Throughout August, we here at BLAST.tv have been celebrating AWPgust, a month where we look throughout Counter-Strike history at some of the best AWPers ever to touch the game.
We're coming to the end of AWPgust now, and while we've spent time talking about AWPers young and old, it's now time to talk about the current crop of AWPers that are holding the line as the best in the world. We spoke to launders to get his thoughts on who are the top five AWPers right now.
There is going to be one undoubtedly controversial exclusion though, so we can't wait to ruffle some feathers with that one.
Kicking off our list is G2's sniper, the baby GOAT, m0NESY.
Ever since m0NESY first arrived on the scene years ago with NAVI Junior, it was clear the boy wonder was destined for superstardom, but we don't know if anyone would have expected him to boast the trophy cabinet he already does.
Winner of both IEM Katowice and IEM Cologne this year, m0NESY has gone from strength in the year and a half since G2 signed him, and his incredible talent often sees him be the key component as his team storms to tournament victories.
When Movistar Riders won Dreamhack Valencia 2022 and finished in the top four of IEM Cologne 2022, it quickly became clear that SunPayus wouldn't take long to exceed the roster.
Now a year into his tenure with ENCE, SunPayus continues to grow as an AWPer, and is now just as viable on the T side as he always has been on the CT side, which believe us, is terrifying for any opponent.
MVP as ENCE won IEM Dallas 2023, SunPayus has established himself as one of the best AWPers in the world this year, and the recent run of finals in which he has been key to reaching shows that this ENCE team is here to stay.
ZywOo isn't our controversial exclusion, but considering his status as the best player of 2023 thus far, it might be controversial that he's only at number three on this list.
The reason is simple though, he just doesn't AWP as much as some of the other names on this list, and while that only serves to show his strengths on a rifle, it makes him hard to justify as the best AWPer in the world.
ZywOo is having the best year of his career, and despite it only being May when he did so, he already capped it off with an MVP performance as he won the BLAST.tv Paris Major. When he does AWP, he's a joy to watch, and he's arguably as closer to perfecting Counter-Strike than any player ever.
If Cloud9 had enjoyed a better year, sh1ro would undoubtedly be number one on this list, but unfortunately, as Ax1Le has struggled, so too have Cloud9.
At times, sh1ro has been a one-man army for the squad, and despite Cloud9 missing the Major and lacking in deep runs this year, sh1ro's sheer talent on the big green means it's impossible for him to be any further down this list.
With a new lineup featuring electronic and Perfecto that, on paper, easily stakes a claim to be the strongest of all time, sh1ro could ascend to a greatness he hasn't yet reached in his career, and we can't wait to watch it happen.
When device took a break for a year, very few expected that he would be able to return at a level anything close to the one he played at before he took his break. Those people couldn't have been more wrong.
We named device as the greatest AWPer in the history of CS:GO, and he's certainly been proving why since his return to Astralis. With a 1.22 HLTV Rating this year, he's tied with blameF for the highest-rated player on Astralis, but the eye test says he's been so much more valuable to them.
Currently redefining what it means to be an aggressive AWPer, device is shaking all the former labels people used to have for him, and even in the twelfth year of his professional career, continues to be a meta-changing superstar.
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