Number 9 on our list belongs to Marcus "Delpan" Larsson, the player who made the most headlines in 2011 due to his switch from fnatic to SK Gaming. But more importantly, he was one of the best AWPers of the year, the best entry killer and one of the players with the most titles.

Basic information

Player: Marcus "Delpan" Larsson
Team: fnatic, SK Gaming
Age: 22

Team achievements in 2011:

1st - ESWC, IEM5 European Championship Finals, DreamHack Summer, GameGune, IEM6 GC New York, ICSC8, IOL FINAL4, fnatic PLAY #2
2nd - e-Stars Seoul, WCG
3rd - /

Stats from major LAN tournaments in 2011:

Kills per round: 0.75
Deaths per round: 0.61
Rating: 1.15 (?)
Maps played: 94
MoM: 12 times top rated in a match
Best tournament: DreamHack Summer
Best map: de_train
Most notable stats: best entry killer, most AWP kills (723), 2nd best awpKPR (0.30), best rated on de_train (1.39)

Marcus "Delpan" Larsson made his name in late 2009, when his team MYM made it to the final of Global Challenge Dubai and soon after that won DreamHack Winter. Despite of high expectations for the team, they didn't continue in the same manner in 2010 and soon fell apart.

Larsson kept his form up throughout the year though, while spending the second half mostly as a stand-in, culminating when he helped SK to 2nd place at WEM. He established himself as one of the best AWPers in the world, while his overall perfomance granted him the 10th spot on our Top 20 of 2010.

Starting a new adventure in fnatic

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
IEM5 European Championship Finals (1st place)	1.06 (3rd)	-3%
All-Star nomination Best awper (0.31 awpKPR) 4th hardest to kill (0.60 DPR)

At the end of 2010, as fnatic lost three of their players, Marcus "Delpan" Larsson was offered a spot in the team and he was expected to become their main star. His first opportunity to show why he was brought on was at IEM5 European Championship Finals in Kiev.

The Swedish team managed to win the event over the likes of Natus Vincere and mTw, while Larsson despite not being exceptional, still made a big contribution to the team's success as the event's best AWPer. He ended up with a 1.06 rating due to a somewhat inconsistent performance, but he played very well when it mattered most, in the last two maps of the final. In the double overtime match on the second map de_train, he recorded an impressive 33 AWP kills (35:26 score, 1.10 rating), while he also did well in the decider de_inferno with a 21:13 score (1.44 rating).

After the tournament he was nominated for the All-Star lineup, but he ended up barely not making it into the best five of the event.

Delpan against Lions at IEM5 Eu Finals group stage

Winning a 1vs2 with 2hp in the final of IEM5 Europe

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
IEM5 World Championship (Quarter-final)	1.10 (1st)	+10%
All-Star nomination 5th best AWPer (0.26 awpKPR)

At IEM5 World Championship in March, fnatic wasn't able to repeat their previous success as, despite of Larsson playing even better now, they fell to Frag eXecutors in the relegation match.

He ended up as the team's best player with a 1.10 rating and was one of the best AWPers once again, although with a slightly lower 0.26 awpKPR.

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
Xperia PLAY 2011 (Quarter-final)	1.28 (1st)	+13%
All-Star nomination 2nd best AWPer (0.30 awpKPR) 4th most dominant 4th most consistent

The next test for fnatic was Xperia PLAY, but once again they failed to live up to the expectations they set at IEM5 European Finals. A loss to SK in the second group stage set them up with a quarter-final clash against mTw. This time, unlike in Kiev, the Danes came out victorious, ending another fnatic campaign too soon.

Larsson had an excellent display at this event, establishing his status of the team's first star with a 1.28 rating (7th best of all players), playing above team average in 9 of 10 maps. That made him one of the most consistent players at the tournament, while he was also one of the most dominant, and as always great with the AWP.

Delpan's double headshot wallbang at Xperia PLAY

In May, fnatic won one of the few online tournaments in 2011, fnatic PLAY #2, while Larsson was one of the team's three main stars with a 1.34 rating.

This would turn out to be the last tournament for Larsson in the fnatic jersey, as he was soon after called up by SK Gaming and he accepted the offer. His transfer broke the conditions of his contract with fnatic which caused a lot of controversy between the two teams, but in the end he became a part of SK Gaming and there were no visible consequences as of now.

2 AWP rounds in his debut match for SK in ICSC8 online stage

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
DreamHack Summer 2011 (1st place)	1.19 (2nd)	+9%
MVP of the tournament 5th best rating (1.19) 4th best rating in the playoffs (1.20) Best AWPer (0.34 awpKPR) 3rd most consistent 3rd hardest to kill (0.60 DPR)

Before the dust even had time to settle, Larsson made his LAN debut for SK Gaming at DreamHack Summer. He proved that both him and SK made the right move, as the team won their first major title after 10 months, while Larsson also got back to winning ways after two tournaments he ended in the quarter-final.

Moreover, he performed so well that he was voted the MVP of the tournament (although mTw's Martin "trace" Heldt received the official prize by the organizers right after the event). Even though he ended up second best rated in his team, he had a very good 1.19 rating and more importantly, was the player who made the most impact in the final match against mTw.

Similarly to his debut in fnatic and their title-winning campaign, he was once again the best AWPer of the tournament with 0.34 awp kills per round.

Another AWP round in ICSC8 online stage

SK Gaming went to ICSC 8 finals next, where they continued winning, taking the title after defeating Frag eXecutors and Moscow Five. Larsson had a very good 1.15 rating, but seeing as the entire team performed excellent, he was only their 4th best.

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
GameGune 2011 (1st place)	1.37 (1st)	+6%
All-Star nomination Best entry killer 4th best AWPer (0.31 awpKPR)

Things were going great for SK Gaming since Larsson joined and soon they managed to win another major event, GameGune, without losing a match. This time, despite being the team's best rated, Larsson wasn't as influential as before, since he didn't play as well in the playoffs as he did in the group stage.

In his first match of the tournament he made his and the world's record score of the year with 50:8 against an amateur local side club bathory. In addition to that, he was the best entry killer of the tournament, which granted him his 5th All-Star nomination in 5 tournaments.

Delpan's AWP ace against club bathory

Another ace during GameGune, versus Defining Stars

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
e-Stars Seoul 2011 (2nd place)	1.17 (1st)	+10%
MVP nomination Selected for All-Star lineup Most dominant (17x 3+ kills) Most AWP kills (60)

SK Gaming's winning streak came to an end at e-Stars, where Frag eXecutors outplayed them in the final. Still, a 2nd place wasn't a bad result, while Larsson was their most influential player of that campaign.

As the team's shared best with a 1.17 rating and as by far the most dominant player of the event, he earned an MVP nomination for that performance. Additionally, he also shined with the AWP, having the most kills (60) and the second best average (0.33 awpKPR).

That presence of his AWP was particularly felt in one of SK's toughest matches, against Natus Vincere in the Consolidation final, where he recorded 11 kills despite the map being de_nuke, and was the best rated player of the match (24:15 score, 1.52 rating). Even though he later wasn't named the MVP of the tournament, he was selected for the All-Star lineup for his second time.

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
SEC 2011 (Quarter-final)	0.74 (5th)	-27%
5th best AWPer (0.18 awpKPR)

Their next tournament was SEC which took place in Poland at the beginning of October. The team recorded their worst result since Larsson joined the team, firstly losing to eSahara in the group stage, and then to Natus Vincere in the quarter-final.

Larsson inexplicably played far below his standards, recording a horrible 0.74 rating, his worst, and the worst rating among all Top 20 players in major tournaments during 2011. He still was one of the better AWPers at the tournament, although also with his worst average of the year (0.18 awpKPR).

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
IEM6 GC New York (1st place)	1.20 (4th)	-5%
4th best rating (1.20) 2nd best AWPer (0.27 awpKPR) Hardest to kill (0.50 DPR) 3rd best entry killer

Soon after their SEC disappointment, SK Gaming traveled to United States and attended IEM6 Global Challenge New York. Despite lower competition, they found their good form again, winning another event. All of their members performed very well, so Larsson's 1.20 rating made him only the 4th best in the team, while it was evident he left the SEC disaster behind him. Overall, he was one of the best players of the tournament, as the second best AWPer and 3rd best entry killer.

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
ESWC 2011 (1st place)	1.18 (3rd)	-2%
All-Star nomination 2nd best AWPer (0.30 awpKPR) 4th most dominant

A week later, their biggest success of the year came along, as they won ESWC over Natus Vincere in the final. Larsson was again an important part of their campaign, as the team's 3rd best rated with an excellent 1.18 rating, playing above average in 9 of 11 maps. He did great in his main task too with 0.30 awp kills per round (2nd best) and was the team's most dominant player.

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
DreamHack Winter 2011 (Quarter-final)	1.06 (4th)	-3%
Best AWPer (0.38 awpKPR)

A month after their big success in France, SK attended DreamHack Winter, where they were unable to continue in the same way, as Natus Vincere got their revenge and stopped the Swedes in the quarter-final. Larsson didn't play badly overall, having a 1.06 rating, although only 4th in the team. Despite the early exit, he was actually the best AWPer of the tournament with his year-best average of 0.38 awp kills per round.

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
WCG 2011 (2nd place)	1.14 (3rd)	-1%
All-Star nomination Most AWP kills (96) 3rd best entry killer

SK finished off the year with a loss in the last major tournament of the year, succumbing to the Poles of ESC Gaming in the WCG final. Still, it was overall a successful campaign for them, while Larsson was as usual an important part of their machinery. Third best rated in the team with a very good 1.14 rating, he earned another All-Star nomination, while being the team's most dominant player and primary entry killer. He also excelled with the AWP, getting the most kills with it at the event (96) and having the 2nd best average (0.32 awpKPR).

AWP that made a difference

Marcus "Delpan" Larsson had a different kind of influence during his fnatic and SK times. In the first part of the year, he became the main star of fnatic, while later in SK despite a bright start, he never managed to excel so much. Still, in both teams his AWP made a huge difference, winning IEM5 European Championship Finals with fnatic, and DreamHack Summer, GameGune and ESWC among other titles with SK Gaming.

Additionally, his influence is evident in the fact that after he left, fnatic wasn't able to do as much damage as they did with him until they added a similar style player. At the same time, before he joined SK, they suffered a huge title drought that lasted back to their previous lineup and October 2010, but as soon as he joined they started winning and went on a long undefeated streak.

His use of the AWP is obviously his biggest strength, as he collected the most kills of all players with it (723) and had the second best average (0.30 awpKPR). Furthermore, he was the best entry killer at major tournaments with 335 first kills and +108 entry difference (also best on average with 0.14 first kills and 0.10 first deaths per round).

As far as individual awards go, he has one MVP title to his name from DreamHack Summer and was selected for the All-Star lineup at e-Stars. He was one of the top players at six other major events, nominated for All-Star lineups at IEM5 European Finals, IEM5 World Championship, Xperia PLAY, GameGune, ESWC and WCG.

Add to that the facts that he was one of the most dominant players and the one who won the most titles of all players (if we consider the minor ones as well), and it would explain why he earned the 9th spot despite having a rating of 1.15, which would otherwise keep him ranked lower.

Recommended demos of Marcus "Delpan" Larsson in 2011:

Opponent	Map	Event	Score	Demo
forZe	dust2	IEM5 Eu Finals (Group stage)	25:8	HLTV
mTw	train	IEM5 Eu Finals (Grand final, map 2)	35:26	HLTV
Fx	dust2	IEM5 World (Quarter-final, map 1)	25:20	POV
face!	inferno	Xperia PLAY (Group stage #1)	29:6	HLTV
dakarma	train	fnatic PLAY #2	31:14	HLTV
TMS	train	ICSC 8	19:9	POV
mTw	train	DH Summer (Grand final, map 2)	31:19	POV
club bathory	train	GameGune (Group stage)	50:8	POV
Na´Vi	nuke	e-Stars (Consolidation final)	24:15	HLTV
mTw	train	IEM6 GC NY (Semi-final, map 3)	25:13	POV
DTS	dust2	WCG (Quarter-final, map 1)	21:7	HLTV

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What do you think about Marcus "Delpan" Larsson's influence on his 2011 teams, fnatic and SK Gaming? Do you think he earned the 9th spot or should he have been lower or higher?

If you want to check out the entire ranking, go to our Introduction article as it will be updated daily until we complete the list. Stay tuned to HLTV.org as tomorrow we will bring you our number 8.