One of the biggest disappointments to come about in the transition from Counter Strike 1.6 to Counter Strike Global Offensive was how some of the all time greats of 1.6 never truly reclaimed their old form within the new space of Global Offensive. Top five players of all time, like Markeloff, simply could never regain the brilliance that they exhibited in years past. However, over this past year, the Counter Strike community has been presented with a much needed blast from the past from two of the most revered players in the Counter Strike community.

The Swedish Maestro in Ukraine

For Ninja in Pyjama’s fans, Starladder came as quite a pleasant surprise. Going into the tournament, the expectations for the team within the community were not especially high; after all, they were going into the tournament missing their entry fragger, Pyth. Yet, despite the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the team going into the event, the actual tale that played out on the stages of Kiev was completely opposite.

On the stages of Kiev, the players that the community witnessed duke it out were not the Ninja in Pyjamas of the modern age; rather, the community got to witness the players of old that they had fallen in love with light it up on the big stage once again.

Out of all those players who battled it out, none shined brighter than the Swedish maestro, F0rest. In the previous iteration of the game, F0rest was one of the greatest gods of them all, only arguably being surpassed by Virtus Pro’s very own Neo. On the stages of Starladder, F0rest shined so brightly that it reminded the community of the days that had passed so long ago.

Finishing the event with a 1.22 rating and only two maps below a 1.00 rating, it became quite clear that there was no debate in regards to who exactly was the MVP of Starladder. Starladder was a treat from start to finish as the community got a chance to witness one of the crowd favorites back at his best. What remains to be seen is whether or not F0rest will be able to continue to carry this form forwards, for if he does, then we will be able to unequivocally say that the Swedish maestro truly is back.

Polish Superstar Stamps His Authority

F0rest has not been the only member of the old boys’ club to reassert his dominance on the international scene once again. Neo, F0rest’s famous rival for the title of best player in CS 1.6 history, has also found himself hitting levels that he had not hit in quite a while.

At Dreamhack Bucharest, Neo finished the event not only with a 1.22 rating, but also with the MVP trophy in his lap. Dreamhack Bucharest was not a simple resurgence in form either -- it was in actuality a continuation of the form that Neo had put on display during the Eleague playoff brackets.

For quite a while, members of the community had lamented at the fact that Neo had never managed to hit levels in Counter Strike Global Offensive akin to the heights that he had reached within CS 1.6. With these past two tournaments, Neo has shown something that members of the community had believed for a while -- that the talent has been lying latent within him all along.

More of the Old

So far 2016 has been quite a mixed bag of treats for Counter Strike fans. At some points in the year, the community was treated to new faces and rising stars. Be that as it may, there has not been a lack of old fan favourite names, at certain points in the year, playing like they had reclaimed the prime they had left behind long ago. Players like Shox, Scream, Neo and F0rest have, at different periods of time, and for differing amounts of time, begun to play like men possessed once again.While it remains to be seen if they can continue to carry this form onwards over the next couple months, it definitely has been a sight for sore eyes to see such beloved players show up at the highest level once again.

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