We take a look at six world-class players who could not make it to the Paris Major 2023 

The Paris Major 2023 is set to showcase the best Counter-Strike talents in the world. A CSGO Major is a spectacle of a tournament for Counter-Strike lovers under any circumstances, but the Paris Major 2023 is shaping up to be even more special as it’s going to be the last one to be played in the current generation of the game.  

Paris Major is the end of an era 😭

Excited to see the first major in CS2, but Paris about to hit different. You’d forever be immortalised in the closing chapter of CSGO, and for some teams/players that can mean elation, but for others it’ll be heartbreak. The last chance to… https://t.co/OJ6T9Q7wvC

— Harry (@JustHarryGG) March 24, 2023

Unfortunately, the historical competition will not feature some of the best players in the game. Here are the top 6 players we will not see in Paris. 

Marcelo “coldzera” David (00 Nation)

Stats

Rating 2.0: 1.05

Kills Per Round: 0.68

Deaths Per Round: 0.67

KAST: 69.9%

Impact: 1.02 

Average Damage Per Round: 75.4

Marcelo “coldzera” David is one of the greatest South American players to have emerged in the CSGO scene. The Brazilian is a bona fide Counter-Strike legend, having achieved nearly every accolade that the game has to offer. He has lifted back-to-back Major titles and has topped HLTV’s Player Rankings twice, a feat accomplished by only three players. Coldzera also has an in-game graffiti that further solidifies his status as a CSGO icon.

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However, the two-time ESL Pro League champion had a disappointing Paris Major 2023 Americas RMR campaign with his current team, 00 NATION. While a 3-2 record in the South America RMR Closed Qualifier is nothing out of the ordinary, it was enough to take them to the Americas RMR. Unfortunately, coldzera could not inspire his team to a single-map victory at the Americas RMR and watched as his team suffered consecutive defeats to Liquid and MIBR.

Sergey “Ax1Le” Rykhtorov (Cloud9)

Stats 

Rating 2.0: 1.19

Kills Per Round: 0.73

Deaths Per Round: 0.63

KAST: 74%

Impact: 1.15

Average Damage Per Round: 80.6

Ax1Le is a member of the Gambit roster that Cloud9 acquired last year. Within a span of two years, Gambit transitioned into an S-tier juggernaut from a tier two side, and Ax1Le was one of the brightest stars of the team. The rifler continued to exhibit excellent form for Cloud9. He bagged the MVP award in Cloud9’s IEM Dallas 2022 triumph, thanks to his marvelous performances against the likes of FaZe and BIG. 

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Ax1Le and his team started their European RMR campaign on a high note, breezing past FORZE in their first match. While they suffered a shocking defeat to MONTE in the next match, they rebounded with an overtime victory against Eternal Fire. However, they failed to capitalize on this victory and lost back-to-back matches against G2 and ENCE. Despite this setback, Ax1Le and company managed to keep their Paris Major hopes alive with crucial wins against BIG and B8 in the Challengers Stage Last Chance Qualifier. They only needed one more victory against FaZe to secure their spot in the Paris Major, but the American team had the last laugh, denying them a chance to compete at the event.

Dzhami “Jame” Ali (Virtus.pro)

Stats 

Rating 2.0: 1.13

Kills Per Round: 0.71

Deaths Per Round: 0.55

KAST: 73.9%

Impact: 1.11

Average Damage Per Round: 72.6

Dzhami “Jame” Ali was the MVP in the last Major and his performances led Virtus.pro to the IEM Rio 2022 title. Jame caught the attention of CSGO fans with his impressive displays for the Kazakhstani side AVANGAR. The “Jame Time” memes date back to his Avangar days as he developed a reputation for pulling off nearly-impossible moves in the most difficult scenarios. Jame and the boys turned heads by making it to the Grand Final of the StarLadder Berlin Major 2019, but could not complete a fairy tale arc by beating Astralis to become the champions. He won two S-tier trophies and five A-tier titles after moving under the Virtus.pro label. 

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The Rio Major champions faced unexpected setbacks in their RMR run, losing to B8 and Into the Breach after an initial win against SAW in their opening match. Despite facing lower-ranked teams, they couldn’t secure the wins they needed to qualify for the Paris Major.

Virtus Pro couldn’t handle the pressure and made an emergency change by benching Kair0N- and adding n0rb3r7 midway through the RMR. It could not help them get over the line, however, as MOUZ dealt the lethal blow to Virtus.pro’s Paris Major aspirations. 

Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz (Astralis) 

Stats 

Rating 2.0: 1.25

Kills Per Round: 0.78

Deaths Per Round: 0.62

KAST: 71.3%

Impact: 1.28

Average Damage Per Round: 80.5

Astralis are one of the most prominent Paris Major 2023 absentees and fans will undoubtedly miss Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz, who has established himself as a legend in the Astrals folklore. He was a glorious member of the Astralis team that won an unprecedented three Major tournaments in a row. dev1ce took a brief break from the game to address his mental health issues, but the AWper is not back in front of the monitor and has enjoyed a solid Brazy Party campaign with Astralis. 

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The 27-year-old, however, could not spearhead his team to the Paris Major finals. dev1ce himself enjoyed a splendid RMR campaign as he maintained an average score of 1.22 across seven maps. Unfortunately, dev1ce was the only shining light on an otherwise dismal Astralis side. Astralis only won two maps throughout the RMR, both came in their 2-1 series win against Team Spirit. In their other three games, they lost to Vitality, Eternal Fire, and dev1ce’s former team, Ninjas in Pyjamas. 

Kenny “kennyS” Schrub (Falcons)

Stats 

Rating 2.0: 0.99

Kills Per Round: 0.75

Deaths Per Round: 0.63

KAST: 70.7%

Impact: 1.10

Average Damage Per Round: 74.0

At his best, kennyS looks like a player worthy of the CSGO GOAT mantle, but critics might argue that we have barely seen that version of the player since 2017. kennyS was named the MVP as his team, G2, cruised to DreamHack Masters Malmö 2017 glory. It was the seventh S-tier tournament championship medal the AWPer had put in his cabinet, but he is yet to win another one since. 

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kennyS’ career has been a rollercoaster ride after DreamHack Masters Malmö 2017 and he mostly focused on building his profile as a streamer. He was out of action for 18 months before penning a deal with Falcons. The Frenchman was looking forward to playing a Major on home soil for the first time in his career, but destiny had other plans. Falcons lost four out of their six European RMR outings and crashed out of the Paris Major qualification race. Reportedly, kennyS will announce his departure from Falcons soon and commit fully to his streaming career.

UPDATE: kennyS has left the Falcons main roster to become a streamer for the organization. 

Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo  (Imperial) 

Stats 

Rating 2.0: 1.11

Kills Per Round: 0.69

Deaths Per Round: 0.60

KAST: 71.8%

Impact: 1.08

Average Damage Per Round: 71.6

Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo has devoted 14 years of his life to professional CSGO, and he has two Major titles to show for it. The AWPer was at the top of his game in 2016 when he won the MLG Columbus and ESL One Cologne Majors with Luminosity Gaming and SK Gaming respectively. HLTV.org hailed him as the second-best player of 2016, with fellow Brazilian and his teammate Marcelo “coldzera” David occupying the first spot. 

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Last year, FalleN revealed that he wants to retire at the end of 2023. The Paris Major 2023 would have been his last Major, but his team failed to make it to the competition. Imperial’s win against TeamOne could not offset the damage done by their defeats against Complexity and Evil Geniuses. If he doesn’t change his mind, we have seen FalleN’s last Major performance at the IEM Rio 2023.