By Tomi “lurppis” Kovanen

Imagine breaking up every CS:GO team and drafting players to build a squad that will dominate the scene for the next five years.

Who would you pick first?

As opposed to purely looking at the best players (though the ones listed below surely would place highly in that category as well), you’d want to consider things such as longevity and future potential. Admittedly, that makes this list a little age biased. If you are 25 years old now, it’s unclear whether you will develop further, how many more years of true superstar-level play you have in the tank, etc. On the other hand region is ignored here, as it would unfairly penalize players who play in countries without top-tier teams.

All that said, here’s my take on the five most valuable players in CS:GO.

View photos Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev (Dreamhack) More

Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev

Age: 18 | Current team: None | Nationality: Ukrainian

This may be a controversial pick, if only because of the myriad stories floating around about s1mple being a bad teammate. But in 2016, he finally padded his resume to the point where it is impossible to argue against the youngster being one of the most talented players in the game right now.

The Ukrainian prodigy has two Top 4 placings at the majors – one of them a second place – and at each he was by far Team Liquid’s best player. He was also the best player on HellRaisers when they upset Fnatic at DreamHack Winter 2014, his third major.

It will take some time for s1mple to learn how to channel his frustrations better and to become a better teammate. But his personality conflicts are driven more by his highly competitive spirit than anything else; it’s hard to imagine him not realizing within a year or two that he is effectively shooting himself, and his ambitions, in the foot. He may be without a team right now, but within a couple of years he may well rule the CS:GO landscape, leaving organizations perplexed as to how they could have missed the chance to sign him and build a team around him. He is that special.

View photos Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz (ESL) More

Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz

Age: 20 | Current team: Astralis | Nationality: Danish

Astralis’ Danish superstar has faced plenty of criticism since the early days of his career, when he famously struggled under pressure and rarely put up strong performances in the playoffs or in otherwise meaningful games. Those days are long gone, however, and today dev1ce is not only his team’s most consistent performer, but one who always puts up big numbers – even when his team as a whole falls short. In fact, he currently sits atop the statistical rankings at large, tier one tournaments.

Fans demand championships from players, but as we have learned in traditional sports, not everyone gets what they deserve. While dev1ce has been the best player on his country’s best team for years, tournament wins have largely eluded Astralis. It is hard to blame someone who always delivers, though, and given the Dane’s youth, he has plenty of years to put together the kind of campaigns that will end with him raising the Sunday trophy. If you were to build a new team, there are few better places to start.

View photos Robin “flusha” Rönnquist (ESL) More

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