TL;DR: Just click on heads to win 4Head
If you're too lazy to read, just watch this video
Introduction
Hey everyone, how’s it going? My name is vizioN and today I will be taking a look at why crosshair placement matters and how it can improve your probability of eliminating enemies.
Aim is more than just flicks and recoil control. Crosshair placement is a key component for good aim. Off the top of my head, here are some professional CS:GO players who have the best aim mechanics, along with crosshair placement. It’s no coincidence their crosshair placement leads to a higher headshot percentage (Note: I did not include s1mple, ZywOo, or device as they are hybrids).
Analysis
| Players | HS% (vs top 50 opponents) | HLTV rating (alltime) |
|---|---|---|
| XANTARES | 53.4% | 1.22 |
| NiKo | 50.3% | 1.15 |
| ropz | 51.9% | 1.14 |
| Twistzz | 62.2% | 1.13 |
| coldzera | 49.5% | 1.15 |
| electronic | 51% | 1.10 |
| rain | 56.5% | 1.04 |
| Brehze | 52.1% | 1.10 |
| jks | 53% | 1.07 |
| EliGE | 48.9% | 1.08 |
| Magisk | 47.6% | 1.09 |
Here are the headshot percentages of a few of the top performers of 2020 along with some of the upcoming young talents.
| Players | HS% (vs top 50 opponents) | HLTV rating (2020) |
|---|---|---|
| huNter- | 53.9% | 1.13 |
| blameF | 40.8% | 1.23 |
| k0nfig | 55.4% | 1.12 |
| KSCERATO | 47.2% | 1.15 |
| mir | 52.3% | 1.21 |
| YEKINDAR | 62.2% | 1.17 |
| floppy | 51% | 1.12 |
| Bymas | 51.8% | 0.96 |
| Grim | 52.6% | 1.15 |
| Ax1Le | 51.9% | 1.18 |
| Xeppa | 55.8% | 1.19 |
| leaf | 52.1 | 1.15 |
Example 1:
Let’s start off with one of the most absurd clutches from 2020. NiKo is in a 1v1 against Lekr0 with 16hp. Lekr0 throws a HE grenade, giving away his position. Anticipating his movement, NiKo pre-aims for Lekr0’s peak (just kidding). NiKo places his crosshair at head level so that he can easily dome Lekr0 in the head when he walks into the crosshair. Also, note how Lekr0 is peeking from the left side which puts him at a disadvantage. NiKo will see Lekr0 first due to the right eye advantage. (Note: For all you guys looking to improve, check out this video on right eye advantage. It changed the way how I approached the game and greatly improved my XANTARESPEEK)
Example 2:
Recently, Vitality faced off against coL at BLAST’s 2020 edition of the Premier Fall Series. ZywOo won a 1v4 against coL and in this clip, Shox is stuck behind silo and is about to face two coL players from each side. He does a great job of isolating poizon. He easily kills poizon but his crosshair is off as he adjusts to RUSH. Notice how it's on the floor? As a result, Shox has to micro-adjust, over compensates, and dies.
Example 3:
XANTARES is one of the most talented aimers to have graced CS:GO. His notorious aim has left enemies trembling leaving behind bodies in his wake, along with this piece of gold. In this clip, XANTARES is hiding in a smoke. Notice how XANTATRES' crosshair was at head level even when he was hiding in the smoke? He easily kills H4RR3 and NaTo before they have any chance to react. To finish off the clip, he gets a VAC kill on cromen. Unlike Shox, XANTARES’ adjustment was near head level and not the floor. Although his micro-adjustment was off by a few pixels, he still kills cromen with excellent spray control.
Example 4:
JaCkz is often praised for having great mechanical skills (59.7 HS% in 2020). However, the 28 year old was recently dropped from G2 in favour of NiKo. In this match vs VP, JaCkz is leading the retake with his crosshair no where near AdreN’s head. JaCkz ends up killing two VP players during the retake thanks to AdreN’s grandpa reaction time. On the other side of the post-plant, buster is left in a 1v2 against kennyS and AmaNEk. Holding the peek from G2, his crosshair is a few pixels higher Had he shot, buster would've missed kennyS’ head. (Note: kennyS does have the peekers’ advantage as he is peeking from the right)
Example 5:
NiKo is back once again for this example. Dude’s just the poster child of amazing crosshair placement isn’t he huh. During a match vs Mouz, NiKo single-handedly decimates Mouz’ 5v3 advantage and wins FaZe the round with some insane trigger discipline and crosshair placement. NiKo manages to sneak past frozen. Notice how NiKo’s crosshair is not on frozen but it’s still at head level? NiKo clears hell and his crosshair is still at head level. His crosshair is on level with Olofmeister’s head, who is at upper ramp. After killing frozen and w0xic, NiKo preaims lower ramp even though Olofmeister just cleared ramp. NiKo will always keep his crosshair at places where enemies could potentially be. This separates him from the other and is why he is one of the best CS:GO players.
Example 6:
In this example, friberg is holding the peek from HAVU. Although he does hold for a wide peek, his crosshair placement is off by a few pixels. However, slow reaction time and messy recoil control leads to his demise. Friberg dies before landing a shot on any of the HAVU players, giving way into the lower bomb site.
Here is the full album of images used
Conclusion
click on heads to get gud
p.s. wear your mask please or else XANTARES will peek you
