The Counter-Strike community constantly critiques and keeps tabs on the best players based on statistics and those who make incredible highlights. However, many forget about the individuals who hold professional teams together and enable them to achieve results. In this article, we will discuss the 10 best coach-captain duos in the history of Counter-Strike.

When forming the top 10 most successful coach-captain duos in CS, we considered the number of major victories, Intel Grand Slam wins, and LAN tournament wins. Points were awarded to duos for each achievement, and the total points determined their final ranking.

#10. B1ad3 and Aleksib

Opening our list is the duo from Natus Vincere — Andrey "B1ad3" Gorodenskiy and Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen. They have been working together for a little over six months and have already led the team to a major championship. Their collaboration has just begun, and there is already great potential visible.

B1ad3 and Aleksib seem to have found each other. Andrey needed a captain who would be ready to listen to him and completely adapt to his structure. Aleksi turned out to be that captain. He has repeatedly stated that he is ready to learn and develop. Let's see if their duo can achieve high results or if the major victory was just a fluke.

#9. zonic and apEX

Team Vitality became the second serious job in Danny "zonic" Sørensen's coaching career. He worked in tandem with the best captain in the history of French CS — Dan "apEX" Madesclaire. Despite the club's ambitions, they couldn't create their own "era."

In two years of working together, they managed to win two LAN events and one major. After that, zonic could not agree on a contract extension with Vitality's management and left the organisation. However, that's another story.

#8. starix and zeus

Sergey "starix" Ischuk and Daniil "Zeus" Teslenko worked together as coach and captain for almost a year and a half. During this period, they won seven LAN tournaments, but the major remained elusive. Gradually, NAVI's results in championships began to deteriorate, and Zeus was benched. At that point, their paths diverged.

#7. kuben and NEO\TaZ

Jakub "kuben" Gurczyński joined Virtus.pro in 2015. At that time, the Polish roster, along with Filip "NEO" Kubski and Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas, had already won their only major. Over the next four years, the captain of VP alternated between NEO and TaZ. That's why we decided not to separate them.

Thanks to their joint efforts, they created the best Polish team in CS history. Over four years, the trio led VP to ten trophies. Towards the end of their joint performances, the roster players fell out with each other over finances. The world has not seen such a strong Polish stack since.

#6. Devilwalk and pronax

The duo of Jonatan "Devilwalk" Lundberg and Markus "pronax" Wallsten is truly unique. They first won a major as teammates in Fnatic, and later as a coach-captain duo. Incredible, right? As coach and captain, they also won eight LAN tournaments in less than a year. WOW!

#5. Kane and zeus

The duo of Mikhail "Kane" Blagin and Daniil "zeus" Teslenko scored the same number of points as the duo above, but we placed them higher due to their more challenging path to success. Kane and zeus first revitalised Gambit Esports, winning several LAN championships and a major. Afterward, zeus returned to NAVI, bringing Mikhail with him, and they continued to excel.

In NAVI, they won several more LAN events, but the major remained elusive. Eventually, Daniil retired from his professional playing career, and their paths diverged. Mikhail continued his coaching career, but outside of NAVI.

#4. adreN and nitr0

In 2019, under the leadership of Eric "adreN" Hoag and Nick "nitr0" Cannella, Team Liquid dominated the professional Counter-Strike scene. They won five championships in a very short period. Over their time together, they secured seven trophies and the Intel Grand Slam award. After their incredible success, the team's performance declined, and the championship roster gradually disbanded. Since then, Liquid's management has been trying to bring the club back to the top of the professional CS scene.

#3. B1ad3 and Boombl4

The story of the collaboration between B1ad3 and Kirill "Boombl4" Mikhailov began well but ended poorly. 2021 was the most successful year for the duo. During that time, NAVI was the favourite at virtually every event they attended. Under B1ad3 and Boombl4's leadership, the club won a major, the Intel Grand Slam, four LAN tournaments, and several major championships that were moved online due to COVID-19.

Kirill's story in NAVI ended in May 2022. A scandal involving Boombl4 and his wife erupted on social media. Subsequently, NAVI's management decided to part ways with the esports player to avoid reputational risks. B1ad3, meanwhile, continued working as the coach of the main CS team.

#2. RobbaN and karrigan

Robert "RobbaN" Dahlström and Finn "karrigan" Andersen joined FaZe Clan twice and both periods of their collaboration were very successful for the club: ten trophies and the Intel Grand Slam award. Notably, karrigan won the only major in the organisation's history in a duo with another coach, Edward "Eddie" Han.

Robert was the true spiritual leader of FaZe Clan. Therefore, when he once again decided to step down as coach, the team members were sad. karrigan continues to keep the team at the top of competitive CS, but now in tandem with NEO.

#1. zonic and gla1ve

zonic and Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander are the best coach-captain duo in Counter-Strike history. They exemplify perfect synergy and hard work. They have permanently etched their names in CS history, and the "era" of Astralis lasted several years. No other modern club has come close to their achievements.

Together, zonic and gla1ve won four majors, which is an absolute record. Alongside them, Astralis also won 17 trophies and, of course, the Intel Grand Slam. The club is currently going through tough times, but those glorious days are still fresh in the fans' memory.

All the aforementioned players and coaches are well-known, but they are remembered far less frequently than s1mple, ZywOo, or NiKo. However, this does not diminish their contributions to their teams' achievements. It is thanks to the immense groundwork laid by the coach and captain that clubs rise to the pinnacle of competitive Counter-Strike.