The major is the time of the year where each player’s impact matters most in CS:GO, and a single round can make the difference between going out in the Challenger’s stage and being remembered as a legend forever. Here are three players that fly under the radar when using HLTV rating, but have tons of impact that is accounted for by their Leetify Rating.

Our new Leetify Rating, a win rate impact-based and economy-adjusted player rating system, gives us a much better understanding of the impact of different players. By comparing the ranking sorted by HLTV Rating 2.0 vs when sorting by Leetify Rating we can see which players improve their team’s odds of winning in ways that aren’t measured by HLTV 2.0. To learn more check out this article!

Sjuush - Heroic

Ever since Sjuush has joined the Heroic lineup he has put up strong performances, with a consistent position as the 4th highest rated player on the team with a HLTV rating of 1.04. Being a part of one of the most stacked lineups skill-wise, this isn't surprising, however, when looking at their performance at the IEM Fall EU qualifiers for the major the HLTV rating doesn't tell the full story.

Using our Leetify Rating, we ranked all of the players at IEM Fall EU and compared them to their HLTV ranking. Sjuush had one of the largest increases, going up 48 spots from a below-average 65th to an impressive 17th! Sjuush has provided a solid backbone for the Heroic roster and is reliable in getting the multi-kills on the CT side which make retakes significantly easier.

A great example of this can be seen during Heroics match against Endpoint (see clip above), where Sjuush gets his highest Leetify Rating gained in any round of the whole tournament. In a 3v4 situation, Sjuush gets 3 kills defending the B bombsite which completely shuts down the attempted push by Endpoint. After losing his teammates Sjuush is left in a 1v1 scenario, during which he uses great positioning to flank his enemy and close out the round!

With so many stars across the Heroic roster, Sjuush is often forgotten about, but he can be the difference-maker for this Heroic lineup as we head into the major. The defensive force we first saw in the Flashpoint winning Mad Lions lineup is still present in his gameplay today, and he is crucial to this Heroic roster's chances of winning the major.

Syrson - BIG

During the online era, BIG managed to reach the number 1 spot on the HLTV rankings on the back of dominant AWPing performances from Syrson. After a slow decline, the team are heading into the PGL major challengers stage as the 6th highest rated team at 13th in the HLTV rankings. Syrson can add an insane amount of firepower to this roster, which alongside their tactical prowess makes them a formidable opponent that you don't want to face.

Syrson's dependency on the scoped weapons is a weakness of BIG, however, when BIG are in winning positions on the CT side with large economies, they are an extremely difficult team to defeat because of Syrsons AWP. Using HLTV's rating Syrson is a middle of the pack player, whereas on our Leetify rating he jumps up 42 places to reach 20th place with a Leetify rating of +1.72!

This round is a great example of Syrsons impact (See the clip above). In the beginning, he gets two kills on CT's attempting to flank behind their A push, putting BIG into a 3v5 situation on the 2nd pistol. This puts them in a great position to win this round and start their comeback against Copenhagen flames. After watching for the flank and moving up to the A site Syrson is left in a 1v1 situation which he plays perfectly, winning the round for his team. BIG lacks firepower compared to star-studded rosters like NAVI and Heroic, but, if Syrson can come into this Challengers stage guns blazing there are very few teams that will be able to stop BIG getting into the legends stage.

Taco - GODSENT

After the MIBR lineup exploded, the core that won 2 majors spread across the CSGO scene. Taco ended up within a Godsent lineup featuring Felps and 3 Brazilian players yet to reach international acclaim. A long 9 months have seen this roster drop to 116th in the HLTV rankings at one point, however, their recent performance at the IEM Fall NA earned them a second-place finish. After breezing through their group with a 4-1 scoreline they faced Team Liquid who they beat convincingly 2-0, before facing Furia in the final. While they were unable to withstand the overwhelming firepower of Furia, during this run we saw a glimpse of Taco's potential to evolve from a supportive player to a great ingame leader, captain and clutch player.

The stats do not display the number of game-changing rounds Taco put on the board for Godsent, with an HLTV rating of only 1.02 placing him slightly above average at 28th place. With our Leetify rating, he ends up jumping 19 places to 9th place with a Leetify rating of +2.66! Taco had some great utility usage throughout this tournament which set up his teammates for success. However, it was his clutch factor that allowed him to gain such a large jump in the rankings.

An amazing example of Taco's clutch factor was seen in the group stage match versus Triumph (See the clip above). After losing two teammates on the T side of Inferno, Taco coordinates a great A site take by rushing through long and cutting off any rotations through CT whilst his teammates clean up the A site. In a 2v3 situation, Taco hides in moto cubby before taking 3 aim duels against the incoming Triumph squad and takes out every single one with some crisp headshots, solidifying the 15th round for Godsent. Taco's veteran experience, clutch factor and ingame leading are going to be put to the test within the Challengers stage, however, in this qualifier he has shown he is ready to get a deep run at a major with a different Brazilian squad.

As the Challengers stage begins, don't let these players HLTV ratings fool you. They are pivotal pieces of their squads, create massive amounts of impact, and will be deciding factors in the success of their team at this major.

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