The Best CS:GO Pro Players and Their Skins - Hellcase Blog

Each January, HLTV.org compiles a list of the world-greatest CS:GO pro players of the year. By now, you probably know all the names of the players who were acknowledged as the best players of 2022. However, do you know what CS:GO skins they play with?

In this article, we will take a look at the best CS:GO skins owned by those players who got into 2022’s HLTV Top 10.

What is HLTV’s Top CS:GO Pro Players Ranking?

HLTV.org is a website that provides CS:GO news, statistics, and rankings for professional players and teams. The HLTV player ranking is a list of the top players in the world based on factors such as tournament results, individual statistics, awards, and consistency.

This January, HLTV’s Top 20 ranking for 2022 got revealed. Players who placed from 20th to 4th were revealed daily, and those who placed from 3rd to 1st were announced live at the HLTV Award Show. The 2022’s HLTV’s Top 10 Players looked like this:

10th Place – Martin “⁠stavn⁠” Lund.

9th Place – Kaike “⁠KSCERATO⁠” Cerato.

8th Place – Robin “ropz” Kool.

7th Place – Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov.

6th Place – Helvijs “broky” Saukants.

5th Place – Nikola “⁠NiKo⁠” Kovač.

4th Place – Sergey “⁠Ax1Le⁠” Rykhtorov.

3rd Place – Dmitry ‘sh1ro’ Sokolov.

2nd Place – Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut.

1st Place – Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev.

We decided to take a peek inside the Steam Inventories of these players and show you what we found. Also, we used CS:GO Backpack to see the approximate total values of the players’ inventories. Let’s see what CS:GO skins the greatest ones prefer!

10th Place – Martin “⁠stavn⁠” Lund

Martin “⁠stavn⁠” Lund is a 20-year-old player for Heroic, a Danish team that won BLAST Premier Fall Finals and Pinnacle Cup last year. Previously, stavn became the 12th-best player of 2020 and the 16th-best player of 2021.

Martin played consistently great during the year and was acknowledged as the standout player of the team. He earned five EVP awards, placed 2nd at the IEM Rio Major, and 3rd at the IEM Katowice.

In terms of individual performance, stavn finished the year with 18.9% of rounds with 2+ kills (#7), 0.15 assists per round (#4), and a 1.14 rating in Elite events (#9).

Best skins from stavn’s inventory:

• Sport Gloves | Slingshot (Field-Tested, 0.18) – $905.
• Butterfly Knife | Tiger Tooth (Factory New, 0.009) – $1,600.
• AK-47 | Frontside Misty (Factory New, 0.05) – $55.
• M4A1-S | Hot Rod (Factory New, 0.006) – $560.

The approximate total value of stavn’s CS:GO inventory is $8,825.

9th Place – Kaike “⁠KSCERATO⁠” Cerato

Kaike “⁠KSCERATO⁠” Cerato is a Brazilian professional player for FURIA Esports. In 2022, he got into the first half of the HLTV Top 20 Ranking at the age of 23. Also, he was the 18th-best player of 2020 and the 15th-best player of 2021.

Kaike had a great season in terms of individual performance. He ended the year with an average 1.17 (2.0) rating and four EVP awards. His team’s biggest results were 3rd place at ESL Pro League Season 15, IEM Dallas, and IEM Rio Major.

⁠KSCERATO⁠’s remarkable individual statistics include a 1.12 T-side rating (#4) and a 1.21 rating against the Top 10 teams (#5).

Best skins from ⁠KSCERATO’s inventory:

• Sport Gloves | Hedge Maze (Minimal Wear, 0.14) – $1,761.
• Karambit | Gamma Doppler (Emerald Phase, Factory New, 0.03) – $1,285.
• StatTrak™ AK-47 | Vulcan (Factory New, 0.01) – $1,215.
• AWP | Oni Taiji (Factory New, 0.05) – $525.

The approximate total value of ⁠KSCERATO’s CS:GO inventory is $8,070.

8th Place – Robin “ropz” Kool

Robin “ropz” Kool is an Estonian professional CS:GO player for FaZe Clan. He’s 23 years old, and he has appeared in the HLTV Top 20 five times since 2016.

In 2022, ropz excelled at ESL Pro League Season 15 and was recognized with the MVP award. He also became the EVP of four events: IEM Katowice, IEM Cologne, PGL Major Antwerp, and BLAST Premier Fall Final. FaZe Clan won all of these tournaments.

ropz ended the year with a 1.14 rating (13), won 58 clutches (#6), and had a +581 K-D difference (#6).

Best skins from ropz’s inventory:

• Specialist Gloves | Crimson Kimono (Field-Tested, 0.19) – $1,415.
• Karambit | Doppler (Ruby Phase, Factory New, 0.01) – $1,150.
• M4A1-S | Hot Rod (Factory New, 0.02) – $555.
• AWP | Graphite (Factory New, 0.02) – $210.

The approximate total value of ropz’s CS:GO inventory is $5,800.

7th Place – Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov

Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov is a 17-year-old professional player for G2 Esports. Apart from appearing in the HLTV Top 20 for the first time, he also received the Esports PC Rookie of the Year title at the Esports Awards 2022.

With m0NESY, G2 won BLAST Premier World Final, finished 2nd at the IEM Katowice, 3rd at the BLAST Premier Spring Final and ESL Pro League Season 16. Ilya got the MVP award for his performance at the BLAST Premier World Final and two EVP awards throughout the year.

Among notable individual m0NESY’s statistics are fifty-one won clutches (#10), 0.41 AWP kills per round (#3), and 64.3% of opening duels won (#1).

Best skins from m0NESY’s inventory:

• Sport Gloves | Pandora’s Box (Minimal Wear, 0.15) – $1,760.
• Karambit | Fade (Factory New, 0.07) – $1,635.
• AWP | Dragon Lore (Factory New, 0.02) – $10,500.
• AK-47 | Wild Lotus (Factory New, 0.07) – $1,740.

The approximate total value of m0NESY’s CS:GO inventory is $25,000.

6th Place – Helvijs “broky” Saukants

Helvijs “broky” Saukants is a professional 21-year-old AWPer for FaZe Clan. This is his second appearance in HLTV Top 20, as he placed 20th in 2021.

In 2022, Helvijs claimed MVP awards at IEM Katowice and BLAST Premier Fall, won his first Major title and became EVP at four events, including PGL Major Antwerp.

The most remarkable broky’s statistics are 74 clutch rounds won (#1), a +718 K-D difference (#4), and a 1.19 rating against the Top 5 teams (#7).

Best skins from the broky’s inventory:

• Ursus Knife | Doppler (Sapphire Phase, Factory New, 0.02) – $2,950.
• AWP | Fade (Minimal Wear, 0.07) – $1,130.
• M4A1-S | Blue Phosphor (Factory New, 0.03) – $265.
• Desert Eagle | Blaze (Factory New, 0.03) – $600.

The approximate total value of broky’s CS:GO inventory is $18,315.

5th Place – Nikola “⁠NiKo⁠” Kovač

Nikola “NiKo⁠” Kovač is a 25 years old Bosnian Serb professional player for G2 Esports. He has appeared in the HLTV Top 20 seven times now.

Nikola won BLAST Premier World Final and placed 2nd at IEM Katowice, Although he wasn’t recognized with the Most Valuable Player award at any events during 2022, he claimed five EVP awards.

NiKo’s outstanding individual statistics are 87.2 damage per round (#1), a 1.31 Impact rating (#2), and a 1.22 average rating.

Best skins from NiKo’s inventory:

• Specialist Gloves | Crimson Kimono (Minimal Wear, 0.11) – $3,600.
• Stiletto Knife | Doppler (Ruby, Factory New, 0.03) – $3,360.
• AWP | Graphite (Factory New, 0.04) – $210.
• AK-47 | Hydroponic (Factory New, 0.06) – $1,600.

The approximate total value of NiKo’s CS:GO inventory is $8,650.

4th Place – Sergey “⁠Ax1Le⁠” Rykhtorov

Sergey “⁠Ax1Le⁠” Rykhtorov is a 20-year-old player for a North American team Cloud9. 2022 marked his second appearance in the HLTV Top 20.

The last year wasn’t the greatest for the ex-Gambit roster, as they only won Funspark ULTI and IEM Dallas. At the latter event, Sergey received his only MVP award of the year. He was acknowledged as the EVP of Funspark ULTI, IEM Katowice, and ESL Pro League Season 16.

⁠Ax1Le showed outstanding performance with a 1.29 rating against the Top 5 teams (#1), a 1.24 rating against the Top 10 teams (#1), and 84.3 damage per round (#3). His average rating was 1.21.

Best skins from Ax1Le’s inventory:

• Specialist Gloves | Fade (Field-Tested, 0.21) – $365.
• Karambit | Doppler (Factory New, 0.03) – $1,160.
• AK-47 | Gold Arabesque (Factory New, 0.03) – $1,800.
• M4A4 | Poseidon (Factory New, 0.00) – $1,300.

The approximate total value of Ax1Le’s CS:GO inventory is $11,300.

3rd Place – Dmitry ‘sh1ro’ Sokolov

Dmitry ‘sh1ro’ Sokolov is a 21-year-old player for Cloud9. Just like his teammate Ax1Le, he made his second appearance in HLTV Top 20 in 2022.

Dmitry became the MVP of the Funspark Ulti at the beginning of the year and claimed six EVP awards, including the ones at IEM Katowice and IEM Rio Major.

sh1ro had the best 2.0 rating of 1.28 (#1), 77.3% KAST (#1), 0.79 kills per round (#3), and a 1.22 rating in Elite events.

Best skins from sh1ro’s inventory:

• Specialist Gloves | Emerald Web (Minimal Wear, 0.14) – $1,690.
• M9 Bayonet | Gamma Doppler (Emerald, Factory New, 0.02) – $9,400.
• StatTrak™ AWP | Redline (Minimal Wear, 0.13) – $150.
• AK-47 | Fire Serpent (Field-Tested, 0.34) – $810.

The approximate total value of sh1ro’s CS:GO inventory is $8,000.

2nd Place – Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut

Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut is a 22-year-old French player for Team Vitality, who made his fourth appearance in HLTV Top 20 in 2022. Previously, he was acknowledged as the best player in 2019 and 2020 and the second-best player in 2021.

Last year, Team Vitality won BLAST Premier Spring Final and ESL Pro League Season 16, at which ZywOo claimed the MVP award. Mathieu became the EVP of IEM Dallas, IEM Cologne, and BLAST Premier Spring Final.

Regarding his statistics, it is worth mentioning a +891 K-D difference (#1), a 1.27 rating (#2), 67 clutch rounds won (#2), and a 1.28 rating in Big matches (#1).

Best skins from ZywOo’s inventory:

• Specialist Gloves | Crimson Kimono (Minimal Wear, 0.14) – $1,920.
• Butterfly Knife | Tiger Tooth (Factory New, 0.008) – $1,590.
• AWP | Gungnir (Factory New) – $11,000.
• Glock-18 | Fade (Factory New) – $1,300.

The approximate total value of ZywOo’s CS:GO inventory is $17,000.

1st Place – Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev

Are the introductions even needed? Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev, a 25-year-old Ukrainian superstar player for Natus Vincere, has been appearing in HLTV Top 20 every year since 2016. He became the record-breaker as the first three-time HLTV Player of the Year in 2022.

s1mple’s previous appearances in HLTV Top 20:

• 4th Place in 2016.
• 8th Place in 2017.
• 1st Place in 2018.
• 2nd Place in 2019.
• 2nd Place in 2020.
• 1st Place in 2021.

In 2022, Natus Vincere won BLAST Premier Spring Final, became the runner-up of PGL Major Antwerp and IEM Cologne, and placed third at IEM Katowice.

Sasha claimed MVP awards two times last year at BLAST Premier Spring Final and IEM Cologne, even though NAVI didn’t get the championship title at the latter event. Read our article explaining how that happened and how did s1mple react.

Apart from getting his twentieth and twenty-first MVP awards in his career, The Undertaker was also recognized as the EVP of five tournaments, including PGL Major Antwerp and IEM Rio Major.

Not only he became the HLTV Player of the Year in 2022, but also the HLTV AWPer of the year. Kostyliev finished 2022 with impressive individual statistics, including 0.83 kills per round (#1), a 1.23 Impact rating (#1), and 21.6% rounds with 2+ kills (#1).

Best skins from s1mple’s inventory:

• Sport Gloves | Vice (Minimal Wear, 0.13) – $1,720.
• Skeleton Knife | Fade (Factory New, 0.01) – $1,835.
• AWP | Dragon Lore (Factory New, 0.03) – $10,500.
• StatTrak™ AK-47 | Vulcan (Factory New, 0.06) – $1,100.

The approximate total value of s1mple’s CS:GO inventory is $23,000.

To Wrap Up!

It was a great year for the competitive CS:GO scene that we all got a chance to enjoy following. Here’s to more spectacular events, well-deserved wins, and breathtaking rivalry between the best teams in 2023! And in between cheering for your favorite team, check out our blog about CS:GO skins, in-depth game guides, and esports news.