Top five CS:GO starts over 30 who will shine in CS2
30 years is a respectable age for a professional Counter-Strike career. Dozens of players have ended their careers before reaching their third decade, becoming either a coach, an analyst, or leaving the shooter altogether.
But there are those who are ready to continue fighting for titles even at 30. With the upcoming release of Counter-Strike 2, veteran free agents have a chance to find a new team and try to qualify for the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024.
Lekr0
Former NIP and Fnatic player Jonas "Lekr0" Olofsson announced a few days ago that he is looking for a team and is ready to become either a lurker or a captain in the new collective. Considering the Swede's years of experience on the tier-1 scene and an average rating of 6.4 over the last 15 matches, he clearly has something to offer.
RpK
Frenchman Cédric "RpK" Guipouy (aka Le Tank) is also not planning to sit idly by. He ended his career in April 2021, having won several large tournaments for Vitality before that, but in August he confirmed his readiness to return and compete for an international team and fight for the championship title of the first major in CS2.
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AMANEK
François “AmaNEk” Delaunay has been without a team since May this year, having spent nearly a year at LDLC, and before that, almost three years at G2. The 30-year-old esports player is ready to be a sniper or a rifle-support. It is unclear whether he will succeed in CS2 if he continues to participate in mono-national French projects. Perhaps it is worth considering an option with an international team, which the aforementioned RpK is hoping for.
cajunb
Taking players from our list, René “cajunb” Borg has been absent from the pro-scene the longest among them. He played his last official match in September 2022 as a replacement for Astralis Talent. The only problem in the case of a potential return to the new version of the shooter by Valve is questions about his form. René's individual peak was in 2015-2016, meaning he will have to try twice as hard to be competitive.
zehN
31-year-old Jesse “zehN” Linjala from Finland stands out for his stable individual performance compared to the rest of the group, which is a big rarity for someone his age. He played his last match in January this year, and his average rating of 6.3 was achieved playing against strong tier-2 teams like BIG, FORZE, and HEET. Add to this that he can play the role of a lurker or support – such flexibility makes him a valuable free agent who can potentially join the top twenty, if not the top ten teams in the world.
Reminder that the open qualifiers for the first RMR tournament in CS2 will begin in the first half of January 2024. Whether we will see anyone from our current group there only time will tell.
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