7 Graffiti-Worthy CS2 Moments: Why Don’t They Have Graffiti?

What makes a true CS legend? Skill, trophies, and a triumph at a major might not be enough for a player  to earn a spot in the game’s hall of fame. At some point, Valve introduced an idea to immortalize some of the sickest plays by adding graffiti on CS2 maps. However, very few got them. Some plays, like s1mple’s flying AWP, got graffiti for the crazy luck of the moment, others, like Olof’s boost, — for being the first of a kind, while a lot more were deemed undeserving of such commemoration. In our opinion, there are a lot of plays on par with those mentioned above, and we’d like to see them receive some love in the future. So, today we’ll review some of the graffiti-worthy CS2 plays and recap what occurred during these rounds.

ChrisJ — The Grand Final of ESL One: New York 2018 (vs. Liquid)

ChrisJ — The Wolf of Wall Street

In the grand final of ESL One: New York 2018, mousesports (who go by Mouz these days) played vs. team Liquid in a best-of-5 series. On the decider, Mirage Mouz was ahead, but the opponents started a comeback in the second half of the match. So, with the score 13:8, losing the next round meant playing eco in the following one for either team. If Mouz lost it, the opponents were likely to tie up the game, and if Liquid lost — that had to be the end of the series and a lost final for them. Team Liquid wasn’t going to give up easily, however. In the following round, they got 2 entries and were 5 to 3 with a mid and A control. What could possibly have happened?  Then, in a matter of seconds and without a single miss, ChrisJ (mousesport’s AWP ace) annihilated the entire Liquid squad. After this defeat, Liquid was nowhere close to a comeback, and mousesports ended up winning Mirage and the tournament, with ChrisJ scoring 100.4 ADR and a 1.65 rating on the decider map. We still can’t believe it’s not in the list of the moments at CS2 that are worth a graffiti.

Main Point: killing the entire enemy team with an AWP in 8 seconds

Tournament: $250,000; ESL One: New York 2018.

Opponent: Liquid

Friberg — Quarterfinals of ESL One: Cologne 2014 (vs. Cloud9)

OMG! Friberg, Are You Kidding Me?

While some Counter-Strike matches are won by luck or circumstance, others are won through pure intelligence and patience. The next legendary moment on our list is the perfect example of the second category. On the deciding map of ESL One: Cologne 2014 quarterfinals, Ninjas in Pyjamas were down 9:7 and had to go in with pistols against their opponents’ full buy. Friberg decided to wait for T’s at the bombsite, but when the enemy team showed up, something unexpected happened. Instead of trying to shoot several enemies from behind (which most players would do), Friberg waited in cold blood until the last seconds of a round when the bomb was about to go down. The Swedish player didn’t leave c9 any chance to win, as planting the bomb takes about 4 seconds, and he denied the attempt with only 4 seconds left till the round’s end. A true classic and one of the CS2 highlights that deserve graffiti all of its own. After this play, NIP’s morale gained a huge boost, and they proceeded to win the map 14:16, going to the semis and then finals and eventually winning the tournament. Moreover, Friberg went on to become the MVP of ESL One: Cologne 2014.

Main Point: holding the trigger to secure the win in a crucial round

Tournament: $250,000; ESL One: Cologne 2014.

Opponent: Cloud9

cadiaN — the Grand Final of ESL Pro League Season 13 (vs. Gambit)

cadiaN the Animal

cadiaN is one of Counter-Strike’s greatest entertainers and anti-heroes, and one of the graffiti-worthy CS2 players if we ever saw one. In the ESL Pro League Season 13 grand final (2021), his team, Heroic, was facing Gambit in a very intense and exhausting game. However, on the 5th map, Heroic gained momentum right away, and although they were considered underdogs in that final, they never gave Gambit a chance.

The way cadiaN has ended the game, it seems, has overshadowed the fact that it was a tough game for both teams, instead leaving the public with an impression that Heroic just stomped Gambit. In the final round, cadiaN found himself in a 1v4 clutch, with only a pistol and no armor to his name. However, he somehow  managed to sneak on the opponents from behind, frag their sniper with a knife, quickly punish the trade attempt, kill the third enemy with a wallbang, and then, in a true predator’s fashion, just rush towards the remaining player to win the final.

Main Point: winning a final in a 1v4 situation with 2hp while fragging with a knife and a wallbang

Tournament: $750,000; ESL Pro League Season 13, 2021.

Opponent: Gambit

s1mple — Group Stage of ESWC 2014 (vs. NiP)

s1mple: Peek Me

s1mple is the GOAT of Counter-Strike, and no list of graffiti-worthy CS2 moments can be complete without mentioning his highlights. Let’s be real, it’s very hard to choose one, as the pro has a whole list of incredible graffiti-worthy plays in CS. However, for this article, let’s stick with one of the s1mple’s first appearances on the big stage. All the way back in 2014, at ESWC, the future star and his HellRaisers faced NiP, an invincible force at the time. Perhaps, when left in a 4v1 versus s1mple, NiP players felt a bit too superior, and decided to peek one by one. However, s1mple grabbed the first 2 kills with AWP, switched to AK, and isolated the 2 remaining foes to win the round. Although neither Sasha nor his team achieved significant results in the tournament, s1mple was happy with that clutch, as with these four kills, he has made a statement that he’s not the one to be underestimated.

Main Point: making a statement in a 1v4 vs. the top team

Tournament: $50,000; ESWC 2014.

Opponent: NiP

NiKo — The Grand Final of PGL Major Stockholm 2021

NiKo — An Absolute Disaster

It’s not only winning plays that create graffiti-worthy moments in Counter-Strike 2. Sometimes, when there’s little room for mistakes, and the pressure gets too much, misplays and their consequences go down in history. You’ve probably already guessed the moment we’re going to talk about. NiKo’s Deagle miss vs. NaVi is a play that is sure to haunt the players’ memories for a long time. Let’s rewind: after losing the first map of a grand final, NiKo and his team G2 utterly dominated the second one, securing themselves a matchpoint. In a round that should have been the final one on nuke, NiKo found himself behind s1mple, and all he had to do was hit a shot with deagle to establish a 2v1 advantage and finish the map. However, for some reason, he missed, and NaVi came back from a 15:12 score to win a major trophy in overtime.

Main Point: missing a simple shot, which costed G2 a major win

Tournament: $2,000,000; PGL Major Stockholm 2021

Opponent: NaVi

Astralis — The Grand Final of ELEAGUE Major 2017

Astalis — Just Rush A

When Astralis took the stage by storm, everyone admitted that they were the next-level team. The sheer professionalism Astralis displayed has set trends for years to come. However, would you believe that their greatest triumph, one of CS2 moments worth graffiti, involved a “yolo” decision? In the last rounds of de_train during the Grand final of ELEAGUE Major 2017, the crowd was so hyped and loud that players could barely hear each other or the in-game sounds. So, having a 1 round advantage (15:14), the team came up with an outrageous idea — simple go rush A. And guess what? In 30 seconds, they became the major champions for the first time, marking the beginning of the Astralis era in competitive CS2.

Main Point: winning the major with a “yolo” strat

Tournament: $1,000,000; ELEAGUE Major 2017

Opponent: VP

Jame — PGL Major Copenhagen 2024

Jame — Unluko

Last (but certainly not least) of our top CS2 moments that deserve graffiti is a tribute to Valve themselves, specifically to their negligence. During the first CS2 major in Copenhagen, in an elimination match of VP vs G2, VP’s captain and sniper, Jame, was left speechless as his game simply crashed. What’s more, this happened during the most important round of the second map. If it had not been for the crash, VP would have probably closed the game at 2:0 and proceeded to the semis; but in this timeline they never made it, eliminated by G2.

This is how fans envision “Jame’s crash” graffiti could look like.

Main Point: CS crashes mid-game during a crucial round in elimination game

Tournament: $1,250,000; PGL Major Copenhagen 2024

Teams: VP vs. G2