Top 20 of 2023 – here are the best players in UO this year

Here we go again! Another year has come to it’s end. During 2023 we saw two majors take place, just as in 2022. We also enjoyed a League during the summer that ended with a very competitive final four.

• 13 february-22 may: Spring Cup 2023.
• 4 may-18 september: Summer League.
• 11 september-Still ongoing: Fall Cup 2023.

I have gathered the data from the two major cups to put together another yearly player ranking. The League data was not saved because of a big amount of mixing and in general the tournament not reaching the same kind of competition as the majors. But in cases where two players have been close to each other in the ranking, I have taken team performance and also individual performance in League into consideration. To be on the list you must have played at least 300 rounds.

As per usual strong performances in important games and playoff is valued higher. The success your team has had also plays a big part, especially if you had a big impact in leading your team.

Different type of roles are also being taken into account, although support roles are not as clear in UO as in other titles.

Last but not least it also comes down to my own gut feeling and preferences of watching players in action.

But enough with the babble. Here comes the third season of CoD UO’s own yearly ranking. 

I give you the top 20 of 2023:

#20 Windje, Dreamteam (NEW!)

Total: 1.59 (#42).

KPR: 0.68 (#36).

KDR: 0.91 (#43).

”The last few spots was tricky this year seeing as the tier system where the best teams play more or less only against each other means there are almost no ”boost games”. So for the first time a player with a negative K/D will be in the top20 ranking. Individually Windje have seen better years, statistically, but it’s undeniable to see that Dreamteam had huge success since he got a more active role in the lineup. He had gamewinning performance on the deciding map in Spring Cup 2023, helped DT cruise to their League title and was also an important piece in Fall Cup 2023. As a player Windje is by no means the most impactful player in the team round after round. But he contributes by opening up the map and acting like a joker that paves the way for his teammates to truly shine. In the end I picked between Windje and norberto for this last spot, and the dutch player draw the longest straw this time mainly thanks to how his performance have lead to bigger success for his team – even if norberto is a statistically better player.

#19 skz, TMO/MoD (-4)

Total: 1.73 (#30).

KPR: 0.70 (#33).

KDR: 1.03 (#24).

”The frenchmen is in the top 20-list for the second year in a row, but the first full year playing only tier 1-UO. It’s been a bit up and down for skz and he has missed some crucial games, sometimes because of bans, sometimes because of not being available. It’s therefor once again hard to truly know where to place skz. But although his stats over the year isn’t amazing, the performance in Fall Cup went a bit under the radar and he was among the 15 best players. That performance is enough for him to take one of the last spots.”

#18 Nervvvv, TMO/MoD (NEW!)

Total: 1.74 (#29).

KPR: 0.74 (#21).

KDR: 0.99 (#32).

”Another guy having more deaths then kills this year. Yet it’s difficult to not place Nervvvv in this years list. In his best moments he is one of the absolute top players of the game, but his lows are also quite deep. It feels like Nervvvv is 1-2 full majors away from losing some of that UO rustiness that shows from time to time. This year he has been a significantly better player once it really matters. His playoff stats in Fall Cup was 2.15, which can compare to 1.28 in groupstage. And this is more or less playing against same opponents. To me that shows it’s very much about what maps he plays, and what side he woke up on. It’s not a matter of the competition being too tough, but rather some maps being difficult to adapt to. As a player I respect his fearless style and very perfect aim. Few guys can so confidently walk around the map and trust to hit his shots like Nervvvv.”

#17 King, e9 (NEW!)

Total: 1.80 (#23).

KPR: 0.78 (#15).

KDR: 1.02 (#26).

”Incredible Spring Cup, awful Fall Cup. Despite that this year must be seen as a big step forward for the slovenian who has turned into quite a reliable carry for e9. Especially impressive was his performance when e9 beat FRS in Spring Cup playoff to seal one of the biggest upset wins in UO history. King has been very flexible and enjoyed both new mods and maps. His BAR is incredibly strong and not least on xp_hanoi. Especially deadly in short-mid distances with spray. Funnily enough also seem to improve when playing on his laptop then on better setups. Hopefully he can find a consistent lineup to play with since a lot of effort is put every cup to find new teammates, which also means he individually have to adapt a lot.”

#16 dietchi, FRS (+1)

Total: 1.71 (#32).

KPR: 0.71 (#27).

KDR: 1.00 (#31).

”A slightly worse year statistically. But still had some vintage highlights over the year. Winning a 1v5, including a defuse, vs MoD on xp_hanoi is one of the crazier rounds i have ever seen – even if it didn’t lead to a map win in the end. Some of the playoff games in Fall Cup he also reached some of his best form ever since … well ever since FRS won a cup last time. Dietchi maintains one of the best players when it comes to raw aim and movements. But it’s harder to rely on that in 2023 then in 2020, so just as for many other players it has been a journey to adapt and tweak positions and gamestyle in a way to make it impactful. What is true though is that when FRS hits their peak it is often propelled by dietchi being a monster in the entry duels.”

#15 Ace, FRS (-2)

Total: 1.76 (#26).

KPR: 0.73 (#25).

KDR: 1.03 (#25).

”A few steps back from last year, despite winning his first ever major cup. Mainly it’s because of him sitting out the first major of the year and therefor having a relatively small sample size. He was solid during Fall Cup, although it should be said that FRS was more of a team machine that cup, rather then individuals showing brilliance. Ace taking a small step back in fragging didn’t hurt the team much though. He is still one of the best duelers in the game and very gruesome to play against.”

#14 marchello, abearth (NEW!)

Total: 2.09 (#8).

KPR: 0.83 (#10).

KDR: 1.26 (#6).

”So. Abearth missing A-playoff in the latest major cup is one of the biggest failures since Reborn. And ofcourse that is something that also effects the ranking of the teams brightest star. Having that said abearth also showed one of it’s best form in the league during summer. And in that competition marchello was the huge carry that made sure abearth won a map against more or less every tier 1 team in the scene. I’ve already written a lot of praise for marchello this year, but if I were to turn the table I would say that what he is missing is strong performances when his team needs him the most to pull upsets against the best teams. Vs tier 2 and 3 he is an absolute monster, and I know his skill is more then good enough to make damage in tier 1, it just haven’t shown enough yet. In that sense no matter performance in the coming B-final will change his rank, it is in the tier 1-games we need to see more.

#13 hottex, lOwzZ/Paranoia (NEW!)

Total: 2.12 (#6).

KPR: 0.85 (#8).

KDR: 1.27 (#5).

”One of the statistically strongest players this year. Last year he and rptr was an equally performing duo of lOwzZ but now it feels like hottex has taken that next step to be the bigger carry of the squad. Quite an unpredictable player, but also someone that sometimes seem to play a bit more for his own score then the teams best. If there was a statistic for ”last man alive” I could pay good money to bet on hottex being at the top of the category. Having that said it’s not only empty exitfrags. He can pull of clutches, and also be very impactful mid-round. Much thanks to a very flexible skillset where both spray and rifle on different distances is something he handles with great success.”

#12 Gerlo, Dreamteam (+6)

Total: 2.00 (#10).

KPR: 0.84 (#9).

KDR: 1.15 (#12).

”Only played one full cup, but still climbed a whooping six spots in this years ranking. Is Gerlo at his best when he doesn’t play very much? Nah I wouldn’t say so, but his Spring Cup performance, that finally saw him win his first cup – 19 years after the game was released – was allstar worthy. Gerlo managed to find a sweet spot behind Don as a very impactful player that didn’t need to be relied upon to finish rounds. He could use his gamesense and aggressive style to cut through the enemies defense like a hot knife in butter. When he topped that with some vintage spray control it’s easy to understand that a lot of Dreamteams success that cup was thanks to the veteran finding good old form.”

#11 Anglhz, ETC/Project Icarus (NEW!)

Total: 2.43 (#1).

KPR: 0.93 (#1).

KDR: 1.49 (#1).

”Our Epixor of the year I guess. Number 1 in all categories, but barely played tier 1. Anglhz has clearly been the best tier 2, and lower, player of the year. Especially ripping Fall Cup apart. But where that puts him in a tier 1 context is hard to say. The swede is definitely a fragging machine and one of the better riflers in the scene. Extremely confident in his own ability. We are eager to see him play with a team that wrestles with the best a few more times during a year.”

#10 jo_ozus, e9 (NEW!)

Total: 2.10 (#7).

KPR: 0.88 (#4).

KDR: 1.22 (#10).

”Perhaps the guy that went most under the radar this year. The vcod brit have been amazing in both cups for e9. While King was mostly getting attention in the first cup of the year, it’s worth mentioning that jo_ozus was just as good, and compared to King he managed to mostly maintain that level during Fall Cup aswell. jo_ozus is a remarkable fragger that is really scary to duel. A highlight of the year was a 1v5 on uo_dawnville vs FRS that propelled an incredible upset for e9. For a higher ranking jo_ozus had needed to play some more games in the later stages of the cups, but let’s hope we haven’t seen the last of him in UO.”

#9 STVNO, TcfC (-4)

Total: 1.85 (#18).

KPR: 0.78 (#13).

KDR: 1.07 (#19).

”Ages like a fine old wine and rarely dissapoints. However this year was tough for TcfC. The hungarians went from three straight major titles, to hit rock bottom with a 5-6th placement in Spring Cup and then missing Grand final in Fall Cup. STVNO had an alltime low tournament when his team crashed in Spring Cup, but recovered more then fine in Fall Cup where he was TcfC’s best player in the playoff. Still it’s quite some steps back this year for Pista, but there is no reason to fear for the future. He has consistently been one of the top 1-2 players of his teams since 2006 and I doubt anything will change before the day UO dies.”

#8 BASSIE, Dreamteam (NEW!)

Total: 1.76 (#25).

KPR: 0.69 (#34).

KDR: 1.08 (#18).

”It’s been quite a journey for Bassie going from being a very dangerous fragger and carry, to taking great responsibility as captain with a much more supportive role. And the reward has been a fantastic year for his team. What stands out for Bassie is his low amount of deaths. He is one of the hardest players to kill and have similar stats to a guy like TjEEEBi in that category. On the other hand he also doesn’t have a massive amount of frags himself, so you could look at it as Bassie playing a quite passive gamestyle. Anyone who has watched him play though, for example A-house on Carentan, knows that he is not a guy that hides away from action. He is a very tricky player to play against, and not least very smart, which shows in how efficient his style is when it comes to putting his team in favorable positions during a round. In short; a player that has given his team a lot more bang for the buck then his stats shows.”

#7 xratEd, FRS (-1)

Total: 1.88 (#16).

KPR: 0.78 (#14).

KDR: 1.10 (#15).

”Individually we haven’t heard the same roar from the dane this year. That doesn’t mean he played worse though. Again it’s been a year for most FRS players where the teamgame have been much stronger then their individual game, and same goes for xratEd. Regardless of that he have put up good numbers and been an important engine, not least with making very roundwinning plays both in terms of entries and plants. When FRS recently won their first major in more then two years, xratEd was the second best player on the server.”

#6 archiMedes, Dreamteam (NEW!)

Total: 1.91 (#13).

KPR: 0.76 (#20).

KDR: 1.16 (#11).

”Can we call archiMedes underrated in 2023? I mean this is a guy reaching allstar teams already in 2010. But yeah I would say so. In my eyes archiMedes performance is one of the most impressive this year, especially since I consider him a pure teamplayer and a support player. Noone is as loyal at following his designated role, or sticking to the script, as archi. In that sense he reminds me of cartz, but with a much higher damage output. Archi does the most dirty work in Dreamteam. Plants, defuses and shuts down his spots, regardless if that’s being an anchor on a site or holding a crossfire to a teammate. On top of that he is not a shabby entry fragger either. Not a flashy player, but a super smart and efficient one.”

#5 L1mewax, TcfC (-4)

Total: 2.09 (#9).

KPR: 0.86 (#6).

KDR: 1.24 (#8).

”Nope. There won’t be three consecutive POY-awards for L1mewax. And just as for his team, his stats have taken quite a hit. If you ask any team about a player they don’t wanna play against, L1mewax will be on top of their list, but statistically that’s not been exactly the truth in 2023. Surely he has been effected by the team playing worse, but individually the edge isn’t quite there either. When TcfC got eliminated a few weeks ago from Fall Cup he got dominated by Don in the sniper battle on uo_powcamp and that was a figurative moment of who is on top of the throne right now. But never count L1mewax out. Noone would be surprised to see him on top in 2024.”

#4 r3ziner, TMO/MoD (NEW!)

Total: 2.13 (#5).

KPR: 0.88 (#5).

KDR: 1.25 (#7).

”The rocketman of the year is r3ziner who clearly evolved into the carry and star of TMO/MoD. He was incredible in Spring Cup when TMO reached top 3 for the first time in a UO cup, and followed it up with a good, although not equally good, performance in Fall Cup. The main evolution of r3ziners game is that his consistency is a lot higher, and that his ceiling is ridiculous high. What he is missing to reach even higher on the list is partly even greater team success, but also he still got a few weaknesses on certain, more UO-style, maps that at times gets exposed.”

#3 KarmA, fatality/Dreamteam (+1)

Total: 2.22 (#4).

KPR: 0.89 (#2).

KDR: 1.33 (#4).

”Another great year for KarmA that now cemented his positions as one of the games greatest players. He managed the transition to a more well-rounded Dreamteam without any problems and showed he could carry the best team in the game aswell. Over a full year though his teams have had less success then the two players above him. He played with fatality in the first major of the year, MoD in the Summer League and then DT in second major of the year. Missing out on both UB final and Grand final in that cup also makes his performance harder to truly judge. Overall though he got the same stats as the guys above him, and he is also a stronger fragger.”

#2 TjEEEBi, FRS (+/- 0)

Total: 2.22 (#2).

KPR: 0.85 (#7).

KDR: 1.37 (#2).

”This tradition is not a pleasant one, but it’s impossible to avoid it. Just like the two past years TjEEEBi falls on the finish line. Seeing as FRS have only been the second best team all these years, i guess it’s also logical their best player have been second best individually. What might sting a bit is that TjEEEBi have had a much more consistent, and better, year then 2022. As a matter of fact he has never before been such a strong fragger as in 2023. Although I like to point out that FRS have been a team-machine this year, another angle an outsider could make when looking at the stats is that TjEEEBi have hard-carried the team. Him having a great impact of the teams results, also this year, is undeniable. The MVP-award in Fall Cup where he was the best player in the Grand final is proof of that.”

#1 Don, Dreamteam (+2)

Total: 2.22 (#3).

KPR: 0.88 (#3).

KDR: 1.34 (#3).

”What a year for the dutchmen, winning almost everything he could win and taking that last step into becoming the best player in the scene. Some players you can just watch play a few rounds and then point out ”this is a great player”. Don is one of them. Excellent movements. Excellent aim. Excellent variety of tempo he can use. Entryfragger, clutcher, multikills, rifler, sprayer, sniper … put him in any role with any gun and he will excel. And then I didn’t even mention his reactions. Many guys are quick on the release. Noone is faster then Don. It was ever so close this year between #1 and #2. They both have same stats, same amount of MVP’s, same major results. But what in the end separates them is that Don won the Summer League and had a strong final four, while TjEEEBi didn’t make the final. This was Dons year and if he keeps going like this Dreamteam will always be a contender to win titles.”

Last years ranking:

1. L1mewax.
2. TjEEEBi.
3. Don.
4. KarmA.
5. STVNO.
6. xratEd.
7. coldiii.
8. Hatcheriii.
9. cubzyae.
10. EPIXOR.
11. NESTLE.
12. norberto.
13. Ace.
14. RnDll.
15. skz.
16. cartz.
17. dietchi.
18. Gerlo.
19. kikiii.
20. Messy.