It was a weird year for the 1.6 scene. The first part of 2007 was very busy for 1.6 but the last part was slow. G7’s decision to boycott the CPL set the tone for the competitive community – nobody traveled to Dallas. For `08 some of the other organizing body’s should consider holding an event near Christmas. It is a good way to round off the year. Extreme Masters, held in Los Angeles in September effectively became the last big event of the year – the season finished early.

It was the year PGS made their definitive mark on gaming history. They took EM in Germany as well as the most coveted cup at ESWC in France. Their myth-inspiring game against NoA during that final left fans in awe and was a testimony to the potential of electronic sports. Fnatic played strongly throughout three quarters of the year, finishing it as the number one team in the world. France got their first world class competitor in Emulate and eMazing Gaming from the United States proved that the game is not dead across the Atlantic. SK rose again as they were destined to do and MYM’s Norwegian crew fell from grace. These are some of the finest from 2007.

Contrary to popular opinion “carn” to me is this year’s most valuable player. Even his highly praised teammate Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg has been singing his leader’s praise in interviews. Lindberg is right. An in-game leader like Sättermon doesn’t receive half of the attention his stellar play warrants.

He has taken Fnatic to the top, and installed a new way of playing the game along with it.

The aggressiveness of the Fnatic team is nothing new; in fact it has been tried out for years and years. The problem though, has been that nobody has been able to make it consistently work until “carn” came along. He has also found a solution to the infamous “in-game leader problem” – where CS’ quarterbacks suffer skill wise from their tactical responsibilities. Those do not phase “carn” and he is as likely to go off the deep end put twenty frags on the board in fifteen rounds of Counter-Strike: 1.6 as “Archi”, “ins” or “Dsn” is.

His demeanor outside of the game is humble and low-key – making him a perfect representative, not only for the hardworking people behind the scenes at Fnatic, but for every gamer out there. Sättermon is a sportsman. He enters the fray, plays his heart out and comes out on top more times than not off his talent, hard work, and ability.

End of story.

September 2007:
As the “Esport player of the Year” award was seconds away from being handed out in Leizig, Germany, the announcer cried out:

“It’s eeeeeverybody’s favoriteeeee, it’s Neeeeeeeeeeeeo”, and the crowd went absolutely wild.

Kubski, at twenty, is the sweetheart of the CS community. He is also the total package, gun savvy, and intelligent with great in-game instincts and phenomenal aiming skills. He grossed two awards in September and took the ESWC victory with him home to Poznan, Poland. It was at that tournament that he sealed his place “in the books” to me. As I was jotting down notes, heart racing from the incredible match between NoA and PGS, “Neo” was left in a one on three situation. The bomb was planted by the Danish team on the big bombsite on de_inferno.

In my notes it reads “impossible round”, then there is a pause and then it says in the next paragraph “…but Neo won it anyway.” That particular play went completely unnoticed by the general public, even though it far outshined a more famous incident where the legendary “Heaton” embarrassed a bunch of British guys in the waters of de_aztec. The quality needed to win that particular round justifies his clean sweep of the award show at the Games Convention two months later. Oh, and add his match overall, +546 from Gamesense, to boot and it becomes evident: Filip “Neo” Kubski will be remembered long after his playing days are over.

Choosing Wallenberg for this list seemed arbitrary. He almost fended off “carn” for MVP; instead Wallenberg will be labeled “pickup of the year.” Many argue that NiP was the best team in the world until Marcus “zet” Sundström left for greener “Complexity” pastures. “Walle” was the heart of that team and stayed even though he knew their new lineup was not good enough to take on the world like he was used to. That was loyal, and admirable, almost to the point of “throwing away” a tremendous career in esports. Ultimately SK came along – the great German organization was struggling to get a Counter-Strike team working and “Walle” was the solution.

The calmness of his personality mixed with his in-game experience and raw skill turned everything around for SK in late 2007.

Suddenly they are considered one of the top three teams in the world again. It is hard to attribute that newfound success to anyone else. “Walle” has a knack of being successful in this sport and it is fair to say that “he did it again.”

Like “carn” he is humble and will downplay his own role in the scheme of things. To aspiring gamers he is the perfect role model. To SK he carries the ambitions of CS: 1.6 on his still very young shoulders into 2008.

It has been some years in the making for Denmark’s ”Zonic-generation” of players. Sørensen and comrade Brian “Hpx” Christensen broke through early while the rest had to wait. In the end their allegiances and friendships to “MJE” paid off, “ave” and “Sunde” completed a roster that was one of the most successful in 2007.

Many observers are still stunned by “Sunde’s” championship debut at ESWC this summer but it is “Zonic” that has been the heart of the NoA / MTW team throughout the year. Never one to go quietly into the night Sørensen roused the audience in Paris to favor the fighting Danes in the struggle against PGS. It is his competitive energy that gives the young player an edge over most. Solid world-class aim and astute handling of all of 1.6’s weapons give the rest of MTW a very effective team mate.

Sørensen’s versatility avoids him being locked into a role-playing position. This, coupled with sound movement skills, make him an unpredictable opponent. He has gathered experience over the years and is not as prone to making mistakes that cost rounds as he was in the past.

“Zonic’s” special, intense style of play can only work competitively when guided by a calm and rational head. Danny Sørensen has found his recipe for success and Denmark gets a world class team for it.

Perhaps the “rogue” element on this list – “bit” has been overshadowed by teammate Lincoln “fnx” Lau as the newest breakout player from Brazil. “Fnx” raw skill and fragging ability almost earned him a place on this list but “Bit’s” calmer demeanor and approach to his game edged Lau out this year.

“Bit” has played consistently well for his team throughout this past year and his efforts were an instrumental part of their win at Dreamhack. He packs the usual Brazilian aiming skills and seems to have a knack for out-thinking opponents to boot.

Lima has earned the admiration of other top players; his movement receives the same praise as Fnatic’s phenomenon Patrik “F0rest” Lindberg. While “bit” is still not quite as good as the Swedish star he is slowly building an international reputation.

The youngster has only played Counter-Strike since 1.6 and should he continue to develop he may have his biggest year yet in 2008.



Compiling a list of the best players from last year was extremely hard. The competition is stiff so these individuals are on this list because they have been able to do things out of the ordinary.

An obvious choice like “f0rest” is not on the list merely because it was limited to one player from each top team – to make it interesting. Also notice that there are no players highlighted from French breakout team “Emulate” – while these players were outstanding at WCG and earned their gold medal they have to prove in 2008 that they can keep themselves on an international level. That is a formidable challenge.

Which players are on YOUR A-List from 2007? Discuss here at Gotfrag.com!