Sometimes old rankings look more interesting than any retrospective. In July 2014, Finn “karrigan” Andersen and Jake “Boaster” Howlett ended up next to each other in the monthly ESEA ranking, where they were fighting for prizes from ZOWIE. Twelve years later, one became one of the most well-known captains in Counter-Strike, while the other built a championship career already in VALORANT.
karrigan and Boaster were next to each other back in 2014
In the ESEA EU results for July 2014, karrigan took first place among CS:GO players with an RWS of 17.11. Right behind him, with a result of 16.75, was Boaster. Both received prizes from ZOWIE for their positions in the ranking.
This looks especially interesting now, when both nicknames are primarily associated with leadership at the highest level. Back then, it was an ordinary monthly matchmaking ranking, and the future scale of their careers was practically impossible to predict.
karrigan stayed in Counter-Strike
For karrigan, that ranking was only a small episode in a career that later stretched across several generations of Counter-Strike. The Dane became one of the most recognizable IGLs on the scene, working with different international rosters and regularly returning to the fight for the biggest trophies.
The strongest trait of his career is precisely longevity. From old CS:GO to modern CS2, he has remained relevant at the top level, and his name has long been associated not with personal RWS numbers, but with building teams and playing on big arenas.
Boaster took a completely different path
Boaster’s career developed differently. After years in Counter-Strike, he moved to VALORANT, where he became the captain of Fnatic and gradually turned into one of the most well-known IGLs in the discipline.
It was there that the Brit achieved the main successes of his career, won international tournaments, and established himself among the most successful professional VALORANT players. As a result, two participants of one old ranking took different paths, but both eventually reached the top in their disciplines.
Back then, the main prize was peripherals
The context of the old post makes the story even more interesting. In 2014, it was not about huge prize pools or international LAN finals — the best players of the monthly ranking received prizes from ZOWIE, while random winners were given ESEA Points.
Against this background, what karrigan and Boaster achieved later looks especially contrasting. What was once ordinary grinding for a place in the matchmaking table and peripherals became, for both of them, only one of the early episodes before a much bigger professional career.
One ranking — two great careers
This story is interesting not because the old ESEA ranking predicted anything. On the contrary, it shows how unpredictable the path of a professional player can be: karrigan stayed in Counter-Strike, while Boaster eventually found his main success in a completely different game.
Twelve years later, both can already be mentioned among the most notable captains of their disciplines. And the archived post from July 2014 left a funny moment in history, where the future leaders of top teams were simply standing next to each other in the ranking and fighting for prizes from ZOWIE.
