There have been a lot of arguments during the CGS season about whether the best players actually got picked up or not, especially in Europe where five Dutch LANimals were left out of the proceeds. Yet looking at the UK scene it is a lot more cut and dry, the best players are in the CGS already and only a small handful outside of the franchises exist that would be realistically good enough to challenge the top level of players.

For those who do not follow the UK scene here are the five best non-drafted players in the UK that will be considered hot property when the next UK CGS draft takes place in May.

The closest thing that the UK has to frOd, George is a player who is all about frighteningly accurate aim and split-second reactions. His natural ability is among the best I’ve seen in the game and he is now starting to blossom into a well rounded player as well as a consistently high fragger.

A continual victim of circumstance, his gaming career has not gone the way it should have done for someone so talented. Missing the major UK and European LANs prior to the first CGS draft due to funding issues affecting his new team Auxilia, then having to sit out the CGS owing to the fact he was too young by a meager two months, he seemed to disappear off of people’s radars. Of course, had he been old enough to compete at the combine he’d more than likely have been down there with 4kings who of course, went on to become the London Mint CSS squad.

After being picked up by Reason Gaming as part of a multi-national line-up, he proved his worth at i32 by dropping bombs throughout the competition, with his best performance coming against fnatic. It was not to be their final though and they were brushed aside by London Mint, a team that theoretically he could have been playing for. He has always stated that he wants to be part of the CGS and is rumored to have parted ways with Reason for that alone. He is currently playing for new UK hopefuls ebuyer but if they do decide to compete he will attract a lot of attention from the GMs and media alike.


He has probably had more said about him than any other UK player and most of it is not about his game, which is a shame because on his day he can rival anybody. LAN proven countless times, he always wanted to become a professional player yet when the opportunity came about he spectacularly turned his back on it, walking out on 4kings over the matter of a flight to Denmark.

Despite his continually frustrating forays into non-professional behavior and his public comments that are far from politically correct, it is said he has already been welcomed into the London Mint team for an unlikely reunion with Henry “HenryG” Greer. This, of course, has not been confirmed or denied by anyone over at the CGS, yet people remain skeptical that he can slot back alongside his old team mates without old issues rising to the surface again.

Focus solely on the player and you have a talent that most would be envious of. Not only known as a consistently big fragger and someone a side can rely on for entry frags, he is also in possession of a great CSS brain. His managers remain frustrated that, by his own admission, his common sense can never match his gamesense, but perhaps the chance of e-fame and e-fortune will change all that.


Came the closest to getting drafted out last time around out of anyone in this list and made both UK GMs “dream five” when asked to draft one up. The blow of not getting drafted despite the unstable Zboard’s second place finish at both the pre-draft and the UK final was one that hit the player hard. He has been working consistently on his game since and is now playing for ebuyer after a largely unsuccessful spell with xciteuk.

His talents lie in his cool and collected gameplay, consistently making entry frags and his ability to clutch rounds singlehandedly. The statistics from the CGS showed that he clutched more rounds than any other UK player and it was with a 1 vs 3 clutch against fnatic made at i31 that he announced his arrival into the UK scene.

His detractors point to some of his disappointing performances in finals, but this is a player who has gone from being little known to at the forefront of people’s thoughts as a top player both in UK and Europe inside of a year. Already known by the General Managers, he will be a hot tip for a contract should he attend the next CGS event.


Another already supposed to be drafted, having last been spotted playing his games with Birmingham Salvo, Wez is a player who has played for some awesome 1.6 teams (including Virtuoso who are now 4kings and Dignitas) and has been impressing people as he makes the transition into CSS. He has already played alongside some of the big names in Source and they have all had nothing but complimentary things to say about him. All portray him as a committed team player, someone you could describe as a “player’s player”.

Extremely level headed, he has simply gone about his business quietly and is only really now beginning to be talked about as a top player, despite the fact the evidence that he would become one has been there all along. Another uncanny aimer, who is said by many to have the best out of any player currently playing in Europe, he will be making his mark in 2008 without a shadow of a doubt. If you didn’t know the name before you soon will do.


The final person on this list and the third that has already been spotted in the grips of a CGS team, playing as a replacement for one of the departed players from London Mint. Despite only being 18 years old, he has played the game for nearly seven years and has quite a history in 1.6. He took part in the ESWC grand finals with Dignitas and beat the future WCG champions Emulate.

Although still reasonably new to CSS, he already has a respectable fifth place finish at the last i-series with ebuyer and has proved that he is finding his feet in this game quickly. He has already played for team UK in both 1.6 and Source and is on very much an upward trajectory.

Known for his flick shots and skills with almost any gun in the game, he has found a lot of support from the top players around him. He was a surprise choice to make the new look Mint roster, jumping ahead of many names that people fancied for the spot. Playing with those experienced heads around him, his game will only get better, which is a frightening prospect.