Top 20 players of 2018: gla1ve (8)

Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander secured the eighth spot in the Top 20 players of 2018 list, powered by EGB.com, in large thanks to his great playoff showings throughout the year.

Top 20 Players of 2018: Introduction

gla1ve started competing in Counter-Strike as a teenager in Source, the more popular version of the game in Denmark. His first notable results came as the game's cycle was coming to an end in 2011-2012, placing third at CPH Games 2012 and winning a few small tournaments while playing alongside Nicolai "⁠HUNDEN⁠" Petersen. He made the switch to CS:GO when the game came out and continued playing with his in-game leader from Source, now representing CPH Wolves. The all-Danish team won a local LAN, NetPartyFyn, and then the Danish qualifier for DreamHack Winter 2012, looking like the best team in the country early on.

"I became somewhat aware of my talent at a fairly young age as a large part of the CS:Source scene called me a cheater. It was frustrating, but I also had to tell myself that it meant they thought I was playing really well and did something many others couldn't do without cheating. I think that almost every clean player who's been accused of cheating by top players has reached a certain level, and for me, it was a major pat on my shoulder that some of the great players I looked up to thought I was that good. When you've been through something like that for no reason, you also learn to not judge people and draw negative conclusions about others too fast.

"Having played football at a fairly high level as a young player, I also know talent is one thing, but to make it you need to take yourself seriously and you need to dedicate yourself to whatever you do. I think I have always felt I could become a good player, but making it a career and making a living out of what you love to do every day is something that you don't really focus on too much. You work to become better every day, not to make money. At least that's my approach."

As 2013 came around, gla1ve made the switch to Anexis, who would later become Western Wolves, a team that racked up some solid results in the Ninjas in Pyjamas era: second place at Mad Catz Vienna, second place at CPH Games 2013, and third place at Mad Catz Birmingham. gla1ve wouldn't end up sticking around for long, as he got his marching orders and joined up with n!faculty before first CS:GO Major, DreamHack Winter 2013.

After a stint with 3DMAX, gla1ve returned to CPH Wolves, attending two Majors under the organization, ESL One Cologne 2014 and DreamHack Winter 2014. At both the Majors and the few LANs they attended in between, CPH Wolves didn't have great results, and gla1ve was playing very poorly individually, averaging a 0.89 rating over five tournaments. Moreover, a fallout that happened between gla1ve and the team's AWPer Nicolaj "⁠Nico⁠" Jensen at a Danish LAN event saw the 18-year-old in-game leader removed from the team at the end of 2014.

"I think it was a mix of a lot of different factors including my own mental state, the surroundings, and lack of balance in the team and outside [that led to poor form]. I think times like that are important for any professional to grow and to set things in perspective. If you can take it in and learn from times like that, you become better at recognizing the small things and adjust before you end up in the same situation. Being upfront with my teammates and being able to voice your concerns before they become frustrations is key to grow as a group."

There wasn't much going on in 2015, as gla1ve only attended two notable events, Copenhagen Games and the ESL One Katowice Main Qualifier, coming back into the swing of thing in 2016 with his third run in the CPH Wolves jersey.

"I actually took a step back to reflect a bit about my life, I started to ask myself questions like 'What do I want to achieve with my life?' 'Am I truly happy with what I am doing?'. I was a bit confused and I decided to try a normal job, I was a telesalesman for three months and I actually liked it, but something kept telling me that I had to go back and do my thing with Counter-Strike.

"One thing I have learned is that I hate losing more than I enjoy winning and that became a mental drive for me. I never ever want to go back to the days where I lost more than I won. Never! I have learned to handle my temper a lot better in the last three years, though. Back in the day, I could be so mad that I did not want to be around anyone for a couple of days after a loss."

His return-debut, at Assembly Winter 2016, was a pretty rough one, however. The Dane, who stepped away from the in-game leader duties, had his lung collapse ahead of the grand final vs. ENCE, finishing the series with merely 10 kills.

"I was scheduled to have a lung operation in Denmark two weeks after the event in Finland. The fact that I had a collapsed lung before made me believe that I could actually perform with it, so even though the doctor at the event told me that it probably wasn't the best idea, I played anyway, because I didn't want to let my team down. I ended up with 10 frags in a BO3 and we got destroyed.

"This is also what helped me to realize that I need to take care of my body and my mind. I have learned that I need be around people that make me happy, and people that aren't nice should be avoided. I have learned that eating healthy most of the time and doing some kind of workout is really important for me. Astralis and RFRSH helped me to realize these things as well, and this is something I will never stop doing."

After recovering, gla1ve stood-in for Astralis and the Danish SK before joining X— who would later become Heroic. In that team, Marco "⁠Snappi⁠" Pfeiffer would take up the in-game leader role, with gla1ve being a standout player, averaging a 1.11 rating over five LANs and, most notably, helping his side take a victory at Power LAN over Astralis and Dignitas. With the former of the two Danish teams struggling under the leadership of Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen in 2016, gla1ve got the opportunity to make the switch and return to the shotcalling role.

"I was doing pretty well with my personal progress, Astralis was struggling a bit on the IGL side and the people around Astralis knew me really well. It was tough for me to tell my teammates in Heroic back then that I wanted to leave them, especially because we had actually beaten Astralis a few times in a row. But I tried my best to explain how much it meant to me, and most of them understood my decision.

"I knew that if I should be going back to the IGL role, it should be with 4 other players that I knew could be on the best team in the world. So when I got the chance to join Astralis, I knew that it was the perfect timing for me be the IGL again."

In the black and red jersey, gla1ve found success quite quickly. Astralis ended the year with a top 4 at IEM Oakland, second place at ELEAGUE S2, and a win at the ECS S2 Finals. The Danes' hot streak continued in 2017 with a victory at the ELEAGUE Atlanta Major, followed by another first-place finish at IEM Katowice a month later. It seemed like they were going to establish themselves as the team of the year, but that wouldn't happen, and instead we remember 2017 as the year of the SK - FaZe rivalry, and Astralis playing second, or even third fiddle.

What made it especially hard for gla1ve at the end of 2017 was Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz, the backbone of the team, missing the last few months of the year due to medical reasons. Without their primary AWPer, Astralis mixed it up as Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen picked up the "Big Green" and Dennis "⁠dennis⁠" Edman and Ruben "⁠RUBINO⁠" Villarroel came in as stand-ins. The results were respectable, but the main question was when device would come back and how they would move on from that point.

"It was a learning year. You have to remember, Astralis also became a part of a completely new organization with ambitions that were new not just to us but to the whole esports scene. We started having real professionals around us on all positions, we worked with the media in a new way and got a mainstream breakthrough as a team and as players in Denmark, which gave us a lot of attention and the team new commercial possibilities. We started working on a more strategic level with our performance model, incorporating a lot of new ways to practice, train - even living in a different way.

"When you look at it, we became a household brand in Denmark in a period we didn't really win a lot, and that happened because we worked with top professionals all the way around the team. But it also happened because we actually invested a lot of ourselves in getting there. So you can say that while we did not win a lot of tournaments, together with all the people around us, we managed to take some major steps as individuals and as the Astralis brand. It was a very tough year with a lot of hard work, a lot of learning and a lot of inspiration. I do believe, though, that we are where we are today partially because of everything we went through in 2017."

2017 was gla1ve's best year in terms of team achievements at the time, but it was his worst individual one since 2014, when he was the in-game leader for CPH Wolves. With a 0.99 LAN rating he was still one of the best fragging in-game leaders, but he would really raise the bar in 2018.

Just like for all of his teammates, the ELEAGUE Boston Major was a rough event for gla1ve, who touched his yearly low at the event with a 0.78 rating in the team's shocking group stage exit. In the aftermath of the Major, Markus "⁠Kjaerbye⁠" Kjærbye departed Astralis and the decision to pick up Emil "⁠Magisk⁠" Reif was made.

"The first Major of the year, where we didn't even make it into top 8 [was my worst memory of 2018]. That was a horrible performance and I felt really really bad afterward. That is where I told myself that something like that should never happen again!"

At the first two tournaments with the new lineup, StarSeries i-League S4 and IEM Katowice 2018, gla1ve was solid (1.09 rating at both) but not a standout player, and the Danes settled with a 5-8th and 3rd-4th placing, respectively. At the time, gla1ve admitted to feeling "drained of energy and motivation", but that wouldn't last long.

"We played a lot of tournaments in 2017 and more than what is really optimal. Together with our mental coach, Lars Robl, and the team around us, we constantly work to prevent mental fatigue and to find new goals and inspiration. We wouldn't get there without the guys and Danny dedicating ourselves completely to each other and our goals, but again, I have to also give a lot of credit to the team around us."

DreamHack Masters Marseille is where Astralis clicked as a whole and gla1ve unlocked a higher gear individually. With 90.2 ADR, a 1.37 impact rating, and a 1.34 overall rating, the team's IGL was one of the best fraggers at the event, and he was also crucial in the final, in which he had the joint-best rating of the series against Natus Vincere with device, 1.31. In the end, the Ukrainian star would steal away the MVP award, with gla1ve finishing second in the race and having to settle for an EVP mention.

"DHM Marseille was definitely my best event as an individual, I felt like everything I did just worked out perfectly. If s1mple didn't have such a crazy good event as well, I believe I would have got the MVP. We also had a great preparation period one month prior to the event, where every player on the team came up with new ideas that I did my best to incorporate into our game. That period is where I learned what 'hard work' is, and how it can really boost your level to new heights. "

With a new trophy in their locker room, Astralis flew to Australia for IEM Sydney. gla1ve was in good form there, recording great numbers in the group stage and the semi-final against MOUZ, but fell off in the final hurdle, the grand final against FaZe—which was perhaps a key factor that resulted in the Danes not winning their second title of the year.

Two outstanding tournament performances followed, at the ESL Pro League S7 Finals and the ECS S5 Finals, with gla1ve playing an important role on both occasions. At the first event, he had a 1.25+ rating in seven out of the 11 maps played, and was the second-best-rated player of the grand final in which Astralis beat Liquid 3-1. He was in the MVP race, but the medal once again did not land in his hands. At the second event, gla1ve didn't have that many high peaks, but was consistent throughout, which saw him finish fifth in the MVP race. At both of these events, the then 22-year-old player performed better in the playoffs than in the group stages, starting to show his ability to flourish in the big matches.

"It feels like I have to play my way into different events, like a new chair, new table, new hotel, new bed, etc. I have to get used to this kind of things before I can hit my top level, I believe. So every time I have a bad game, I need to come to a conclusion as to why I was having a game like that and then I need to do something differently. It can be with sleep, workout, what I eat, chair and table heights, stuff like that. I do my best to set up exactly the same way at every event, but something will always be different."

"But I have focussed upon not letting the surroundings affect me while I am playing and only spend my mental resources on stuff I can change and effect. And then I truly enjoy playing the big games."

ESL One Cologne was an exception to the rule, as gla1ve was really hot in the group stage matches (1.32 average rating) but just average in the semi-final against Natus Vincere (1.04), which they lost 2-1 to exit the event earlier than expected. He was soon back to his standard at ELEAGUE Premier, where the shot-caller carried his team to a victory over MOUZ in the semi-final. Over a 16-11 win on Nuke and a 16-10 win on Mirage, gla1ve was by far the best player on the server, boasting a 1.45 rating compared to his team's average of 1.11. He was still not good enough to secure the MVP medal, finishing third in the MVP race to get his fourth EVP mention of the first half of the year.

At that time, teams had already started taking note of Astralis' professional approach to the game, in and out of the server. But no one went out and followed their methods completely, as many players still see it as boring work and struggle to keep up with the daily tasks.

"I like to think about it differently. We do go through a lot, it is really really hard at times and there is so much work that is not just related to playing. That being said, I think it is important that everybody recognizes that it's not just hot air when we talk about the way we live our lives as professionals. We think about what we eat and drink, we work out in the gym, we all make sure to see our friends and to get some fresh air in our lungs and to our brains.

"At first, it does seem like a sacrifice, but you feel so much better when you take yourself seriously and just like in every other aspect of life, you perform better when your body is in a good place and you make sure to breathe and not just think about your game. Yes, it can be annoying to think about your blood sugar, the fat you eat, and having to go for a run, but it does make a big difference in your overall performance. "

Following the summer player break, Astralis attended DreamHack Masters Stockholm, warming up for the FACEIT London Major that was just around the corner. gla1ve was pretty erratic at the event, having five great maps (>1.35 rating) and seven bad ones (<1.00 rating) in 14 played. His team finished second to North, and gla1ve's up-and-down form saw him miss out on a EVP mention, despite a decent 1.10 rating overall.

gla1ve's lack of consistency at the first event of the second half of the year was reflected in Astralis as a team, who were making some uncharacteristic mistakes, and that was still lingering in the first matches of the FACEIT London Major. Any issues they had, they got them out of the system before the playoffs, in which the Danes were in cruise control, 2-0ing the world's best teams on the way to the title: FaZe, Liquid, and Natus Vincere. At this event, gla1ve reached his peak in terms of entry stats with 0.12 entry kills per round and only 0.08 entry deaths per round, averaging a high percentage of traded deaths at 25%.

"One of the things I am the proudest of is winning in front of my family. Seeing them in the crowd and even having my brother come up on stage right after our victory has been giving me some amazing experiences that words can't even describe."

He was an EVP at the Major, but not that close to the MVP, unlike at the rest of the events that took place before the end of 2018. At the first BLAST Pro Series tournament of the year, in Istanbul, gla1ve was an EVP and a part of the MVP race, as well as at IEM Chicago, where he had a bad game in the semi-final against fnatic, who almost knocked them out, but made up for it with a 1.28 rating in the grand final against Liquid.

The team's in-game leader continued his great form at ECS Season 6 Finals. This was another event where gla1ve was outstanding in the playoffs (1.24 rating), finishing as the second-best player in the semi-final against Ninjas in Pyjamas and the best player in the grand final against MIBR. However, device snatched yet another MVP award ahead of gla1ve, who finished runner-up in the MVP race.

To truly establish their era, Astralis had claim the $1,000,000 Intel Grand Slam prize in front of their home crowd in Odense, at ESL Pro League S8 Finals. They had a rough game against HellRaisers in the group stage, who seemed capable of an upset at one point during the series, but brought it back and only lost one more map, the surprise Train pick by Liquid in the grand final, before lifting the trophy. gla1ve was once again great in the playoffs, with his inspired plays on Mirage against Liquid bringing the series back into the Danes' control. That brought him to a top-five place in the MVP race in Odense and saw him get his ninth EVP mention of the year

"Winning the Intel Grand Slam in Odense in front of 4-5.000 fans was insane and I don't think anybody will understand that feeling until they have experienced it. It's not about the money, it is all about accomplishing something huge, and doing it in front of a home crowd. BLAST in Royal Arena with 12.000 fans and the Major in London were also big highlights."

The Danes added another title to their name to make it ten for the year at BLAST Pro Series Lisbon, but, just like at the BLAST Copenhagen event, gla1ve was not an outstanding performer, just chugging along with the squad.

"If anybody told me that I would get nine EVPs in 2018, I would ask them if they were crazy. I never thought that I could be this good, especially not while being an IGL. I feel like 2018 wasn't just a fluke, and now I truly believe that I can be one of the best players in the world in 2019 as well. That is my goal, at least."

Something that didn't influence his placing in the Top 20, but was interesting to watch, was gla1ve's ability to find kills through smokes. Other Astralis members also excelled at it, which led to some drama and some memes. So we had to ask gla1ve about the topic:

"I won't say I practice particular smoke kills, but I do go on a server just by myself and shoot the different angles on the maps, so when a smoke is there I actually know where exactly to shoot to have the best chances of hitting someone. Besides that, I have always had a good understanding of, "If I do X, my opponent will probably do Y". I reflect a lot about what happens in practice, I always try to understand why my opponents are doing the things they are doing. And those things are the most important factor for why I am shooting a lot of players through smokes.

"We also helped it become a meme when we made fun of the accusation throughout our social media platforms. It was such a surprise when we heard that one of our colleagues, one of the best players in the world, had made this accusation, and we were completely baffled about it for a bit. Then you get really angry, cause when you have worked so hard as we do and as most top teams do, and you actually start winning, the last thing you want to hear is somebody claiming you're a cheater. It is so far from who we are and how we work, and because we know this we also had our fun with it on our socials."

"I think that all players have their way to read the game, and you do get a certain game sense when you've played the same teams on the same maps over and over and over again, and then you make guesses. You see this with many of the best players, and the only reason focus was on us was because we won and then this one tweet that must have come out of sheer frustration. It's not something we talk about or that affect us or our relations with other players."

In 2019, gla1ve wants to win the IEM Katowice Major to secure back-to-back Major victories:

"We have set our goals, but it is meaningless to talk about long term ambitions if you miss the goal right in front of you. Winning our first back-to-back Major would be insane, but it would take so much to do it, as all teams seem to step up and we have to develop if we want to have a chance to maintain our position. 2019 will be a sick year in CS!"

Why was gla1ve the 8th best player of 2018?

After a bad start to the year at the ELEAGUE Boston Major, gla1ve elevated his performances to a very high base level. He had a 1.05 or higher rating at 15 of his 16 remaining events, making him one of the players of 2018 with the best event-to-event consistency. He was also consistent on a round-to-round basis, with exceptional numbers in the less directly-impactful factors such as surviving (0.62 per round, 10th highest) and damage assists (0.16 per round, 8th highest) pushing him to 73.0% KAST (9th highest in Big Events).

"[What was key to unlocking a higher level this year?] One word: Team. The team around me and the way we work make it easier for every individual player to shine. None of us go out to be the star player, we go out to facilitate each other and to make the team look good."

With 7.7 utility damage per round (2nd) and 0.07 flash assists per round (6th), gla1ve is a solid candidate for the best utility user of 2018—as he was the only player except Fatih "⁠gob b⁠" Dayik to rank in the top 10 of both categories.

Aside from a high base level, gla1ve also had high peaks. Despite finishing the year without an MVP medal, he was in the top five of eight Big Event MVP races, most notably finishing as a runner-up at DreamHack Masters Marseille and ECS S6 Finals, and placing third at ESL Pro League S7 Finals and ELEAGUE Premier. He finished the year with a total of nine EVP mentions.

Key to gla1ve's EVP awards were his impressive performances in the playoffs, in which he put in a 1.14 rating (6th highest) and was the only player to, on average, perform better in the playoffs than in the group stages.

"It is so much easier to look good on a great team than to do it on a team of individuals with only their own success in mind. It is what we are all about and it leaves room for each player to shine. I think we might see even more of this in 2019, not just from me, but for everybody on the team."

Bold prediction

When asked about the player he thinks could have his breakout in 2019 and make the Top 20 players of the year list, gla1ve decided to go for the Russian AWPer from AVANGAR: Dzhami "⁠Jame⁠" Ali.

Dzhami "⁠Jame⁠" Ali

"It's so tough to predict but I am gonna say Ali "Jame" Djami. Just because he can be a pain in the ass to play against in practice."

Stay tuned to our Top 20 players of 2018 ranking powered by EGB.com and take a look at the Introduction article to learn more about how the players were selected.