Being only a bit over 16 years old, Owen “oBo” Schlatter is the youngest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro player to ever attend a major tournament in the game’s history.
oBo is an American CSGO rifler currently representing Complexity Gaming. Heading into the StarLadder Berlin Major, oBo will be entering the tournament as the youngest contestant ever to play at such a high level.
The young American breakout star was born on June 26, 2003. oBo will be 16 years and 58 days old when the Major begins. He was signed by Complexity a few weeks before his 16th birthday after having shown great potential in smaller leagues and competitions.
According to HLTV, the next two youngest players at the StarLadder Major will be mousesports’ David “frozen” Čerňanský and ENCE’s Jere “sergej” Salo, who are both just 17.
Until oBo begins his first major journey, the title of the youngest pro player that has competed in a major tournament belongs to Markus “Kjaerbye” Kjærbye, who currently plays for North. Although he’s 21 now, Kjaerbye was also 16 when he played at DreamHack Winter 2014 for Copenhagen Wolves.
The youngest team attending the major is Syman Gaming, a Kazakh team that will be attending a major CSGO tournament for the first time. Their average age is 20.4, with four players being among the 20 youngest players in the field. Furia Esports and ForZe follow with an average age of 20.8 and 21.5, respectively.
Surprisingly to some, fourth on the list is Team Liquid, the powerhouse of the season in CSGO and the dominant force in every reputable world ranking. Their average age is 21.8, with Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken, who is 19, being the youngest member of the team. He has been competing since 2015 and has already won over $700,000.
On the contrary, the oldest team attending StarLadder Major is MiBR with an average age of 27.3. FaZe Clan, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and G2 also average above 25 years of age with their assortment of veteran players.
The StarLadder Berlin Major will begin on August 23 as the second major tournament this year. 24 teams will be fighting their way through the swiss rounds for a shot at the playoffs and a share of the $1,000,000 prize pool.
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
