Esports fans have been blessed with numerous historic matches in the 11 years of CS:GO‘s existence.
We saw multiple teams have their own era throughout the years, underdogs lift important trophies, and players of the caliber of s1mple, dev1ce, and ZywOo dominate the rest with their individual prowess.
When I think about the most legendary CS:GO matches of all time, there are five that come to my mind without hesitation. I’ve watched all of them live and I still remember what made them so special to this day. Without further ado, take a trip down memory lane with me and relive with me some of the best moments in CS:GO esports ever.
5) Natus Vincere vs. G2: PGL Stockholm Major 2021
NAVI and G2 put on a real show in the grand finals of PGL Stockholm Major in November 2021. It was the first CS:GO Major after the COVID-19 pandemic and the world tuned in to see who would win their first Major ever—NAVI and s1mple or G2 and NiKo.
Fortunately for NAVI fans, NAVI didn’t fumble this opportunity as they did in previous Major grand finals—DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca Major in November 2021, MLG Columbus Major in April 2016, and FACEIT London Major in September 2018—and defeated G2 2-0 (16-11 on Ancient, 22-19 Nuke).
There are several factors that make this match legendary aside from that one of them won their first Major ever. This is the most-watched CS:GO match of all time to this day and fans will forever remember how NiKo missed crucial Desert Eagle shots that could have helped G2 to win Nuke and take the series to the third map.
4) Astralis vs. Virtus Pro: ELEAGUE Atlanta Major 2017
VP back then was synonymous with the elite of Counter-Strike in Poland as the organization featured its iconic lineup of TaZ, NEO, pashaBiceps, Snax, and byali. They were feared veterans while Astralis were still carrying the stigma of choking in big events. All that I could think of that day was that there was no way VP would lose the grand finals of the ELEAGUE Atlanta Major in January 2017 to dev1ce and crew.
I was right, but just to an extent. VP won Nuke 16-12 and were huge favorites to lift their second Major trophy. Instead, however, fans from all around the world and I witnessed a historic reverse sweep as Astralis narrowly won by 16-14 on Overpass and Train powered by an individual masterclass from Kjaerbye.
Astralis buried the idea once and for all that they weren’t chokers anymore and the grand finals were so exciting that ELEAGUE organized a rematch later that year with $250,000 on the line. History repeated itself and VP was once again reverse-swept after winning the first map of that series.
Related: Every CS:GO Major champion ranked from worst to best
3) Fnatic vs. FaZe Clan: IEM Katowice 2018
The grand finals of IEM Katowice in March 2018 are to this day one of the best CS:GO matches I’ve ever watched, and is basically all because of flusha.
If you’re new to CS:GO esports and don’t know a lot about flusha other than his official retirement in August 2023 but keep hearing fans saying that the Swede was a genius, you’ll certainly be convinced why if you watch Fnatic vs. FaZe at the IEM Katowice 2018 grand finals.
The grand finals went all the way to Train, the fifth map of the series, and flusha did everything in his power to keep Fnatic alive in the match, including getting two aces at the end of the game—one of them to save Fnatic from elimination and carry them to overtime.
Flusha’s efforts weren’t in vain and Fnatic beat FaZe by 19-17 in overtime to win IEM Katowice 2018. He finished with 127 frags throughout the series and 38 on Train alone. Even though I don’t enjoy best-of-five grand finals, I have to give it up to this one as it was truly legendary.
2) Luminosity Gaming vs. Team Liquid: MLG Columbus 2016
The only match in this list that wasn’t a grand final, but a semifinal. This is the best CS:GO match I ever watched involving my fellow Brazilians and one that I’ll remember forever.
Of course, how could I not feature the almighty coldzera clip, which many regards as the best CS:GO highlight ever—and it happened when Luminosity most needed it. The Brazilians were losing Mirage and were faced with a six-round recovery to stay alive when coldzera did the unthinkable and slayed the Liquid players with a savage jumping no-scope collateral, followed by another no-scope.
This ridiculous play by coldzera put Luminosity back in the game and the Brazilian side went on to win Mirage 19-15, before finishing Liquid on Cache 19-16 and moving on to the grand final of MLG Columbus in April 2016. Ultimately, the Brazilian outfit would win their first Major ever against NAVI just 24 hours later.
The MLG Columbus 2016 bout between Luminosity and Liquid is one of the most legendary CS:GO matches ever and will go down as one of the best moments of CS:GO esports.
1) Cloud9 vs. FaZe Clan: ELEAGUE Boston Major 2018
EU fans, look away now. The most legendary CS:GO match ever has to be the grand final of the ELEAGUE Boston Major in January 2018.
C9 was having a hell of a Cinderella run in that tournament, having recovered from a 0-2 record at the Legends Stage to reach the playoffs. Even though there was definitely something special happening with Stewie2K, Tarik, RUSH, autimatic, and Skadoodle during the competition, not even the most passionate North American fan would believe C9 was going to beat FaZe in the grand finals to give the NA region their first Major trophy ever. But records are made to be broken, and C9 wasn’t about to add another year to NA’s winless streak.
While nearly everyone thought C9 was finished after losing their pick of Mirage they recovered on Overpass and pushed the series to Inferno, where thousands of fans and I were graced with the most entertaining and dramatic CS:GO professional map ever.
FaZe were up 15-11 but instead of closing it out, they stumbled on C9’s powerful double AWP setup. Stewie2K was responsible for hitting the final shots that pushed the game to overtime. You could tell that FaZe was crumbling under the pressure, after all, they were favorites to win the tournament, while C9 kept their nerve with the help of the local crowd.
The drama continued in overtime as C9 lost the opportunity to close the game in the first six additional rounds, but they were destined to win the ELEAGUE Boston Major no matter what and got the job done in overtime number two.
Even though I’m not from North America, I’m 100 percent sure the ELEAGUE Boston Major grand finals were the pinnacle of CS:GO esports. If you wish to continue exploring the best moments of CS:GO, you can check up on the best highlight of every Major.
