As we slowly climb towards the top of our list, next up at number 8 is Danish superstar from mousesports, Finn "karrigan" Andersen. The German team recognized the potential in him at the end of 2010 and it paid off for them as he became their best player during 2011 and one of the best AWPers in the world, culminating with his MVP title from ESWC.

Basic information

Player: Finn "karrigan" Andersen
Team: mousesports, ESC Gaming (stand-in)
Age: 21

Team achievements in 2011:

1st - EPS Germany Summer, EPS Germany Winter, ESL German League Cup Summer, ESL German League Cup Winter
2nd - GameGune, IEM6 GC Guangzhou
3rd - ESWC

Stats from major LAN tournaments in 2011:

Kills per round: 0.80
Deaths per round: 0.63
Rating: 1.19 (?)
Maps played: 62
MoM: 12 times top rated in a match
Best tournament: ESWC
Best map: de_tuscan
Most notable stats: 5th most AWP kills (367), 6th best awpKPR (0.23), shared 4th best fragger (0.80 KPR), most Glock kills (62)

Before 2011, Finn "karrigan" Andersen was a member of numerous lineups that attempted to overthrow mTw from the top of Denmark. He and his many different teammates searched for the right formula to make a breakthrough in teams such as wooSai, SoA, Ab Ovo, Cheap Times and p00nhandlers among others. The latter would finally reach that goal, as they managed to defeat mTw in the country's World Cyber Games qualifier in August 2010, playing under the name wCrea. The team later joined the Full-Gaming organization before their trip to Los Angeles, but they ended up disappointing at WCG by failing to pass the group stage.

However, soon after that they proved themselves again by defeating mTw and fnatic to win DSRack #3, while Andersen was one of the best players of that tournament. The team fell apart after that as their in-game leader Timm "ArcadioN" Henriksen was recruited by mTw, while Andersen would embark on a completely different adventure after receiving a call from mousesports. Despite having only few major international tournaments behind him, the young Dane's potential was recognized by the German organization, and he would through 2011 prove that it was the right move for both parties.

Adapting to the new enviroment

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
IEM5 European Championship Finals (Group stage)	0.83 (3rd)	0%

The new mousesports lineup didn't have much success in their first tournament together at IEM5 European Championship Finals. They only managed to get a draw against eSahara and lose the other four matches, which even deprived them of a spot at the IEM5 World Championship. Andersen's debut was equally unspectacular, as he recorded a poor 0.83 rating, his worst of the year.

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
Xperia PLAY 2011 (Quarter-final)	1.22 (1st)	+7%
All-Star nomination 4th best in pistol-rounds

Three months passed before we saw the German squad at their next LAN tournament, which was Xperia PLAY in Andersen's home country. They didn't show a much improved form, but draws against x6tence and Frag eXecutors in the second group stage secured them a quarter-final encounter with RG-Esports. That would however turn out to be the final stop for them, as the Swedish-Norwegian team outplayed them in three maps.

Andersen was the team's best performer with a 1.22 rating, while he particularly stood out in pistol rounds as one of the best at the event.

In the meantime, mousesports have been keeping up with their dominance in EPS Germany, winning the Summer season and the League Cup, while Andersen was the best rated player of both tournaments.

Soon after that, apparently unsatisfied with their international form, mousesports opted to make lineup changes. The team brought back their famous in-game leader Fatih "gob b" Dayik and also added Michele "zonixx" Köhler, while Manuel "approx" Zeitz was released from the squad and Manuel "Tixo" Makohl moved to being a substitute player.

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
GameGune 2011 (2nd place)	1.18 (3rd)	+3%
2nd most kills (246)

The changes came too close to the next major tournament, GameGune, so they decided to skip it, but Andersen was allowed to play as a stand-in for ESC Gaming. He helped his temporary team achieve their biggest success of the year by placing second behind SK Gaming, defeating fnatic and Natus Vincere on their way to the final. Andersen was the third best rated in the team with a 1.18 rating, and was more of a stable support player than a star of the team.

1vs3 against Na´Vi at GameGune

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
e-Stars Seoul 2011 (5-6th place)	1.04 (2nd)	+2%
All-Star nomination 3rd best AWPer (0.29 awpKPR) 5th most consistent

The first test for the new mousesports lineup was e-Stars Seoul in mid-August, where they finished in a respectable 5-6th place. Andersen was the second best rated in the team with a just above average 1.04 rating, but was voted man-of-the-match in all three of their victories, over WinFakt, UMX and TyLoo. Also notable is that in the previous lineup of mousesports, he didn't use the AWP much, but in his first tournament after the change he was one of the best AWPers of the event with a very good 0.29 awpKPR. His performance overall earned him his second All-Star nomination, after the one at Xperia PLAY.

Another clutch vs Natus Vincere, 1vs4 at e-Stars

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
IEM6 GC Guangzhou (2nd place)	1.25 (2nd)	+6%
MVP nomination Selected for All-Star lineup 2nd best rating (1.25) 2nd best AWPer (0.32 awpKPR) 2nd most consistent 3rd best fragger (0.81 KPR) 2nd best K-D difference (+47) 3rd hardest to kill (0.56 DPR)

At the beginning of October they traveled to Asia once again, to take part in IEM6 Global Challenge Guangzhou. Here they achieved second place, which was their highest placement of the year, although they didn't have to go through a lot of trouble for that, only overcoming eFuture in the semi-final before losing to fnatic in the final.

Andersen was one of the main stars of the event, with the second best rating of 1.25 and as the second most consistent performer. He was also the second best AWPer with 0.32 awp kills per round, which overall earned him an MVP nomination. He wasn't chosen for that award eventually, but he did for the first time make it into the All-Star lineup of a tournament.

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
ESWC 2011 (3rd place)	1.38 (1st)	+27%
MVP of the tournament Best rating (1.38) Best rating in playoffs (1.38) Best AWPer (0.39 awpKPR) Most kills (290) 2nd best fragger (0.91 KPR) 2nd best K-D difference (+99) Most dominant (28x 3+ kills) 2nd most consistent 4th best entry killer

The tournament in China turned out to be a good preparation for their next challenge, as a few weeks later mousesports achieved their biggest success by placing third at a very competitive tournament, ESWC. After topping their group and knocking out fnatic at that stage, they met with Lions in the quarter-final and easily disposed of them. However, SK Gaming was too strong for them in the semi-final, although the match did end with a close 3rd map, while after that they overcame AGAiN in the 3rd place decider.

Andersen had the best performance of his career at this tournament, ending up as the best rated of all players with an incredible 1.38 rating and claiming the MVP title. He also established himself as one of the best AWPers in the world, getting 125 kills with the big green (the most anyone had at any major tournament in 2011) and having one of the best averages of 0.39 awp kills per round. Additionally, he was the most dominant player and the one who carried his team the most with rating 27% above their average, which would explain why despite playing for the third placed team, he was named the MVP.

karrigan's highlight round during group stage match vs fnatic

two AWP rounds vs Lions in ESWC quarter-final

Another two highlight rounds from the Lions match at ESWC

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
DreamHack Winter 2011 (4th place)	1.13 (1st)	+13%
All-Star nomination 3rd best AWPer (0.33 awpKPR) 4th best entry killer

Mousesports' last major event of the year was DreamHack Winter where they almost repeated their success from France, but ended up 4th due to a loss to Natus Vincere in the last match. Andersen was once again the team's best player, having a 1.13 rating and doing great with the AWP as 3rd best of the event (0.33 awpKPR). He was later nominated for the All-Star lineup of the event and he barely missed out on it, coming 6th in the vote.

Amazing AK47 one-shots against Lions at DH Winter

In December, mousesports added yet another EPS Germany title to their trophy room, while Andersen was by far the best player of the season with a 1.53 rating.

From rising star to superstar

Bringing in Finn "karrigan" Andersen turned out to be one of the best moves in the history of mousesports organization, as he quickly became the star of the team, and as the year progressed he established himself as one of the world's best players.

In the first part of the year mousesports weren't very successful and Andersen didn't have much opportunity to excel. But since their lineup change they started getting noticeable placements at major events, such as 5-6th at e-Stars, 2nd at IEM6 GC Guangzhou and 3rd at ESWC and Andersen was right in the middle of the action, an important member in each of those campaigns.

Also, since the lineup change, Andersen was given the job of being a full-time AWPer in the team, which he took full advantage of and showed that he is one of the best in the world with that weapon. Even though he didn't use the big green in the first half of the year, he still ended up having 5th most kills with it at major tournaments (367) and the 6th best average of 0.23 awp kills per round.

His MVP performance at ESWC was one of the most impressive by any player in 2011, while he was also selected for the All-Star team at IEM6 GC Guangzhou. In addition to that, he had a few more All-Star nominations at major tournaments - at Xperia PLAY, e-Stars and DreamHack Winter. Also worth noting is that he never had a tournament-rating below team's average, which demonstrates his importance for mousesports.

All that makes him a worthy candidate for the 8th spot, which could have been even higher if he'd been in the same form in the first half of the year as in the second, and also if he had any major titles to his name.

Interestingly, he was the best player with the Glock, getting 62 kills with it, so make sure to keep your eye on him in mousesports' Terrorist-side pistol-rounds in the future.

At the end of 2011, mousesports announced a lineup change for their 2012 season, which saw Andersen team up with a fellow Dane, former mTw member Danny "zonic" Sørensen, while Vinh "ninja" Bui Thanh left the team.

Recommended demos of Finn "karrigan" Andersen in 2011:

Opponent	Map	Event	Score	Demo
ESC	train	EPS Germany Summer (Grand final, map 3)	31:4	HLTV
Lagunak	inferno	GameGune (Group stage)	38:8	POV
dotpiXels	dust2	EPS Germany Winter	28:4	POV
TyLoo	nuke	IEM6 GC Guangzhou (Group stage)	20:6	POV
XCN	dust2	IEM6 GC Guangzhou (Group stage)	34:16	POV
Lions	dust2	ESWC (Quarter-final, map 1)	27:11	POV
Lions	tuscan	ESWC (Quarter-final, map 2)	28:16	POV
AGAiN	dust2	ESWC (3rd place decider, map 3)	24:13	POV
Alternate	dust2	EPS Germany Winter (Semi-final, map 1)	27:10	POV
Eq	inferno	DH Winter (Group stage)	29:11	HLTV
ESC	inferno	DH Winter (Quarter-final, map 2)	27:12	HLTV

Finn "karrigan" Andersen became one of the most respected AWPers in the world during the last few tournaments of 2011, but can we expect him to continue in the same manner in 2012? And will the new mousesports lineup be able to surpass their 2011 success and perhaps win a major event? Share with us what you think about that and about Andersen's 8th place on our Top 20.

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 7.