The 10 best CS2 players who have never won a Major

Owen Harsono Published 02/06/2026

best cs2 players who have never won major

In Counter-Strike, winning a Major immediately puts you into legend status. It’s an achievement that proves you won the game’s biggest trophy. However, there have been some really good players that could never get their hands on the biggest trophy that Counter-Strike esports has to offer. Here is WIN.gg’s list of best CS2 players who have never won a Major.

#10 Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom

Image credit: Lance Skundrich for Riot Games

ScreaM is one of Counter-Strike’s most famous players for one main reason and that is his one taps. He was literally called the Headshot Machine.

However, his one taps weren’t enough for him to lock in a Major victory. He played for some of the most iconic French squads and best CS2 teams like VeryGames, EnVyUs, and G2 Esports, but he never actually managed to win a Major.

#9 Egor “flamie” Vasilyev

Image credit: ESL

Flamie played for the legendary squad NAVI for the longest time. He played under the yellow banner for seven years, where he won six S-tier tournaments along the way.

He had two chances to win a Major – the 2016 MLG Columbus Major and the 2018 FACEIT London Major – but lost in the grand final both times with a 0-2 scoreline. Unfortunately, it looks like he won’t be returning to professional play to give it another shot.

#8 Keith “NAF” Markovic

Image credit: Michal Konkol for BLAST

NAF is probably the best Canadian to ever touch Counter-Strike. He seems like a chill guy off the server, but he was an absolute beast in his prime. He spent over nine years playing for Team Liquid, winning six S-tier events and an Intel Grand Slam along the way.

However, you know the drill – he was never able to win that Major title. Today, NAF is still competing under Team Liquid, but he’s not fragging like his old self.

#7 Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov

Image credit: Stephanie Lindgren for BLAST

We’re going a bit modern with m0NESY, who is widely considered the Baby GOAT of Counter-Strike. You’ve definitely heard of him and seen his highlights. He has all the tools to be the game’s next superstar.

It’s hard to believe he’s been playing in Tier 1 for over four years already, but he’s yet to win a Major. However, he’s the youngest player on the list by a long shot and therefore, has lots of time to chase that trophy. That’s why we’re not placing him any higher on the list.

Who knows, he may even accomplish it at the IEM Cologne Major 2026.

#6 Casper “cadiaN” Møller

Image credit: Michal Konkol for BLAST

cadiaN didn’t get the warmest welcome at the start of his Counter-Strike career. The teams he joined kept kicking him because he wasn’t good enough. However, if there’s one thing he was good at, it was never giving up.

He eventually joined Heroic in 2020 to become the in-game leader of a young Danish squad. In three years, he was able to take Heroic to the top of the world but couldn’t bring a Major trophy home. Still, he’s one of the most respected captains in the world for his passion and leadership.

#5 Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella

Image credit: Michal Konkol for BLAST

We usually call nitr0 Captain America, as he’s easily the best in-game leader the region has ever produced. He spent most of his glory days under Team Liquid alongside NAF, winning over a million dollars in prize money.

He may not be the flashiest player on the server, but he definitely has all the qualities of being a good in-game leader. Nitr0 missed his shot at a Major at ESL One Cologne 2016, losing to SK Gaming in the final. Today, he is a father and is still competing in CS2 as we speak.

He will be at the IEM Cologne Major 2026 with NRG, but the CS2 betting odds predict that the team won’t be performing well.

#4 Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato

Image credit: PGL

KSCERATO has become a Brazilian legend since he joined FURIA, which has been his country’s strongest team for several years now. He’s an explosive rifler with a wealth of experience and the aim to back it up. And at 26 years old, he’s still one of the best CS2 players in the world right now.

However, that firepower still hasn’t been enough to bag a Major trophy. If he does end up winning one, we know Brazilian fans are going to go absolutely crazy.

#3 Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski

Image credit: Michal Konkol for BLAST

There’s little debate that EliGE is the United States’ best CS2 player. He played a pivotal role in Team Liquid’s rise alongside nitr0 and NAF – two other names on this list.

Despite never winning a Major, EliGE has been one of the most consistent riflers in the entire world, making seven appearances on HLTV’s top 20 players of the year.

He also isn’t afraid to share his knowledge with the community – he runs a YouTube channel where he uploads very insightful videos.

#2 Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovács

Image credit: ESL

Real Counter-Strike fans are absolutely gutted to see GuardiaN never get his deserved Major title. He’s now 34 and retired, with no plans of returning to pro play.

GuardiaN was considered the greatest AWPer in the world at one point, even earning a spot as the 2nd best player of 2015 on HLTV’s list. He had two cracks at a Major trophy – losing to Cloud9 in 2018 and Luminosity Gaming in 2016 – but couldn’t get it over the line both times.

Still, he has a handful of S-tier trophies under his belt, and you can absolutely call his legendary career a huge success.

#1 Nikola “NiKo” Kovač

Image credit: Adela Sznajder for ESL FACEIT Group

The player we’ve all been waiting for is NiKo, who is widely considered the greatest rifler of all time. Everybody knows him for his insane aim and longevity. NiKo was featured on HLTV’s list of best players for 10 years straight, with seven of those placing him inside the top five. That level of consistency feels illegal.

Unfortunately, NiKo’s kryptonite has always been Majors, especially in the grand finals. He has “choked” in the finals of both the 2018 Boston Major and the 2021 PGL Stockholm Major. To this day, he probably still has nightmares of them.

Still, if we completely ignore Majors, NiKo is still a strong candidate for the greatest Counter-Strike player of all time.

Featured image credit: PGL

Owen Harsono

About Owen Harsono

Owen lives for competition, spending most of his gaming hours on Dota 2, CS2, and Valorant. A regular on the SEA Dota 2 leaderboards, he combines his first-hand experience with a deep passion for esports journalism, following the professional scenes of all three esports betting titles religiously. When he’s not writing, he’s most probably betting on esports and watching the latest events.

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