We are less than two weeks away from the start of BLAST.tv Major in Paris. To ease the waiting time, we have created a countdown series, where we dive into the history of all the previous 18 Majors.

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MVP: Jarosław "pashaBiceps" Jarząbkowski

Map pool: Dust2, Inferno, Mirage, Nuke, and Train.

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The second Major in history took place in March 2014. The venue was the now legendary Spodek Arena in Katowice, Poland. Once again 16 teams were gathered to determine, who was the best team in Counter-Strike right now? Since the first Major in Jönköping, VeryGames (Now Titan) had only improved. The roster (Ex6TenZ, NBK, ScreaM, shox, SmithZz) was dubbed tournament favorites going into the Major. The Swedish Ninjas were also among the top favorites while reigning champions from Fnatic were once again considered underdogs compared to Titan and NIP.

Group A delivered the first upset with tournament favorites Titan's exit. A 16-7 loss to Virtus.pro shocked the French/Belgian roster, who had to win the elimination match against HellRaisers to survive. But another loss forced the star-studded roster to be eliminated before the playoffs. Instead the only Polish team in the tournament, Virtus.pro made it through in first place. The roster (TaZ, NEO, pashaBiceps, byali, Snax) had only recently been assembled, but everything seemed to be clicking on home turf.

In the playoffs Virtus.pro annihilated Team LDLC 16-3, 16-8. Now all eyes were on the home crowd's favorites. Fnatic was eliminated in the Quarter-Finals, while Ninjas in Pyjamas once again had qualified for the Grand Final. This time by beating Team Dignitas with three of the legendary Astralis core (Xyp9x, dupreeh, device) on the roster.

Virtus.pro lost their first and only map in the whole event in the Semi-Final against LGB esports (with Olofmeister on the roster), but managed to win the match 2-1 to make it to the Grand Final.

You can watch the entire Grand Final between NIP vs Virtus.pro here.

The Grand Final ended with total Polish domination. The underdogs continued their miracle run in front of an ecstatic crowd. 16-9 and 16-10 were the stone-cold facts for Ninjas in Pyjamas, who lost their second consecutive Major final. Jarosław "pashaBiceps" Jarząbkowski was awarded the tournament MVP with an immense 1.38 HLTV rating.

Virtus.pro continued to dominate CS:GO in the years to come. They earned themselves the nickname of "The Plow". They never won a Major again though.

Highest rated players at EMS One Katowice 2014:

1. {cflag:PL} Jarosław 'pashaBiceps' Jarząbkowski (Virtus.pro) - 1.38 rating

2. {cflag:SE} [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/get-right","isNewTab":true,"text":"Christopher 'GeT_RiGhT' Alesund"}] (Ninjas in Pyjamas) - 1.33 rating

3. {cflag:PL} [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/byali","isNewTab":true,"text":"Paweł 'byali' Bieliński"}] (Virtus.pro) - 1.31 rating

4. {cflag:DK} [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/cajunb","isNewTab":true,"text":"René 'cajunb' Borg"}] (Dignitas) - 1.27 rating

5. {cflag:FR} [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/shox","isNewTab":true,"text":"Richard 'shox' Papillon"}] (Titan) - 1.26 rating

6. {cflag:SE} Andreas 'znajder' Lindberg (Fnatic) - 1.25 rating

7. {cflag:SE} [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/flusha","isNewTab":true,"text":"Robin 'flusha' Rönnquist"}] (Fnatic) - 1.25 rating

8. {cflag:PL} [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/snax","isNewTab":true,"text":"Janusz 'Snax' Pogorzelski"}] (Virtus.pro) - 1.20 rating

9. {cflag:RU} [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/dosia","isNewTab":true,"text":"Mikhail 'Dosia' Stolyarov"}] (HellRaisers) - 1.18 rating

10. {cflag:PL} [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/neo","isNewTab":true,"text":"Filip 'NEO' Kubski"}] (Virtus.pro) - 1.16 rating

Tomorrow we will be back with ESL Cologne 2014!

GeT_RiGhT

byali

cajunb

shox

flusha

Dosia

Snax

Virtus.pro

Ninjas in Pyjamas

Team Dignitas

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)

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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)

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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

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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)

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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)

12. {cflag:SE} Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer

14. {cflag:SE} Adam "friberg" Friberg (2)

16. {cflag:DK} Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen (2)

1. {cflag:SE} Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund

10. {cflag:SK} Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács

15. {cflag:UA} Yehor "markeloff" Markelov

17. {cflag:FR} Edouard "SmithZz" Dubourdeaux

19. {cflag:PL} Jarosław "pashaBiceps" Jarząbkowski

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Despite never reaching the top 1 on HLTV's player of the year, Denmark and in particular device have set their mark on the world of CS:GO.

10. {cflag:SK} Slovakia and {cflag:CA} Canada - 7

s1mple

ZywOo

coldzera

olofmeister

Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg is still a very capable Counter-Strike player! The 34-year-old Swede is currently without a team, but luckily for us, he is still streaming CS:GO.

Last night he was playing against some of the best young players in the game in Evgeniy "Aunkere" Karyat, Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov, and Danyyl "headtr1ck" Valitov with his team of Swedish legends such as GeT_RiGhT, olofmeister, and friberg.

On Anubis, the Swedes were off to a flying start going 4-0 up. But in round five everything seemed to have gone wrong for the Swedes leaving f0rest in a 1vs5 situation...

[twitchClip:BadGrossBoarBloodTrail-xQT6X1JsUX0yMQxo]

Unfortunately, f0rest and his team of Swedish legends ended up losing the match 16-13.

f0rest

The 32-year-old legendary rifler Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund was part of Ninjas In Pyjamas from Sep 2012 to Sep 2019. The old and legendary Ninjas in Pyjamas are considered one of the best teams in CSGO history. The Swedish team played a big part in the rise of Counter-Strike back in 2013-2015. 

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Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund was in Brazil during IEM Rio as a spectator, but Sunday he was back on the big stage to play in the showmatch, where he was part of Team Sweden who were going up against Team Brazil. We caught up with the legendary Swede after the match.

Watch the full interview with GeT_RiGhT right here:

If you have played matchmaking you have probably experienced that a player on either your team or your opponents' team has left the match. Whilst it is a poor replacement for an actual player, CS:GO makes sure that you are not playing the rest of the game as four players and adds a 'bot' to the team that has lost a player. Unless you take control of the bot after a player on your team dies, the bot is more often than not completely useless and no threat to your opponents whatsoever. 

Sometimes, however, the unthinkable happens and a player will have to sit back in shame and watch the rest of the round after being killed by a bot. Not only is this a rarity when 'normal' players face a bot in their lobbies, but when you're a former professional player of the highest caliber you have some explaining to do. The very rare and funny instance happened for Swedish CS:GO legend "GeT_RiGhT" when playing with former teammate "f0rest" - take a look: 

There is little as fun as when someone that isn't yourself gets killed by a bot in CS:GO. After "GeT_RiGhT" was killed by the bot, "f0rest" could not stop laughing and we don't blame him. Take a look at how funny it was from the perspective of fellow countryman "f0rest": 

When talking about the biggest CS:GO teams in the history of the Counter-Strike, it is impossible not to mention the Swedish powerhouse that was Ninjas in Pyjamas. At the beginning of CS:GO, back in 2012, there were few teams who even came close to the impressive level of NiP. With confidence and momentum, the Swedes defined the first-ever era in CS:GO. Once upon a time, NiP managed to win 10 consecutive LAN events in a row without dropping a single map in the process, something that has never been done since. 

Whilst "f0rest" stole the hearts of many in the CS:GO community, a player that was equally important for the dangerous NiP roster, and is by many considered one of the smartest CS:GO players to have entered the game, is "GeT_RiGhT". 

Whilst, the now 32-year-old rifler, is no longer an active professional CS:GO player, he is still reminding us why he was such an incredible player and an integral part of the NiP machine back in the day. 

Take a look at some of the highlights "GeT_RiGhT" has accumulated since his retirement from the professional scene: 

Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund will probably never forget his 32-year-old birthday.

During a livestream on Twitch, the former Major winner was gifted a 2014 Dignitas sticker from IEM Katowice. The sticker has a value of $16.000 and was given by Tyler Faraz Niknam better known as Trainwreckstv, a fellow streamer on Twitch.

You can see the reaction of GeT-RiGhT in the video below.

[twitchClip:PunchyCrackyLyrebirdKappaPride-dO6djuTJ_WP624Gg]

Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund is currently working as a streamer for Team Dignitas but is most known for his player career at Ninjas in Pyjamas, where the Swede enjoyed great success. He was two times celebrated as Player of the Year, while he managed to reach a Grand Final at a Major five times in a row winning one of them.

He was also a part of the roster, that went 87-0 in straight map wins. An incredible record that will probably never be broken.

The first rounds of the showmatch were almost a battle about who was best with the revolver. The players tried to get the crowd into the Final mood, as they were standing up and cheered after making plays. Copenhagen Flames gave GeT_

RiGhT and company a big lead 7-1, as they were trying to knife the Swedish legends. Team GeT

RiGhT managed to take the advantage into halftime, 11-4. It was a much similar second half, where both teams tried to get kills with either zeus or knife. The Legends won the showmatch, with GeT_RiGhT as their team leader. Both teams seemed to enjoy the match and had very fun playing it on the big stage at Avicii Arena.

Roej ended on the top of the scoreboard with 31 frags, but right behind the Danish entry fragger were GeT_RiGhT with 22 kills. The audience showed a good mood for the showmatch with a lot of people in the arena. The expectations for the atmosphere in the Final are huge. Hopefully, the showmatch gave the fans a taste of what lies ahead.

roeJ

Team GeT_RiGhT

Copenhagen Flames

If you ask the Counter-Strike community which nation has been the most dominant and paramount in the history of the game, the majority will most likely point towards one certain European country.

The Swedish CS:GO scene has produced a myriad of legendary figures in Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg, Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund, and many others. The big Scandinavian nation, embodied in Fnatic and Ninjas in Pyjamas, also dominated the very beginning of CS:GO, winning four out of the first six Major Championships.

However, every great dynasty has its end, and for the Swedish CS:GO scene, it was no different.

We have sat down with f0rest to hear what he believes caused the collapse of the great Swedish dynasty, and why the Swedish CS:GO scene isn’t as dominant anymore. When speaking with the former NIP superstar, one particular aspect seems to appear – The unwillingness to grind your way to the top.

- The Swedish players feel kind of entitled because Sweden always has been presented as one of the best nations in Counter-Strike. Because of that, some people expect to be a great star player right off the bat and to join an already tier-1 team. But people are not fighting together as a team to reach that goal collectively.

The quality and the grind that Danish players are doing, is what’s lacking in Sweden. The Swedish scene hasn’t really committed to the lower-tier teams in the way Denmark has, where teams have stuck together and made the grind to reach the top, f0rest explains and continues with his comparison between the two neighbouring countries:

- What Denmark does right, is that they nurture and have a lot of really strong teams in lower-tiers that grind their way up towards the higher ends. Heroic for instance, they came from battling in tier-2 to now being a stable Top 5 team in the world (…) At the end of the all, we just need to see more Swedish teams stick together longer and actually grind and try to make it work.

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Fnatic has this year gone from being a fully Swedish roster to an international team with the signing of the British trio ALEX, mezii, and Smooya. 

[slugORMA:{"slug":"official-fnatic-sign-alex-mezii","isNewTab":true}]

Swedish players in Top 30 Teams (HLTV’s world ranking):

f0rest's way to the top of Counter-Strike

Long before becoming one of Counter-Strike’s most accoladed and greatest players in history, f0rest recalls a time and a period where he alongside some of his fellow friends were trying to break through to the professional scene.

- When I started playing Counter-Strike there was already a lot of Swedish pro teams, where I only played with four of my friends. We all had the same goal to reach LAN events or just do something. During that path, we all became really good, because we all wanted the same thing – to become great players and a great team.

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

GeT_RiGhT

Player stats

Articles mentioning GeT_RiGhT

EMS One Katowice 2014: The beginning of the Plow

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

Video: f0rest 1vs5 Ninja Defuse

GeT_RiGhT on Brazilian fans: The respect given to me is on another level

Video: GeT_RiGhT dies to a bot and f0rest can't stop laughing

Video: GeT_RiGhT is still a machine in CS:GO!

Video: GeT_RiGhT recieve massive donation on his birthday from co-streamer

Team GeT_RiGhT wins the showmatch at PGL Major

f0rest on the collapse of Swedish CS:GO: Players are not willing to grind and work together

Video: Swedish Headshot Galore (ft. f0rest & GeT_RiGhT)

Video: FULLY BLINDED ACE BY GET_RIGHT

How NiP defined the first era of CS:GO

Richard Lewis: "Device is a master"

Live: Lilmix vs GORILLAZ (GeT_RiGhT vs Flusha)

How NiP went on their unbeatable 87-0 map streak!

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