Celebrate the 4th of July with USA's best highlights of 2024
In celebration of the 4th of July, Dust2.us compiled a Top 5 list of best moments and plays from American players during the year. This means no Canadians from Liquid and no Håkon "hallzerk" Fjærli.
2024 has seen some good results from American teams and players, despite Liquid having lost its USA representatives and Complexity as a brand having undergone a sale, so let's watch some of the best in-server and out-of-server moments from CS2's bald eagles.
#5 Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski - 1vs3 clutch (Complexity v. NAVI - EPL S19)
This won't be the last time EliGE's is featured here, so we'll keep it short. The American rifler has found a new form since the release of CS2 and, while he was already showing out during the game's early days, it was during ESL Pro League Season 19 that he performed at his best, stats-wise.
Here's a 1v3 clutch from the group stage, when Complexity were behind a map against NAVI in a series to decide who would advance to the playoffs in first place of Group D.
#4 Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski - ACE with 1v1 clutch (Complexity v. Virtus.pro - EPL S19)
His highlights from the group stage continued onto the playoffs. After taking the win over NAVI, Complexity faced off against Virtus.pro in the quarterfinals, and EliGE helped the team secure a comfortable 2-0 win to secure a semifinal appearance.
One of his best plays from the whole tournament, without a doubt, was this ACE, as EliGE would kill all five VP players without getting a scratch, and he even topped it off with a 1v1 clutch.
#3 Complexity win ESL Challenger Jönköping
It was the organization's first international LAN trophy since the Counter-Strike 1.6 days and it was amazing to watch this team play in Sweden. Right before the Summer break, Complexity had started to find their rhythm and it started to show, as the team finished EPL S19 in 3rd-4th and managed to win ESL Challenger Jönköping.
The team even suffered a loss during the group stage against ENCE, but that would just be a small stepping stone in order to hoist the LAN trophy. Complexity would beat Falcons 2-0 in the grand final and claim its first international LAN in over 10 years.
#2 Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski - unreal 3K AK-47 spray (Complexity v. HEROIC - PGL Copenhagen Major 2024)
The best players always find a way to play at their best when it matters the most. EliGE embodied that when Complexity needed him to step up during the team's second game of the PGL Copenhagen Major, against HEROIC.
In a double overtime thriller where hallzerk had previously saved his team from eternal doom as they nearly choked a 5v2, EliGE had one of the best CS2 spray downs ever seen, killing three enemies in the process and securing a round lead before taking the win three rounds later.
#1 Jake "Stewie2K" Yip wins IEM Dallas with G2 as a stand-in
You knew it was coming. It's the most American thing ever, winning on home soil, and Stewie2K did it while being a temporary replacement for a Rasmus "HooXi" Nielsen-less G2 squad.
It might now have been his flashiest performance, but we are talking about a player who had been without a team since 2022 and came into the event with little practice with the rest of the squad. He had his moments and helped the G2 carries do their thing. At the end of the day, it only matters if you lift the trophy or not, and Stewie2K has done it again.
