Introduction
Esports have come a long way since the turn of the century. With increased revenue for game companies and massive interest from the general population gaming has become as big as any sport In the world, but a common question remains, who is the god of gaming? And which game did he play?
That’s the question que want to answer today, we want to know who is the better player to ever play any game for a living, the best professional who will go down in history as the best of the best.
It can be quite easy to pin point who the best player in every game is, but in general it can be difficult to compare players from different games and eras so we will try and consider total career earnings, peak ability and longevity in this ranking.
Finally, don’t take the order too seriously from top to bottom these guys are the best of the best, comparing them is the fun part ordering them? Not so much!
Flash (Starcraft: Brood War)
Born, July 15, 1992 Lee Young Ho, better known as “Flash” is a South Korean Brood War player who played Brood War for a long time, and is widely considered the best player to ever play the game professionally.
Flash is known for his amazing defensive ability, decision making and perfect macro and micro control. He is probably the first God of gaming seeing as he emerged as the ultimate player in what was at the time the most intense and competitive game in the world.
Brood War in South Korea was a cultural phenomenon in the late 90s and the early 00s. While the game was critically acclaimed all over the world, the Koreans went beyond reviews and praise, they created an entire structure built around competing in 1v1 matches that went as far as national televised games for everyone to watch.
It’s in this context that Flash made his name as the best player to ever play, boasting a career win rate of over 70% for his entire career, he was unstoppable. His career earnings surpass $500,000 in total which at the time made him the best paid player in the entire world.
Lately Brood War has seen a decline but the game is still alive, Flash is still doing his military service but he is scheduled to come back in 2023 so who knows what the future holds for him?
Device (Counter Strike: Global Offensive)
Nicolai “Device” Reedtz is a Danish professional CS: GO player that has been playing at the highest level since 2014. While CS: GO has many gods what made me include Device ahead of many others with similar achievements is the fact that he can easily add more glory to his legacy in the coming years.
Being only 27 years old at this point means that he still has a lot to do. But even if he didn’t win another event ever, he would still be considered one of the best players to ever play this game. His record speaks for itself: He has won 4 majors, he has been named MVP an astounding 19 times, with a further 2 times Major-MVP.
He took a break for most of 2022, but in 2023 he is planning a comeback and who knows what more he can accomplish. A versatile and consistent player; he has performed in multiple teams in multiple roles and he can play as a rifler and as a AWPer too. Device isn’t married to a single playstyle and has done very well for himself for such a young age.
There are no guarantees about the future but for me Device is the best CS: GO player as of today, that may change in the future though with the amount of talent and the incredible competition that this game creates.
N0tail (Dota2)
Johan “N0tail” Sundstein was born in Denmark in 1993. He started playing MOBAS by playing Heroes of Newerth back when the game launched but he switched to Dota 2 after the beta started.
Back in HoN he started out as a Mid Laner but in Dota 2 he switched to the support position. He is the most decorated Dota 2 player of all time and what made me include him ahead of comparable players like Kuroky and Puppey is the fact that unlike them he managed to win The International two times back to back with the same team. The team that he built and nurtured for years.
While his impact and peak ability are similar to Kuroky and Puppey the fact that he won twice in quick succession makes him a living legend in the Dota 2 scene. If you are wondering what makes him so good in game it’s the fact that he is a creative player that is not afraid to try new things all the time.
This creativity coupled with his leadership abilities makes him the ultimate captain in Dota 2 history and my personal pick for Dota 2 god.
Faker (League of Legends)
Lee Sang-hyeok better known as “Faker” is a South Korean player that is widely considered the best player to ever play League of Legends. Unlike many of the others (except Flash) he has no real rival that can be compared to him.
In terms of peak ability he is right there with having the most insane peaks of all time, together with Bengi they are the only players to have won the World Championship three times but unlike Bengi Faker was the star player.
He has been SKT T1’s star player since 2013 and even today 10 years later he is still considered a top 10 player in the world and very capable of winning another world championship with a bit of luck.
He made an immediate impact upon joining SKT back in the day, quickly benching the starting mid laner and cementing his spot as the best player on the team at only 17 years old.
Unlike many players who specialize in playing a small amount of champions and archetypes Faker played multiple champions of differing classes at a very high level, and even the best players in the world couldn’t keep up with him.
Many of the things you see every mid laner do in every single professional match were first invented by him, and while he is not the best mid laner in 2023 he is still extremely strong and deserves all the praise for being so consistent all these years.
Daigo (Street Fighter)
Another “God” of gaming Daigo Umehara is a Japanese fighting game player that specializes in 2D fighters. Most Japanese media refer to Daigo as “God” or as “The Beast”, he is the oldest player in this list as he was born back in 1981 but even at his age he can still compete at the highest level.
There is absolutely no other player that comes close to daigo in any fighting game series, his longevity, consistency and his peak ability are all higher than any other player active or inactive today.
Daigo started playing fighting games as early as 10 years old, his first games were Street Fighter 2 and King of Fighters. But over the years he has specialized in Capcom games with his most successful games being Street Fighter 2, Street Fighter 3 and Street Fighter IV.
His most iconic moment was in the tournament Evolution 2004, this moment is called “Evo moment 37” in this tournament both Umehara and American player Justin Wong faced off in the loser finals of Evo 2004.
The two players met each other in the loser’s finals of Evo 2004’s Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike tournament. Umehara, playing using the character Ken, was down to his last pixel of vitality and any special attack by Wong’s Chun-Li, even if guarded, could knock Ken out.
Wong attempted to hit his opponent with Chun-Li’s “Super Art” move, forcing Umehara to parry 15 attacks in a very short period of time. Umehara did so successfully and went on to counter a final kick of Chun-Li in mid-air before launching a combo move himself and winning the match.
In the end Daigo didn’t win the tournament but he won our hearts with the “Daigo Parry” becoming a iconic moment in gaming history.
Conclusion
It’s always going to be really hard to just narrow it down to a single person, the “God” of gaming is difficult to pin point. There are so many different genres, games and eras in gaming that it feels dishonest to just pick one and say “he is the best of all time no doubt”.
MOBA’s reward teamplay and creativity but games like RTS and fighting games can be decided by a single second, so it can be impossible to determine which was more dominant Flash or Faker, N0tail or Daigo.
At this point I’m happy to just narrow it down to 5 players but there are plenty more players that are just one win away from featuring on this list, so keep and eye out for your favorite players!