More than two decades ago the amazing world of esports was born.
In that time, across many different titles and genres great athletes have risen above everyone else and achieved what most gamers can only dream of.
Professional players form the small minority of top users any game has. Esport stars, the best among the best, are even rarer.
In truth, there are many players whose skills deserve praise and admiration that will not show up here.
In most cases one cannot compile a list that ranks objectively who the best videogame players of all time are.
Nevertheless, considering their competitive achievements and how brought up in conversation they tend to be, I have compiled a list of players who can be safely assumed to be some of the most well-rounded competitors of their respective esports scene.
Daigo
Name: Daigo Umehara
Game: Street Fighter series
Country: Japan
Teams: Team Beast, Red Bull esports
Nickname: The beast
A veteran of esports with two decades of experience under his belt, Daigo was there from the very beginning. He is considered to be a beast at fighting games.
Known for being a consistently good player, Daigo is responsible for some of the most impressive moments in Street Fighter history.
Daigo pushes characters to the extreme and serves as inspiration for his colleagues.
Though throughout each Street Fighter iteration he may not have been the undisputed best, when the series itself is taken as a whole Daigo comes out on top.
He is also responsible for what probably is the most famous play in fighting game history, EVO Moment 37.
Confused?
Here is a video explaining Daigo and the almost impossible play that immortalized him as one of esports greatest.
n0tail
Name: Johan Sundstein
Game: Heroes of Newerth, Dota 2
Country: Denmark
Teams: Fnatic, Team Secret, Cloud9, (monkey) Business, OG
Position: Support
Dota 2 is an extremely hard and complex team game. It is more difficult to come up with an objective list of the best Dota players compared to other esports.
Some competitors are better with their micro mechanics, others are talented strategists and drafters, others are better at carrying, while others can bring together a team in such a way that makes them work like a well-oiled machine.
Sticking then to accomplishments, Johan “n0tail” Sundstein is one of the game’s greatest.
Coming from Heroes of Newerth, where he was already one of the best, n0tail switched his Dota 2 role from mid to support.
What followed were years of strong results, winning The International, the biggest esports event by prize pool, twice.
In-game n0tail is known for his ability to generate opportunities as well as for outmaneuvering his opponents.
Outside of it, n0tail is an accomplished team co-founder and coach, having kickstarted multiple careers. What all of these shows is that n0tail is an enabler, and for that he takes this spot.
TheViper
Name: Ørjan Larsen
Game: Age of Empires series
Country: Norway
Teams: GamerLegion
Though it experienced a resurgence in recent years, Age of Empires has never been a massively popular esport. That is not to say that the game is not subjected to fierce competition. Far from it.
TheViper has proven himself the best player the series has ever had. Time and time again he manages to secure first and second places with ease.
At this point, more often than not one watches AoE II tournaments to see who ends up fighting for the finals against him.
While at the end of the day TheViper is a titan in a niche game, he can still be considered one of the best gamers of all time.
s1mple
Name: Oleksandr Olehovych Kostyliev
Game: Counter Strike
Country: Ukraine
Teams: Hellraisers, Team Liquid, Natus Vincere
Position: Awper (Sniper)
Nickname: Undertaker
Over the years Counter Strike has birthed plenty of prodigies, but few if any come close to s1mple.
The Ukrainian is an insanely strong marksman, with a game sense that dwarves that of other great players.
In his early years s1mple was somewhat known for his strong temper and difficulty to work with other teammates, which for a while caused him to jump around squads until he finally stuck to Natus Vincere.
It was at NaVi that he truly proved himself, showing enough patience to weed out the team’s weaknesses while enhancing its strengths. After a few years of really hard work Natus Vincere finally showed its worth by winning several majors.
At this point, s1mple has won all there is to win in competitive CSGO.
Faker
Name: Lee Sang Hyeok
Game: League of Legends
Country: Republic of Korea
Teams: SK Telecom T1 K, SKT T1, T1
Position: Mid
Nickname: The Unkillable Demon King
If you are a fan of esports this man needs no introduction.
After years of amazing plays and consistently strong results Faker has by far cemented himself as the face of League of Legends and esports worldwide. He is widely considered to be the best player the game has ever had, especially when it comes to tournament settings.
Capable of doing things that seem almost inhuman, his skills both as a team player and as a solo laner are known by all.
When asked about him, players that have been paired against Faker always describe how uneasy and insecure of their own skills he makes them feel.
Playing against Faker is like trying to trick an unforgiving genius, someone who will punish every small mistake and whose small incremental optimizations build up until they end up overwhelming his opponents.
While early in his career Faker showed preference for aggressive play styles which showcased his absurd tactical prowess, over the long term he has managed to outshine most other pros due to his ability to pick practically any viable mid champion and perform well with it. His versatility and the creativity derived from it have proven themselves his greatest strengths throughout radically different metagames and team squads.
Another quality that makes Faker the greatest is his work ethic. Unlike other players at the top of the esports ladder, Faker has not allowed himself to become complacent, remaining humble and living a disciplined lifestyle despite being able to afford plenty of luxuries.
This trait has no doubt helped him win League’s greatest prize, the World Championship title, three times.
For as long as League of Legends remains popular, people will always marvel at his skills and compare others to him; for Faker is the gold standard of esports.
Flash
Name: Lee Young Ho
Game: Starcraft: Brood War and Starcraft 2
Country: Republic of Korea
Teams: Pantech Ex. KTF MagicNs, KT Rolster
Race: Terran
Nicknames: God, Final Weapon
An unknown figure to most esports fans, let me introduce you to the man that beat multiplayer.
Beginning to professionally compete in Starcraft: Brood War at the age of fourteen, it did not take long for Flash to become the most dominating figure the game has ever known.
Flash became a champion at fifteen, starting a rivalry with the best pros of the time, including the game’s second greatest prodigy Jaedong.
With win rates that sometimes even went above 80% percent across all three matchups, Flash was characterized for having an extremely solid style of play which allowed for immense strategic flexibility, being comfortable both at macro and cheese styles. His ability to read opponents like a book and understand how to counter what they were doing was second to none. He was also renowned for being a team league monster.
Having achieved the highest elo ratings for any player in Starcraft (~ 2400s), Flash had such a consistent level of proficiency at the game that he ended up receiving nicknames such as “God” or “Final Boss”.
Quite simply, Flash was just better than everyone at practically anything and for longer periods of time than anyone else.
Tournament maps were changed or redesigned to directly nerf the strengths that he as a Terran displayed, and while this would hurt most of his race colleagues Flash would simply adjust and still manage to come out victorious, constantly innovating, optimizing and executing strategies that other strong players would have a hard understanding, let alone attempting to mirror.
Indeed, after competing for a couple of years it was clear that the mark of a great Starcraft player could be decided by whether they could hold their own against Flash, even if for a brief while.
Flash also has what quite probably is one of the weirdest entrances any progamer has ever had for a tournament, being brought by airplane to a hangar full of spectators.
Making the switch to Starcraft 2 around the end of Wings of Liberty, Flash was unable to replicate his previous results. He, however, remained a strong contender, managing to win one individual event and being able to take a series from any of the world’s top competitors.
After retiring from Starcraft 2 in late 2015, Flash returned to compete in Brood War once again, quickly regaining form and proving he was still the best player to ever touch the aging RTS.
In any esports community and any competitive game, at the highest of levels the players are always capable of beating each other; there are players that have hot streaks who for a brief while are considered to be the most threatening.
In Starcraft: Brood War the very best can with a lot of effort and luck beat Flash, but even when they do there is no debate regarding who the better player really is. They all know it, because Flash is the monster that stands above the other monsters.
It is for his unparalleled ability to dominate in the hardest esports game to ever exist that, in my opinion, Flash deserves to be considered the greatest esports athlete to ever exist.
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