Top 20 players of 2021: Twistzz (17)

Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken secures 17th place on the Top 20 players ranking of 2021, powered by GG.BET, thanks to his outstanding overall consistency and play against stacked competition.

Top 20 players of 2021: Introduction

Twistzz's beginnings were similar to others in the North American scene, as he worked his way up through the ESEA ranks with smaller teams and also had the chance to improve by playing against the region's best players in FPL. His progression compared to many of his peers was much quicker, however, as within a few months of making his first appearance in HLTV.org records he got to play for his first big organization.

As one of the hottest prospects on the lower-tier scene in the region, the Canadian youngster got the opportunity to join Kory "⁠SEMPHIS⁠" Friesen and Pujan "⁠FNS⁠" Mehta's TSM in early 2016, and with them he was able to hone his craft and gain experience at a fast rate at just 16 years old. Although his young age caused him to miss ELEAGUE Season 1 due to the organizer setting the age requirement at 17, the first international foray came almost immediately for Twistzz, as he made it to the ECS Season 1 Finals shortly after that and challenged some of Europe's greats such as fnatic on the way to his first semi-final appearance on the tier-one level.

Over the following year, Twistzz remained a part of that squad in various versions and awaited his next opportunity. He saw teammate Timothy "⁠autimatic⁠" Ta make the move to Cloud9, and it didn't take long for the Canadian to get the call up to a bigger team, too, in Liquid, which would go on to become Twistzz's home for nearly four years.

In his first year under the new banner, the then-17-year-old proved that he had what it takes to play at this level and more with an impressive 1.15 rating, helping the North American side pick up runners-up finishes at ESG Tour Mykonos and ESL One New York in two of their highlights of 2017. In 2018, he maintained the superb level and achieved a few firsts along the way: His first Major appearance in Atlanta, first title at cs_summit 2, followed by the first playoffs appearance at a Major in London and the first MVP award in a losing grand final battle at ESL One New York. That led to his first top 20 nod as he made the list in 12th place that year.

Twistzz went on to improve on his previous placing as the No. 9 player of 2019 in a year that saw him, Jonathan "⁠EliGE⁠" Jablonowski, and Keith "⁠NAF⁠" Markovic power Liquid to unprecedented success for a North American core. Albeit short, the historic campaign featured five back-to-back titles, a record-breaking Intel Grand Slam Season 2 victory, and a nearly four-month run at No. 1 in the rankings in the middle of the year, with Twistzz earning his second MVP during that streak at IEM Sydney.

The North American side and the Canadian began to slow down in the latter half of 2019, and that carried over to 2020 for them as Liquid took a step backwards from being a stable title contender. In the year plagued by the coronavirus pandemic, Twistzz's consistency faded and his relationship with the rest of the team soured, which led to his departure at the end of the year and marked a new beginning for him as he prepared for a permanent move to Europe.

"I feel that I didn't have a solid opportunity to make the list in 2020. My life was changing a lot and I was in a very uncomfortable team situation that was hurting my confidence and motivation. With that being said I'm happy to make the list this year, I set a bigger goal of wanting to be a top 5 player, and re-entering the top 20 tells me my progression, hard work and commitment are showing."

Although he entered 2021 teamless, Twistzz quickly found his new home just weeks after leaving the North American team as he joined FaZe at the end of January.

"Early January I was asked if I wanted to play with the FaZe, I was searching for a team that had a strong leader, another young star player and most importantly a chance to play positions I believe would suit me."

Still yet to finalize the Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen addition, the European side got to test the waters a bit with the new member, and the Canadian star seemed to click into place immediately. Averaging a 1.15 rating in his first real event with the team at BLAST Premier Spring Groups, Twistzz got to beat his former teammates in Liquid twice to qualify for the finals while also putting up one of his best maps of the year in a losing effort against Natus Vincere — a 1.72 rating in a deciding overtime loss against the world's No. 2 team at the time.

It was then that the former MOUZ in-game leader rejoined his former organization in time for IEM Katowice, with Olof "⁠olofmeister⁠" Kajbjer stepping back from the roster. The move had set lofty expectations, but at first the new FaZe struggled to make things work and went on to bomb out of five consecutive tournaments, at times barely missing out on victories in close series and at others hardly looking competitive at all.

In one of the latter examples, the IEM Katowice run saw the European-majority team win just one in three series, against an OG side that was about to make changes, while failing to turn up in one-sided matches facing Liquid and FURIA. It was one of the rare tournaments throughout the year where Twistzz wasn't able to hit his mark consistently, with disappearances in the two losses offset only by a standout performance in the sole victory.

While FaZe searched for the right setup, Twistzz was their highest-rated player at all of the first four events. He bolstered his resumé at ESL Pro League Season 13 and at DreamHack Masters Spring despite being eliminated early each time, showcasing his consistency at the former event in particular where he stood out with the highest KAST out of anyone, 76.8%, and put up impressive stats overall across five group stage series (1.23 rating, 81.4 ADR).

"My role is much more active in FaZe and it's exactly what I wanted, I'm in all of the info gathering spots that have a lot of action and given that I'm a native English speaker in an international team, I think my communication is important and helps the team greatly. Throughout the year, we had a long period of not seeing any results or even a win against a notable team so of course, we would move certain positions around until we found a formula that worked."

Two dips into the red followed, the 22-year-old's only two of the year, in Flashpoint 3 and in the BLAST Premier Spring Final. Frustratingly close losses to G2, Sprout, and Natus Vincere had FaZe bowing out in the opening stages again, and it was during this period that team decided to bring back olofmeister in lieu of Marcelo "⁠coldzera⁠" David.

"When Karrigan first joined, I think the expectations from the community/fanbase were big, but it's hard to integrate a whole new strat book so fast and it didn't help that the team chemistry didn't mesh as we wanted it to, resulting in Olof stepping back into the team. Shortly after we started playing with Olof again, that's when we started finding form as a team."

After the BLAST disappointment, FaZe had the Gamers Without Borders event to play, which offered them a chance to compete in a more relaxed atmosphere just before they traveled to the most important event of the year so far; the first LAN to take place in over a year at IEM Cologne.

Whether it was the return of olofmeister or the so-called LAN buff, the German event sparked something in FaZe that they had not found before. Spearheaded by an in-form trio of Twistzz, Helvijs "⁠broky⁠" Saukants, and Håvard "⁠rain⁠" Nygaard the European squad breezed through the Play-in stage without losing a map and impressed at the main event with a surprising run to the semi-finals.

Despite losing to Astralis in the opening round in another one of their narrow heartbreaks, FaZe turned their luck around in the lower bracket gauntlet with three consecutive victories, and Twistzz continued his tear with great performances, putting up at least one big map every step of the way. In the playoffs, he added another to his name in a series victory against Gambit, on the opening Ancient where his team came back from a 1-11 start, before the surprising campaign was ultimately halted by the dominant Natus Vincere in the top-four stage.

"It was a combination of factors, the biggest one being that we are finally on LAN again, or at least in a studio environment. We brought Olof back into the lineup shortly before and almost beat NAVI in the BLAST group we had, so technically we were in a small honeymoon period. During the play-in stage we found our most important wins since we came together as a team and with each victory we started to believe in ourselves more. It was the result we badly needed."

The semi-final run remained the highlight of Twistzz's year, with the Canadian earning his sole EVP mention at the tournament, but it was far from his last standout display despite FaZe not being able to replicate their Cologne form in the latter half of the season.

That began with an early exit at ESL Pro League Season 14, where FaZe came out on the wrong end of a three-way tie for second with a 3-2 record in the round robin group, falling short of a spot in the playoffs while the 22-year-old was once again their highest rated player (1.10). Twistzz then fell short of that mark in the BLAST Premier Fall Groups as a result of a rough start to the tournament, but he still helped FaZe ensure their qualification for the Finals as a key player in their victory against OG.

Then came IEM Fall, the second RMR event of the year where the pressure was on for FaZe after they crashed out early from the first at Flashpoint 3. A shaky group stage run featuring a key loss to Fiend meant that karrigan and company wouldn't make it to the playoffs, but they still had the 9th-12th decider bracket to win to secure their spot at the Major, and they did so on the back of a couple of fantastic series from Twistzz against OG and BIG.

Breathing a sigh of relief after making it to PGL Major Stockholm by the skin of their teeth, it was time for FaZe to seize the opportunity and make a grand return to the biggest stage CS:GO has to offer. It was looking great in the Challengers Stage as Twistzz was his consistent self and karrigan stepped up to make it to the next phase undefeated, but while the Canadian continued to put up solid numbers as the Major progressed, the Dane's stunning form faded in the Legends Stage. Big losses to G2 and Copenhagen Flames saw the European side enter do-or-die matches, in which they first took down Liquid before falling to Virtus.pro in the final round, dropping a 10-3 lead on the deciding Inferno, with another narrow loss marking the end of their run in 9th-11th place.

"[Worst memory?] Failing to make top 8 at the major when we were so close."

As the year was drawing to a close, more close-but-no-cigar moments plagued FaZe as they placed outside of the top half at both the BLAST Premier Fall Final and at IEM Winter. In Copenhagen, where the team got to play in front of a big crowd for the first time after they didn't make it onto the stage in Stockholm, a series loss to HEROIC in which the scores went 14-16 and 13-16 sent them straight to the lower bracket, where the new Astralis went on to eliminate them.

Upon returning to Stockholm for IEM, an overtime loss to BIG meant that FaZe would have to battle through elimination series immediately again, and after taking their revenge on HEROIC they faltered against Gambit in another grueling match in spite of Twistzz's best efforts to make a triple-overtime Overpass affair go their way.

"I think small mistakes in each important match is what held us back from playoffs. The positive takeaway is that we never lost to the same mistake twice so we were able to keep learning and progressing. At times, I feel that we lacked a third player that could consistently hit hard."

It was another group elimination that closed the year for FaZe on a sour note. It was another close loss that they had to stomach, just before leaving for the winter break with hopes of turning their fortunes around once they start playing with their newest addition and big firepower upgrade in Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool when competition resumes.

"[My goals for 2022 are to] win trophies and continue working towards that goal of being a top five player. With ropz on the team, we can be that title contender consistently. It may not be in a month, but we will get there."

Why was Twistzz the 17th best player of 2021?

After missing out on a place on the list in 2020, Twistzz makes his return to the top 20 ranking following a year that saw him take his place as the clear star inside the struggling FaZe squad right off the bat and continue to put up solid numbers with outstanding consistency throughout the year.

His 72.7% KAST, the 13th highest of all players considered, helps showcase the 22-year-old's stable contribution round-to-round over the course of 2021, and the fact that he only recorded one event significantly below a 1.00 rating also speaks to his reliability from tournament to tournament.

"The main takeaways from my first year on an EU team would be initiative (playstyle wise) and being direct in my communication. Before joining FaZe I forgot what a healthy environment looked like, this team has a very positive aura around it at all times and people enjoy the presence of each other. This team makes me enjoy working every day and whenever we have a break I miss playing/spending time with them."

Another way in which Twistzz stood out was his play at the events featuring the most stacked competition, sporting a 1.11 rating at the 'Elite' tournaments (14th highest) in large part thanks to his high peaks at IEM Cologne, BLAST Premier Fall Final, and IEM Winter. With solid performances at PGL Major Stockholm and at a few important non-elite events such as the two ESL Pro League seasons to boot, as well as a 1.12 rating against top 20 teams showing that he often turned up against the world's best, the Canadian star ensured his placing on the list.

While it didn't affect his placing but is still worth noting as a unique playstyle trait that Twistzz has made his trademark ever since he first burst onto the scene, he belonged to one of the best aimers yet again, recording the most headshots per round for the fourth consecutive year in 2021 (0.46, joint #1). He was also an exceptional trade-fragger (0.16 trade kills per round, #6) and a fantastic defensive player (1.26 CT side rating, #6).

"There is always more I can do as a player. It's not possible to look at this number and say I'm satisfied, but when I compare it to last year, I can be proud to be back on the list because it is a small victory. In my first year in an international EU team, I played completely new positions, an entirely different role and played against the hardest competition the entire year. If we had one more deep run I think my rank would be different here and it's time to do even better next year."

Meanwhile, the biggest drawback of his year was the fact that he only got to play in the playoffs stages once, at IEM Cologne. The distinct lack of big-match performances on Twistzz's resumé compared to many of his peers on the list played a big part in him not being able to place higher than 17th.

Bold prediction by GG.BET

A traditional feature of the Top 20 players ranking series, the bold prediction by GG.BET segment returns in 2021 as players pick out one name from young up-and-comers who they think could make it big in the near future.

Like his teammate broky, Twistzz gave the nod to MOUZ NXT's star rifler, 17-year-old Dorian "⁠xertioN⁠" Berman, saying the Israeli youngster deserves to follow in Ádám "⁠torzsi⁠" Torzsás's footsteps and get promoted to the main roster. "It's difficult to pick when you don't keep track of the lower tier games, but from watching the academy games I'd have to say xertioN, I think he also deserves the upgrade to the main MOUZ team," Twistzz said.

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Stay tuned to our Top 20 players of 2021 ranking and take a look at the Introduction article to learn more about how the players were selected. This year's ranking is supported by:

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