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Counter-Strike is a team based game. Every individual player is important in their own way, each piece crucial to the operation of the machine. Consistency in structure, contributing role players who buy into the system, all of these things are indispensable.
That all being said, the star players are always the most important piece. A team can (generally) only be as good as their best player, for obvious reasons. As such, when betting on Counter Strike, it’s important to know who the best player on the server is, and how they stack up against the best guy on the other team.
Knowing who to look out for is incredible important in CS:GO betting as it can clue you in on who to bet against. If a star player is having a bad tournament, it makes their team very attractive to bet against.
All that being said, here’s a breakdown of some of the more important star players to look out for, both upcoming and established.
Device
Device could be looked at as one of the exceptions to this rule. Astralis is exceptional in CS:GO in large part to their incredible effective system. Gla1ve and zonic manage to distribute the load in such a way that the team can survive a bad performance from any of their best players. That being so, Device is still incredibly talented and arguably the most important piece on this team.
What makes Device such a threat is his fluidity. This is evident at it’s peak on maps like Train Overpass, where he can make his presence known around the map, especially on CT Side. When Device is at his peak, it’s like he’s on both bombsites at once. Due to his trust in his teammates he can move around and look for openings, crippling T Side attacks and setups. He has an oppressive style of AWPing on the defense, and it contributes to their dominance in a big way.
When Device isn’t able to do this, due to his aim being off, being too predictable, or being clunky with his movement, Astralis can be in trouble. Looking to his performance on the AWP is a great indicator as to whether you should be putting money on or against Astralis.
ZywOo
ZywOo is the hardest carry in CS:GO right now, by a large margin. He is his teams only win condition, which obviously means he’s the best indicator of his team’s success. While Vitality can and does lose games when he’s performing well, they lose almost all of their games when he’s performing poorly.
ZywOo is also an AWPer, although he plays a different style to Device. While the Dane spreads his pressure out across the map, and operates most effectively on the CT Side, ZywOo can use his incredible aim to impose his will on micro situations. He is easily Vitality’s most effective entry fragger, and it shows in the way they use him on both sides of the map.
If ZywOo is getting his early round picks, putting his team into 5v4s consistently, I wouldn’t advise putting any money on their victim. I mean opponent.
S1mple
S1mple is really just the original ZywOo, so a lot of the things I just talked about apply to him as well. He is also his team’s best shot at winning any given game, so he’s someone you should pay close attention to.
If Device exists on one end of a spectrum, with ZywOo in the middle, S1mple lies on the other pole. He enforces his will on his enemies almost recklessly, taking fights that only he could (and should) be taking. When he’s feeling it, he will push indiscriminately, dueling opponents with wild abandon. If you see him doing this, and winning the fights, I’d advise putting your money on Na’Vi for the remainder of the day at least.
Sergej
Sergej posses a calm beyond his years, which is often his best asset. He is a clutch player, and has flourished playing primarily in the mid round with Allu on ENCE.
Watching for a good sergej game is a little harder than a good S1mple game. While it’s pretty easy to see if any of these other players are playing well, to find out if sergej is having a better game you have to watch his composure. If he’s staying calm and picking up multi frag rounds, or having clean holds on small sites, it’s a solid indicator that he’s going to have a good game.
Twistzz
Twistzz is actually very similar to sergej in a couple of key ways. They’re both the young guys on their team, and both play pretty similar roles. Twistzz has a smaller role on Liquid than sergej does on ENCE, but he manages to make a similar impact.
Twistzz has been relegated to doing the dirty work on CT Side, which is something he is great at. He often plays solo on the small sites, like B site Mirage, and makes it work. He is the lynchpin of Team Liquid, and their CT Sides often hinge on him forcing he Terrorists to respect the B site. If Twistzz is staying alive during B rushes and executes, picking up multi frags, and rotating effectively to the A site, you can bet Liquid will have a good chance to take the game.
While none of these tips are surefire ways to make the right picks, they are all things that smart CS:GO bettors should be looking for. These nuances can help you pick up an edge, especially when combined with matchup and map pool knowledge, paying attention to the scene in general, etc.
