ZywOo picks dev1ce over s1mple as best CSGO player of the year

Fariha Bhatti Published 14/01/2021

Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut has given his verdict for the best player of 2020. ZywOo, who’s a fan-favourite for the number one spot himself, has revealed that his top pick is Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz.

ZywOo has introduced a new player to the race between him and Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev for the best player of the year. In an interview with 1pv.fr, Vitality’s AWPer admitted that the number one spot belongs to Astralis’ core player dev1ce. The French player commended dev1ce’s play style over that of s1mple, who’s in tight competition to be the best player in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. G2’s AWPer Kenny “kennyS” Schrub was on the same page and agreed with ZywOo.

ZywOo, however, is himself the top pick for most players.

We did some short interview with top french players about 2020.

ZywOo said the player of the year was device. kennyS said the same. Maka said s1mple. MaLeK said huNter.

XTQZZZ, ALEX, apEX, shox, RpK, JACKZ, misutaaa, Nivera, xms, Lucky, AmaNEk, ScreaM all picked ZywOo.
— neL (@neLendirekt) January 13, 2021

s1mple has ruled over most individual world rankings in CSGO, guiding his team to numerous victories. With a rating of a whopping 1.28, any other player has a slim chance to dethrone him as the best in CSGO. However, ZywOo’s agility with the AWP has brought him neck to neck with the Ukrainian star.

While it was a herculean task for most teams to make it unscathed out of online formats, a few teams were frequently victorious throughout 2020. Na`Vi, Team Vitality, and Astralis each managed to remain on top despite the changes in the play, and the core players of these teams were crucial to their successes. However, with ZywOo and s1mple in the competition, dev1ce has slim chances of topping the list.

Why ZywOo thinks dev1ce is best

The French AWPer has brought dev1ce into the spotlight by choosing him over s1mple. While the Dane’s performance is noteworthy, ZywOo and s1mple posted an exceptional display of skill across different tournaments.

ZywOo has contributed much to his team’s successful stint during the online format and his decision to pick dev1ce mirrors his personal approach to competitive CSGO. The AWPer revealed that he values what dev1ce brings to the table for Astralis with his composed style of play.

“Device is for me the best player of the year, even if s1mple is ahead in terms of stats. What device does for its team is just amazing,” ZywOo said.

As opposed to s1mple’s fearless gunning, dev1ce likes to stay poised and execute set plays with the team. s1mple’s individual rating may show him to be a great player, but dev1ce’s ability to stick with the plan and win rounds is what makes him ZywOo’s top pick. The Danish player kept Astralis’ boat afloat during a rough year when the team went through several roster changes. The AWPer managed to average a striking rating of 1.22 despite the shortcomings at Astralis.

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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