Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is officially in the past, and we continue to reflect on this more than a decade-long era. One of the key innovations in competitive CS was the introduction of Majors, but not all top players managed to lift the most important trophy in the game even once. In this article, CS.MONEY Blog names the top ten players who have never won gold at CS:GO Majors.
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Nikola “NiKo” Kovač
Opening our list is the Bosnian legend of Counter-Strike. Many consider NiKo the best rifler in the history of CS:GO. However, despite his incredible talent and numerous individual achievements, he has never found a team with which he could become a Major champion. The Bosnian is still playing on the highest level, so we will eagerly watch his path in CS2.
Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski
EliGE is often considered the strongest North American player in the history of CS:GO. For a long time, he carried Team Liquid, spending more than eight years with the team. It’s worth noting that he became a runner-up in the second season of the Intel Grand Slam—a slightly less prestigious achievement than winning a Major.
Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovács
At one point, the Slovakian sniper was unquestionably considered the best AWP on the professional scene. GuardiaN played in the finals of Majors three times but unfortunately lost all three times. His main chance was at DreamHack Cluj-Napoca 2015, but he lost his duel against KennyS.
Keith “NAF” Markovic
NAF spent less time at the top level of North American Counter-Strike than EliGE, but he had his bright moments. NAF made a significant contribution to Team Liquid’s victory in the Intel Grand Slam. Unfortunately, that brief period of dominance did not lead to a Major trophy.
Egor “Flamie” Vasilyev
In the mid-2010s, Natus Vincere was an extremely competitive team that, due to circumstances, failed to win a Major despite reaching the grand final several times. Everyone remembers the bright star play of GuardiaN, but Flamie was also a crucial player on the server. Unfortunately, at some point, everything fell apart, and Egor could not return to his previous level. Nevertheless, he was significant enough for us to include him in our top.
Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella
Nicholas came very close to winning the title in Cologne: at that time, Team Liquid, along with s1mple, dominated opponents on the server, but in the grand final, they faced the impossibly tough boss in the form of SK Gaming. After finishing second at ESL One Cologne 2016, nitr0 and Team Liquid won the second Intel Grand Slam, but the Major still eluded them. After an unsuccessful attempt to establish himself in Valorant, a return to CS:GO, and finally ending his career, Nicholas earned over a million dollars in prize money during his career—a very commendable result.
Justin “jks” Savage
The Australian player has regularly appeared on the top scene for the past few years. He stood in for FaZe Clan, won a tournament that later converted into the Intel Grand Slam, and led Renegades to the Major semifinal in Berlin. Now, he plays for G2, a team hungry for victories. It will be interesting to watch them in Copenhagen, where the first Major for CS2 will take place.
Cedric “RpK” Guipouy
LeTank always loved cars, and now, after ending his Counter-Strike career, his business seems to be thriving. However, in 2013, he chose an unfortunate time to retire: a big Counter-Strike boom happened in France, and French squads won several Majors, but RpK, who was always around the scene, was not involved. If he had continued playing back then, who knows how things would have turned out?
Casper “CadiaN” Møller
CadiaN is a veteran of Counter-Strike, but it’s only with Heroic that he became a true contender for the most important trophies in the game. The way he won the last round of ESL Pro League will be remembered for a long time.
The recent success of the captain and his team allows us to speak of Heroic as a team worthy of winning a Major. It’s a pity that CadiaN will start his CS2 journey with another team.
Martin “Stavn” Lund
Talking about Heroic, we must also mention Stavn. If CadiaN is the brains of the team, Stavn is its firepower. For three consecutive years, he has been in the top 20 best players of the year, according to HLTV. Heroic came close to victory in Rio, but then the Jame Time happened in Brazil. On their home turf in Copenhagen, Heroic will have every chance to win; it’s just unfortunate that it won’t happen in CS:GO.
Counter-Strike continues to live on, and one of the important aspects of the game is skins. To maximize your enjoyment on the server, update your inventory with CS.MONEY Trade!
