HLTV names 10 nominees for 2026 Hall of Fame class

HLTV has nominated 10 players for its 2026 Hall of Fame class. Four will be inducted at the HLTV Awards in Belgrade, Serbia, on Jan. 9, 2027.

The first-time nominees are Filip “NEO” Kubski and Ronald “Rambo” Kim. Returning nominees are Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen, Ola “elemeNt” Moum, Keun-Chul “solo” Kang, Abdisamad “SpawN” Mohamed, Jorgen “XeqtR” Johannessen, Danny “fRoD” Montaner, Kenny “kennyS” Schrub and Kyle “Ksharp” Miller.

NEO became eligible after the Hall of Fame repealed the rule that had prevented his nomination. He was voted Player of the Decade for the 2000s and became the first Polish player to reach HLTV’s annual top 20, placing seventh in 2010. He was named the best player of 2011 in the pre-CS:GO era and won the World Cyber Games three times, the Electronic Sports World Cup twice and the IEM World Championship twice.

In CS:GO, NEO won a Major and two MVP awards, with 11 notable event trophies as a player. He has since won four trophies as a coach. Rambo was a leading North American player in the early years of Counter-Strike. He helped X3 and Team 3D win two Cyberathlete Professional League titles and two World Cyber Games gold medals before coaching MVP, compLexity and Cloud9.

Dupreeh is on the ballot for the second time. He won 32 notable events, including five Majors, and attended all 19 CS:GO Majors. He appeared in the annual top 20 seven times and was part of Astralis’ championship period from 2017 to 2019.

ElemeNt won top-level events with several teams and was part of NoA, one of Counter-Strike’s first international lineups. Solo helped project_kr reach the WEG Season 3 final in 2005 and won the 2010 World Esports Masters with WeMade FOX. SpawN played for early Ninjas in Pyjamas and SK Gaming lineups with Hall of Famers Emil “HeatoN” Christensen and Tommy “Potti” Ingemarsson.

XeqtR was known for his tactical leadership and played with HeatoN and Potti during Counter-Strike’s early competitive period. fRoD became one of North America’s leading AWPers and helped compLexity win ESWC 2005. Ksharp helped X3 and Team 3D win two WCG gold medals, one WCG silver medal and two CPL titles.

KennyS recorded 10 MVP awards and appeared in the annual top 20 five times. His aggressive AWPing and fast reactions defined much of his career. He, fRoD and Ksharp are each on the ballot for the third time.

The four inductees will join the 2024 class of Potti, HeatoN, Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg and Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund, along with the 2025 class of Yegor “markeloff” Markelov, Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer and Raphael “cogu” Camargo.

Each inductee will receive a ceremony at the HLTV Awards, a Rolex watch with a Hall of Fame inscription, a player profile, a listing on the Hall of Fame page, and an article and video about their career. The selection committee included players, talent, journalists and industry representatives from several regions.

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Reviewed and fact-checked by Alex Panasenko on November 5.