As for many, what tickles my fancy a decent amount is researching and getting myself familiar with young talents, who have the undeniable potential to break through the mold. The selected few, whose game looks different – flawless, easy, satisfying, and most likely – bloody impressive. Over the course of the last couple of years many talents have been able to make their way through the ranks, starting from academies or teams without an organization backing their progress. Players like kyousuke, molodoy, makazze, and even the entire FUT lineup. These are some of the young superstars of the world who were, just mere months ago, stuck in Tier 3 Online competition.
But how does one identify these players way before they show the undeniable skill and potential on display for everyone to see? Well, they get themselves familiar with the doldrums of the Tier 2 & Tier 3 scene. The academies, the volatile teams & projects. And so you don’t have to go through that process, I’ve handpicked two of the most promising inexperienced players to keep a close look at in the following years.
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Egor “ayuki” Ershov (Nuclear TigeRES)
The Nuclear TigeRES have been able to establish themselves as one of the breakthrough Tier 3 teams of the last six months. Gathering consecutive wins over bigger names, playing shar, aggressive, and fearless Counter-Strike, and climbing the rankings rapidly. This team is a true ‘factory for talent’.But unlike my previous prospects article, this time around I won’t be speaking about 18-year-old Ilya ‘flouzer’ Selifonov, but about his newest teammate, and last month’s addition to the lineup – ayuki.
The 18-year-old Russian rifler joined the ranks of the TigeRES at the start of January of 2026, replacing seven years older Feniil ‘Re1GN’ Chekanin. To this author, as to many others, the name of the teenager was a complete enigma at the start of the year. No prior HLTV officials, no prior listed professional teams, almost no information.
However, it turns out that in reality ayuki is not just a sharp shooter, and a complete gamble, but a talent the organization has been developing in its Academy Team for the last two seasons of ESEA Divisions, where the rifler and his teammates are currently standing on a 5W-6L record in ESEA Main. It goes without saying, but his individual prowess has been on showcase on the pugging side of the spectrum as well, where ayuki has been able to get to the №43 spot in the worldwide ELO Leaderboard.
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Across the 81 maps that he’s played so far with the Nuclear TigeRES jersey, ayuki has looked decent. Not spectacular, but solid. He isn’t the flashy entry fragger that flouzer is, but shares the profile of other young ‘lurk stars’. Someone who seems to be pretty intelligent for his lack of experience and age, and has the mechanics to back himself against most teams. However, oftentimes his statistics do not really reflect his individual skill as the lack of experience contributes to the youngster finding himself out of position, and in some uncanny fights.
However, after watching him play against teams like SINNERS & Alliance, I believe this player has the character to be a star. The capabilities to step up, take the initiative, and play fearless Counter-Strike when his team is struggling. A quality that definitely overweights the small mistakes in my book, and the reason behind my pure interest in this young player’s future.
Jason “JBOEN” Boe Nielsen (BIG Academy)
Last but not least, the second and final name on the list of the first “The Youngsters of Tomorrow” column is much more well known, and yet, still deserving of attention. At 20 years of age, JBOEN has been playing professional Counter-Strike for more than three years, after starting his career on Atlantic. From the very early days of his professional career, JBOEN was not necessarily the type of AWP-er to put on the highest of numbers. Averaging a 0.94 rating over the six events he played with Atlantic, he was not one to instantly put himself under the spotlight. However, his potential got spotted by the scouting team of Astralis Talent, which led to the teenager being signed by the notorious Danish organization, where he spent the next ten months of his career.
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This is where the potential would start showing itself. Albeit the lack of consistency, the Dane was still able to show glimpses of his aggressive and flamboyant nature as a player. The occasional map where he would absolutely take over the server was a sign of hope. At that point and time, the best term of description would be ‘volatile’. From zero to hero, and back to zero in the matter of mere maps.
Later on, he would join the likes of another Danish project – Preasy, partnering up with some other talents from the region like Beccie, Equip, and Griller, but also with one of the veterans of the Nordic scene – Asger “AcilioN” Larsen. Under the guidance and captaincy of Acilion, JBOEN would eventually start establishing a level of consistency, defying his previous issues, especially towards the end of his 4-month-long tenure on the team, which led him to becoming the №1 star on his following team – Volt. Volt was the first international team of his career and surprisingly, the conversion towards an international team felt very swift for JBOEN. The opportunity of being a consistent part of the Tier 3 circuit provided him with more playtime and chances to shine, which he took by storm. After averaging a 1.10 rating (1.14 on the T-side and 1.06 on CT) over the course of 87 maps (12 events) on the team, the youngster got himself a spot on BIG Academy’s revamped international roster.
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Since September of 2025, JBOEN has been the main man on the German powerhouse’s academy team. With a rating of 1.22 over the course of 6 tournaments, and a staggering 1.46 rating during BIG Academy’s deep run at the Digital Crusade DraculaN Season 2, where BIG AC would end up playing close series against the likes of ECSTATIC & Zero Tenacity, and taking down HyperSpirit.
Over the course of the last couple of years, JBOEN has progressed immensely. From an inconsistent youngster, who would shotgun AWP, and look a little bit overeager to fight at all costs, to a well-versed player, who can now show a level of intelligence, backing his individual prowess. As opposed to before, now the Dane fulfills his supportive duties on the T-side much more efficiently, but is still a massive threat in the clutch, and on the CT-sides. Well, let’s just say that there are very few AWP-ers on his level that can keep him at bay and make him think twice before providing yet another opening kill, or showing that he is simply better than his opponents.
On top of the balance, mechanical ability, and that special feeling of watching a world class prospect, JBOEN has never been one to crumble under the pressure on LAN. Moreso, he is what one would call “the hypeman” of BIG Academy. An incredibly emotional, passionate, and individually gifted player, who’s already looking like someone to be trusted with an opportunity to play on the next level.
