One of the greats: an ode to dupreeh

A five-time Major winner, the only player to feature at every CS:GO Major, dupreeh is in a league of his own when it comes to legacy in Counter-Strike.

There has been many greats, players like GeT_RiGhT, coldzera, and olofmeister, who have all been regarded as the best player in the world and have won Majors, but none have had the longevity or boast the trophy cabinets of the Danish entry fragger.

As he departs Vitality to make room for flameZ, we want to pay our respects to dupreeh and his career, arguably the greatest in all of Counter-Strike history.

The early years

As a fresh-faced Entry Fragger on a Copenhagen Wolves team featuring device, Xyp9x, FeTiSh, and the original Nico, dupreeh made his first Major appearance at Dreahmhack Winter 2013. The team would eventually lose their quarter-final match to a VeryGames team that included the likes of shox and NBK-, but it was a bright start and a promise of what was to come in the future.

Photo: Stephanie Lindgren

His Major next appearance, now on Dignitas, would come at EMS Katowice 2014. Having now linked up with future TSM teammate cajunb, dupreeh and Dignitas would go one step further, being eliminated in the semi-finals by NIP.

2014 would continue with two more Major playoff appearances, but it’s in 2015 that the story get’s really interesting.

At the turn of the year, dupreeh, alongside device, Xyp9x, and cajunb, would link up with karrigan on TSM, and the story of his future would truly start to be written.

TSM’s legacy would be that they would become regarded as the greatest chokers of all time, consistently reaching playoffs, but much like Heroic in the modern era, never really being able to close out events for victories.

The unit would continue to threaten teams at Majors, never failing to reach playoffs, but would always be bested by teams in their quest to victory.

Eventually, as the relationship with TSM would sour, the team would move to Astralis, and as karrigan and cajunb departed for gla1ve and Kjaerbye, those tournament runs would soon turn into tournament wins.

The first Major

With the arrival of CS:GO mastermind gla1ve, dupreeh and Astralis were now ready to go to the next level.

Having suffered a shock defeat to OpTic at ELEAGUE Season 2, they would instantly get revenge at ECS Season 2, crushing OpTic in the final and claiming their first tier-one trophy as a unit.

With 2017 set to open with the ELEAGUE Atlanta Major, Astralis were determined to push on from that success, and they would do so in emphatic fashion.

Following a close 2-1 victory over NAVI in the quarters, and a second map blowout against fnatic in the semis, on his tenth attempt, dupreeh was in a Major final, and set to face the Polish legends Virtus.pro.

One of the greatest Major finals in CS:GO history, the Virtus plough was in full force as they claimed the first map, Nuke, 16-12. As the question became whether the final was just another step on the ladder, Astralis would have to dig deep to rid themselves of their ‘choker’ tag.

Photo: Stephanie Lindgren

Overpass was even closer, but Astralis managed to close it out 16-14, part way thanks to an incredible 1hp clutch from Xyp9x in round 20.

The final map, Train, was a bloodbath. Typically a CT-sided map, VP had an incredibly strong first half T side and were in the lead 9-6 at the half. An almost insurmountable challenge for Astralis, but somehow, they managed to battle it back to 14-14.

With the scoreline tied, gla1ve would then make a now-legendary call. Winning the round would flatten VP’s economy and leave them with very little to play with in round 30. What did gla1ve decide was the best way to assure this outcome? A good old fashioned A rush.

It worked, and with the Poles now in round 30 with an incredibly weak buy, Astralis were the clear favourites to take their first Major without the need for an overtime. As he had done all event, Kjaerbye collected two entries all event as Astralis made another fast play towards A, but who better than dupreeh to close it out with a quick triple to win Astralis their first Major championship?

The peak years

Unfortunately, the Major win would not begin a new era for Astralis. Many would have expected the two tournament victories to push them into greatness, but that wasn’t to be the case, and the team returned to their usual top-eight placings.

Eventually, something had to give, and as Kjaerbye infamously departed for North, Astralis would go on to sign Magisk.

This move, although fortunate due to Kjaerbye choosing to leave, was a stroke of genius. The role balance provided by Magisk allowed dupreeh to step back into the more preferred roles he had vacated for Kjaerbye, and Astralis now had a team primed to do something Counter-Strike will likely never see again.

As they redefined the game through their impeccable utility usage, dupreeh and the rest of their squad hit the form of their lives. They won an Intel Grand Slam, as well as three Majors on the trot, cementing themselves as the greatest team of all time.

In 2018 and 2019, dupreeh would have a 1.17 and a 1.12 HLTV rating, respectively, as an Entry, these are insane numbers, and his 1.19 and 1.10 Impact ratings show that he was just as good on the CT side too.

Photo: Michal Konkol

Going international

As 2022 rolled around and the COVID-19 pandemic was well and truly over, dupreeh, Magisk, and coach zonic shocked the Counter-Strike world by ditching their Danish roots and signing for a Vitality roster that included ZywOo, apEX, and misutaaa.

A new era for both dupreeh and his new organisation, success was hard to come by in the first six months. With Danish culture failing to mix well with the French culture on the other half of the team, misutaaa soon lost his place in favour of Spinx from ENCE.

The change had an instant impact, and dupreeh added to his trophy cabinet with a win at ESL Pro League Season 16.

It would be their only win of the year, but as 2023 rolled by and all eyes were on the BLAST.tv Paris Major, Vitality cooked up a plan to win Counter-Strike’s biggest prize in front of their home crowd.

By IEM Rio, it became clear their plan was coming to fruition. With Vitality taking home the trophy, dupreeh was a key figure as he rolled back the years to crush Cloud9 when his team needed it most in the semi finals.

The team continued their strong form in Paris, becoming the only tier one team not to crumble against a tier two team as they won the Major without dropping a map. dupreeh was strong again, and not long after becoming a father, he won his fifth Major, more than anyone else in CS:GO.

Photo: Stpehanie Lindgren

The end?

Despite the Major win, Vitality soon announced that dupreeh would depart for flameZ. A far younger player with better stats in similar roles, it’s hard to argue that Vitality hasn't made the right decision in protecting their longevity.

Although dupreeh’s powers may have waned, recent events have made it clear he’s still capable of performing at the top, and considering he says he’s not ready to retire yet, we may see him at the top again very soon.

Regardless, dupreeh’s exceptional longevity, as well as his achievements, put dupreeh in a league of his own. He may not be the casual's choice for the best rifler of all time, but he’s certainly our choice.