","originalWidth":5228,"originalHeight":2941,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: PGL","alt":"s1mple, CSGO, NAVI"}]

s1mple was named the best in the world for the first time in 2018. Can he do it again in 2022?

1. {cflag:UA} Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev (3)

2. {cflag:DK} Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz (5)

4. {cflag:RU} Denis "electronic" Sharipov

5. {cflag:DK} Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen (5)

9. {cflag:SE} Freddy "KRIMZ" Johansson (3)

10. {cflag:BR} Marcelo "coldzera" David (3)

11. {cflag:SK} Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács (6)

12. {cflag:CA} Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken

13. {cflag:DK} Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth (3)

14. {cflag:CZ} Tomáš "oskar" Šťastný (2)

15. {cflag:US} Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski (2)

18. {cflag:NO} Håvard "rain" Nygaard (2)

20. {cflag:DK} Valdemar "valde" Bjørn Vangså

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/Coldzera_g0ig7a","originalWidth":2048,"originalHeight":1152,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: PGL"}]

coldzera spearheaded the Brazilian revolution in CS:GO by winning two Majors back to back.

1. {cflag:BR} Marcelo "coldzera" David (2)

3. {cflag:BR} Fernando "fer" Alvarenga (2)

5. {cflag:DK} Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz (4)

6. {cflag:BR} Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo (2)

8. {cflag:UA} Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev (2)

9. {cflag:SK}  Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács (5)

10. {cflag:DK} Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen (4)

12. {cflag:US} Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski

13. {cflag:DK} Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth (2)

14. {cflag:DK} Kristian "k0nfig" Wienecke

15. {cflag:DK} Markus "Kjaerbye" Kjærbye (2)

16. {cflag:CZ} Tomáš "oskar" Šťastný

17. {cflag:KZ} Däuren "AdreN" Qystaubaev

19. {cflag:SE} Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer (4)

20. {cflag:PL} Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski (4)

3. {cflag:DK} Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz (3)

4. {cflag:UA} Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev

5. {cflag:PL} Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski (3)

6. {cflag:FR} Richard "shox" Papillon (4)

7. {cflag:SE} Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg (4)

8. {cflag:SE} Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer (3)

10. {cflag:SE} Robin "flusha" Rönnquist (4)

12. {cflag:RU} Egor "flamie" Vasilyev (2)

16. {cflag:DK} Markus "Kjaerbye" Kjærbye

17. {cflag:SK} Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács (4)

18. {cflag:SE} Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund (4)

1. {cflag:SE} Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer (2)

2. {cflag:SK} Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács (3)

3. {cflag:DK} Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz (2)

4. {cflag:PL} Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski (2)

5. {cflag:SE} Robin "flusha" Rönnquist (3)

7. {cflag:SE} Freddy "KRIMZ" Johansson (2)

8. {cflag:FR} Vincent "Happy" Schopenhauer (2)

11. {cflag:SE} Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund (3)

12. {cflag:DK} Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen (3)

13. {cflag:FR} Richard "shox" Papillon (3)

16. {cflag:SE} Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg (3)

18. {cflag:FR} Dan "apEX" Madesclaire (2)

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/Copyright_-_Helena-Kristiansson_-_get_right_ho1pis","originalWidth":3840,"originalHeight":2160,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: Helena Kristiansson ESL","alt":"CS:GO, Counter-Strike"}]

GeT-RiGhT dominated the early days of CS:GO.

1. {cflag:SE} Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund (2)

2. {cflag:SE} Robin "flusha" Rönnquist (2)

3. {cflag:PL} Jarosław "pashaBiceps" Jarząbkowski (2)

7. {cflag:SE} Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg (2)

8. {cflag:FR} Richard "shox" Papillon (2)

11. {cflag:SK} Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács (2)

	30 days	90 days
Fixture count	0	0
Maps count	0	0

coldzera

Player stats

Articles mentioning coldzera

coldzera leaves Legacy

GamerLegion and Legacy clinch wins in last first round matches

Americas RMR – Copenhagen Major

Brazilian dominance at Americas RMR

ESL One: Cologne 2016: From irrelevancy to World Champions

MLG Columbus 2016: $1 Million good reasons to win!

Here is all HLTV's Top 20 CS:GO players through the years

coldzera on retirement: It will be a decision that I’ll be making soon as well

coldzera and 00NATION ready for ESL Conference Pro League 17

coldzera reveals his future plans in CS:GO: I’m getting old

Top 10 best players at Majors

00Nation is out of IEM Rio!

Live: IEM Rio Major Challenger Stage (Day 1 - Updated with Round 2)

Video: What is the most iconic CS:GO moment?

Video: Every moment of qualification for the Rio Major

FalleN after clinching Major ticket: This has been the most emotional tournament in my entire career

Coldzera and 00NATION ready to fight for Major title on home soil

coldzera recreates his iconic jumping AWP-play on Ancient!

paiN, MIBR and 00NATION qualify for Americas RMR

Graffiti series: When coldzera turned into godzera

Follow Pley