Twistzz named HLTV's #20 player of 2023

As is yearly tradition, HLTV has begun the countdown from #20 to #1 of the best players of 2023. This year, Canada's very own Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken has taken the #20 spot in the world, securing a North American representative in the Top 20.

Twistzz put in magnificent work this year, even before FaZe's dominant start to CS2. Early in the year, FaZe stormed through ESL Pro League Season 17 to clinch the final berth for the Intel Grand Slam, with Twistzz becoming the only player with two Grand Slam ingots to his name. Despite not receiving the MVP at EPL 17, Twistzz was an integral part of FaZe's strong form, putting up a massive 1.20 rating over the course of the event. Across 2023's Big Events, Twistzz compiled a 1.08 rating, a strong performance given his "support" moniker.

This is, of course, punctuated by FaZe's extreme dominance with the release of CS2, picking up victories at IEM Sydney, Thunderpick World Championship 2023, and CS Asia Championship 2023, where Twistzz put up yet another solid 1.09 rating in those events. In total, Twistzz received 3 Exceptionally Valuable Player (EVP) awards, given to those who performed exceptionally throughout an event, but did not receive the Most Valuable Player award. He earned these three at ESL Pro League Season 17, IEM Sydney, and Thunderpick World Championship 2023.

This is Twistzz's 5th appearance on the HLTV Top 20 list, claiming spots 12, 9, 17, and 11 from 2018 to 2022, not including 2020.