Counter-Strike legend s1mple recently dropped a tier list of pro players, and among those he ranked is one of the biggest names from VALORANT—TenZ.
In a YouTube video by FaZe Clan, s1mple joined his teammates karrigan, rain, frozen, and EliGE to rank players on the classic S-to-F tier list. Each teammate picked 10 player cards for s1mple to judge, and that’s where things got intriguing.
Interestingly, one of rain’s picks was TenZ. Despite TenZ being primarily known for his VALORANT career and having long stepped away from professional Counter-Strike, s1mple placed him between C and D tier. At first, TenZ was above stewie2k, a Major and Intel Grand Slam winner.
“You’re putting him high up there,” EliGE said, surprised. “Higher than stewie?” rain added, as the rest of the squad started chiming in. “Stewie died for this?” frozen joked.
S1mple then nudged stewie2k up to C-tier, just a little above TenZ. But later, when it was time to rank coldzera, s1mple changed his mind again, moving stewie below TenZ. “Oh, you just suddenly moved stewie down. And stewie landed under TenZ anyway,” karrigan laughed.
It might sound like a hot take, but s1mple had a clear reason behind it. At the start of the video, he clarified that his tier list was based on current form. Later on, he explained that TenZ’s sharp aim is what earned him a relatively high ranking, above even CS legends like olofmeister and cadiaN.
And honestly, the reasoning holds up. TenZ has built a reputation in VALORANT for his pinpoint accuracy and mechanical skill. Plus, he still streams CS2 occasionally, where he continues to show flashes of that same elite-level precision.
As for the rest of the list, s1mple put his FaZe teammates in S-tier, alongside heavyweights like ZywOo, m0NESY, NiKo, and donk (whom he said is an “SS-tier” player). The Ukrainian AWPer placed himself between S and A, admitting that he needs to grind a bit more to return to top form.
FaZe and s1mple are currently battling it out at the CS2 Austin Major, where they’ve already secured a playoff spot thanks to a solid 3-1 showing in Stage 3. S1mple, meanwhile, is looking sharp and making plays that show why he’s still considered the GOAT of Counter-Strike.
You can check out s1mple’s full tier list in FaZe Esports’ video below.
