2023 proved to be an exciting year for Counter-Strike. We once again had the unique opportunity to witness numerous tournaments, some of which turned out to be even more thrilling than anticipated. Like last year, BLAST Premier: World Final 2023 concluded the season as the final major Counter-Strike event of the year. The Annual Advent Awards 2023 are in full swing, and all nominations, as well as winners, can be found here.

As we prepare for the next season, let's recall who stood out in the outgoing year and our Dream Team for Counter-Strike 2023. We have already revealed the winners in the categories of best snipers, entry fraggers, and best pistol players. Read more about the Annual Advent Awards 2023 here.

Captain - apEX

Team Vitality captain Dan "apEX" Madesclaire takes the captain's spot in our Dream Team. His rating for 2023 in S-tier championships was 5.6. Yes, it may not be the best rating among all players, but it's hard to find a better one among captains.

In 2023, he led the team to 6 finals, of which they won 5. Most importantly, he led his team to championship at the last CS:GO major - BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023.

Additionally, his captain's ACE at IEM Cologne 2023 against G2 Esports stands out:

Overall, apEX, along with Team Vitality, had an excellent year and can easily claim the title of best captain of the year.

Sniper - m0NESY

For the second consecutive year, G2 Esports' sniper Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov becomes the best sniper of the year. His average rating for 2023 in S-tier championships was 6.5.

His shooting accuracy and AWP skills are astounding. Sometimes, his flicks left spectators and commentators simply not understanding whom he had killed. m0NESY's ADR with the AWP in 2023 was 35.1, and his KPR was 0.383.

In 2023, he managed to lift two major trophies with his team - Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2023 and Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2023. Thus, this year can be considered quite successful for the team.

Moreover, in 2023, Ilya managed to win a clutch in a one-against-five situation. This happened at BLAST Premier World Final 2023 against Natus Vincere:   

Clutcher - ropz

FaZe Clan rifler Robin "ropz" Kool joins our Dream Team as the clutcher. This year, ropz had one of the best seasons of his career. His clutches saved the team more than once at ESL Pro League Season 17 and other important Counter-Strike tournaments.

Here are ropz's clutch statistics for 2023:

• 7 in one-against-three situations
•  21 in one-against-two situations
•  34 in one-against-one situations

His average rating for 2023 was 6.4, with a headshot percentage of 57.0%. The most beautiful clutch by ropz in 2023 is considered to be a one-against-three against Team Liquid in an eco round at IEM Dallas 2023:  

Entry Frag - YEKINDAR

Latvian rifler Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis from Team Liquid takes the entry spot in our Dream Team. And not for nothing, as this year he was named the best entry fragger of 2023. Despite the fact that Team Liquid didn't play a single match in Counter-Strike 2.

YEKINDAR's rating in this category for 2023 was 0.144, the highest among all players participating in S-tier championships. His average rating for 2023 was 6.1, which is an excellent result for an entry, as he is constantly forced to go first.

In addition, it's worth mentioning the huge number of multifrags made by YEKINDAR:

• 5 Aces 
• 13 quad kills in a round 
• 89 triple kills in a round 
• 290 double kills in a round

Often, spectators simply do not notice the successes or importance of an entry for the team. But these players can change the course of a match with a single kill or strategic move. YEKINDAR's contribution to Team Liquid is simply indescribable.

His most beautiful ace was against Cloud9 at IEM Katowice 2023:

Rifler - NiKo

G2 Esports' rifler Nikola "NiKo" Kovač joins our Dream Team as a rifler. NiKo finished 2023 with an average rating of 6.5 in S-tier championships.

In 2023, Nikola managed to win a total of 41 clutches. He also made the following number of multikills:

• 2 Aces 
• 31 quad kills in a round 
• 142 triple kills in a round 
• 429 double kills in a round

His headshot percentage was 54.3%. This year, he was also awarded the MVP title at IEM Cologne 2023.

Overall, he had another remarkable year in his career. NiKo is one of the most consistent riflers on the professional scene.

Currently, all teams and players have gone on winter holidays and will return after the New Year. The first tournament where we will see all tier-1 teams will be BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2024, scheduled to start on January 22, 2024.