Five stars of tomorrow: The players you need to look out for in CS2
The final years of CS:GO saw b1t, m0NESY, and a host of other players announce themselves as top-tier stars who will be key figures in Counter-Strike for years to come.
But who will be the next generation of stars to announce themselves now that we are well into Counter-Strike 2's life cycle?
Both donk and zont1x have already burst into the limelight for Spirit, so we won't be mentioning them.
But there are a host of other stars we think are destined for greatness in the coming years.
nilo
Current team: Metizport
The chief of all names on this list is nilo. The young Swede just had a phenomenal outing at BLAST Premier Spring Showdown 2024 as Metizport came within touching distance of qualifying for BLAST Premier Spring Final 2024, and the very next day he pulled off an incredible 1v5 versus Preasy.
nilo's name has been thrown around a lot for a tier-one move, especially when teams like fnatic and NIP need a player. With NIP now only down to two, we could see nilo on a top team very, very soon.
Tree60
Current team: K10
K10 managing director fl0wz's favourite line is that: "Tree60 will win a Major in the next five years," and we can see why he's so adamant.
Often found at the top end of K10's scoreboard, Tree60 is one of UK CS's greatest hopes for Counter-Strike 2 and is one of the names that seem certain to follow in the footsteps of mezii and make it onto an elite team.
Photo: Freddie "GrimyRannarr" Pritchard/UKCSGOAZUWU
Current team: Endpoint
Another UK CS name that seems destined for greatness in CS2 is Endpoint's AZUWU. The rifler has been in good form for the British organisation thus far in CS2 with a 1.10 HLTV rating since competition switched to the new game.
While those numbers may not be out of this world, the Endpoint talent farm is. In recent years, we've seen the likes of NertZ, flameZ, HeavyGod, and BOROS all rise up out of Endpoint, and AZUWU could very well be the next name on that list.
sl3nd
Current team: Endpoint
However, there is one other option for the next name to come from Endpoint talent pipeline - Hungarian AWPer sl3nd. sl3nd enjoyed a six-month spell on MOUZ NXT before joining Endpoint too, and we all know how good players to play for MOUZ's illustrious academy can be.
In the last three months, sl3nd has an absurdly high 1.33 HLTV rating, so any underperforming AWPers better start looking over their shoulder, or we might see another Hungarian AWPer gracing tier one in the near future.
JBa
Current team: Wildcard
Completing our list of CS2 future stars is Wildcard's JBa. One of the finest prospects coming out of North America, he first made his name while playing for Forsaken before they were signed to Wildcard.
Although getting to the top is difficult in North America, JBa has everything it takes in order to make it, and it won't be too long before he makes his way onto a team that can challenge on the international stage.
