In the esports world of Counter-Strike, there are many things that can make a viewer jump out of their seat in excitement. Different tricks, sprays, shots through a smoke screen—these are just a small part of the list. But how can we forget about clutches, after all, who doesn’t love it when a player does the impossible against all odds when his opponents have a numerical advantage? Many of those Counter-Strike esports clutches become the subject of deep analysis.
The history of CS:GO and CS2 spans over a decade, so naturally, over such a period of time, the world has seen many irresistible clutches. Today, we will remember the best of them.
ZywOo 1v5 against NAVI
The author of one of the most legendary pistol rounds and the most iconic CS:GO clutch moments, Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut has repeatedly proven why he is one of the best players in Counter-Strike. At IEM Beijing-Haidian 2020 on the final map of the bo5 final, he won the impossible. His feat also indirectly led to NAVI eventually putting a cross on the future of flamie in the organization, finally preferring b1t.
s1mple double no scope 1v2
The first no scope is great, but making a second at such a distance is a bold move. If this had happened in matchmaking, many would have accused him of cheating. But it happened on the big stage, earning the Ukrainian his own graffiti on Cache, making it one of the CS:GO clutch plays that made history.
Some will say that Kostylev was incredibly lucky, but knowing the skill of s1mple, you can’t call it simple luck. Behind every “lucky” clip are hundreds of hours of hard training.
cadiaN 1v4 against Gambit
Casper’s excitement mixed with maximum focus was visible on his webcam to the naked eye, but Gambit’s players were dying one after another. The commentators deserve separate praise for adding extra hype to this iconic moment that truly became one of the most unforgettable CS:GO clutch plays.
What also adds charm is that the Dane won not only the map with this clutch, but also the tournament. Could anyone come up with a better ending for the championship, right?
GuardiaN 1v5 against Fnatic
Even though GuardiaN has practically disappeared from the radar, and is remembered less and less, in his best years, he was the most desirable player for any club. Unfortunately, he never won a major in CS:GO, but he has repeatedly amazed esports fans.
Perhaps his 1v5 clutch against Fnatic in 2018 is one of the main and spectacular examples of his individual skill, worthy of the best clutches out there.
refrezh 1v5 against Liquid
At some point, the commentators buried Heroic, as if considering the outcome of the map predetermined, but refrezh turned the round upside down. And not only did he bring the team to overtime, but in the end his team took both the map and the match. Liquid can be understood - such a failure could have been fatal to the morale of the squad, which cost them the victory, but refrezh himself became the hero that day and came up with possibly one of the greatest clutches in Counter-Strike history.
dev1ce 1v3 against NRG
Some might think that a 1v3 can’t stand in line with other clutches from the list, but this highlight from dev1ce is special, truly the prime example of the best clutch performance in Counter-Strike at Starladder Berlin Major 2019. On Train, he played a post-plant for CT on a pistol round, catching opponents off guard. At some point, he had only 3HP and 3 bullets left, but did that stop the Danish legend? Of course not.
snax 1v4 vs NAVI
The golden Polish squad of Virtus.pro in 2016 continued to be one of the strongest teams in the world, and of course, the highlights from the players of this team also corresponded to this status. One of them was a clutch in the pistol round from snax, where he confidently trampled four NAVI players into the ground, confidently outshooting each of them, isolating them in one-on-one duels
By the way, despite such a defeat on the first map, which could have hit morale, NAVI ultimately won the final, making a comeback on Train and Mirage.
s1mple 2v5 vs NIP
Only players of the level of ZywOo, s1mple, and NiKo are capable of “winning the unwinnable” when it comes to certain rounds, making these and other famous pros the best clutchers in CS:GO history. Kostylev can boast of something similar, and another example of his skills is the case with IEM Cologne 2022 in a match against NIP. It seemed that a supposedly lost round would turn upside down out of nowhere, and s1mple makes an ace with AWP.
ropz 2v4
Perhaps the best clutch in ropz’s career came at IEM Katowice 2022, when FaZe were indisputably the best in the world, winning almost all tournaments in the first half of the year. Despite the fact that the Estonian was not the only living player from FaZe on the server in that round, he dealt with the opponents on his own, which resulted in an ace. We’re definitely waiting for another such master class from Robin in 2024, hopefully pulling off many more memorable CS2 esports clutches.
m0NESY 1v5 against NAVI
CS2 has relatively recently replaced CS:GO on the professional scene. Before this version of the game gives us a large number of legendary highlights, not one year will pass. But this does not mean that esports players have not yet amazed viewers with crazy moments and famous clutch rounds in CS2 that became an instant classic.
Last year’s competitive season m0NESY from G2 played one of his best clutches in his career, winning 1v5 against NAVI at BLAST Premier: World Final 2023. The way he read his opponents is mesmerizing. Even though G2 won the map, the match point went to “Born to Win” in the end.
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