Top 20 players of 2011: f0rest (5)

After shining in fnatic for 5 years, Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg spent 2011 in SK Gaming where he continued being one of the best players in the world. After a slow start, the number 5 on our list helped his team reach the top at DreamHack Summer, GameGune, and ESWC. He particularly stood out in the Spanish event where he was named the MVP, while throughout the year he was the best player in pistol-rounds.

Basic information

Player: Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg
Team: SK Gaming
Age: 23

Team achievements in 2011:

1st - ESWC, DreamHack Summer, GameGune, IEM6 GC New York, ICSC8, IOL FINAL4
2nd - e-Stars Seoul, Xperia PLAY, WCG
3rd - /

Stats from major LAN tournaments in 2011:

Kills per round: 0.77
Deaths per round: 0.60
Rating: 1.17 (?)
Maps played: 96
MoM: 20 times top rated in a match
Best tournament: GameGune
Best map: de_nuke
Most notable stats: 2nd most kills (1922), best in pistol-rounds, best player on de_nuke (1.34 rating)

Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg is by most people considered one of the best players to have ever touched the game of Counter Strike, and he continues to prove that year after year. In 2010 as a member of fnatic he led the team to several titles, with MVP performances at GameGune and IEM5 GC Shanghai, while he also played great during their most praised campaign at Arbalet Cup Europe. In the end, he was a part of a "big six" that stood out throughout the year, and he was placed 6th on our Top 20 of 2010.

As the year drew to a close, Lindberg, along with Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund, decided to try his luck with different teammates and they both moved to SK Gaming for the 2011 season.

A disappointing start for the new SK Gaming lineup

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
IEM5 European Championship Finals (Group stage)	1.04 (2nd)	+4%

The first test of SK Gaming's new lineup probably couldn't have gone worse, as they had the highest expectations for IEM5 European Championship Finals but ended up exiting the competition after group stage. Lindberg didn't excel, but he didn't disappoint either, having a 1.04 rating as team's second best, and having a man-of-the-match performance in their victory over mousesports (24:10 score, 1.59 rating).

4-kill round in the loss to Frag eXecutors

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
IEM5 World Championship (4th place)	1.00 (4th)	-3%

The opportunity for redemption was a month and a half away, at IEM5 World Championship in Hannover, Germany. SK Gaming was forced to use a stand-in at this event, as Jimmy "allen" Allen was unable to attend, so they called up Dennis "dennis" Edman. That perhaps lowered the expectations and the pressure a bit, and the team showed a better performance, topping their group without losing a match. Still, in the semi-final they lost a big battle with Frag eXecutors and later lost to mTw in the 3rd place decider as well, making them end up in a disappointing 4th place after all.

Lindberg had a very unstable performance at this event, recording his worst rating of the year (1.00). Even though he played below average in most matches, he excelled on a few occasions, especially against his old team fnatic in the group stage (28:11, 1.82 rating).

f0rest vs Fx in IEM5 WC semi-final

In preparation for the next major event, SK Gaming played HLTV.org's Xperia PLAY prelude online and finally managed to come out victorious. Lindberg was again unstable overall, but he stepped up in the semi-final against Moscow Five and the final against mTw, playing above average in each map. He ended up as third best in the team with a 1.14 tournament rating.

4-kills vs Moscow Five in the semi-final of Xperia prelude

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
Xperia PLAY 2011 (2nd place)	1.23 (1st)	+9%
MVP nomination Selected for All-Star lineup 3rd best playoff rating (1.17) 2nd most kills (287) 3rd best K-D difference (+78) 5th best entry killer 5th best in pistol-rounds Best clutcher (8x won 1vsX)

Xperia PLAY was the first major tournament of the year where SK would reach a podium place, and although they didn't win the event, they had a solid performance and finished second to Frag eXecutors.

Lindberg had his best performance yet, as he led the team with a 1.23 rating and as the 5th best in entry kills and pistol-rounds at the event. Additionally, he shined in their very tough quarter-final clash against Moscow Five having having rating 35% above team's average (70:51 score, 1.35 rating) and was overall great in the playoffs. All that earned him his first MVP nomination of the year, and even though he didn't win in the vote, he was chosen to be a part of the All-Star lineup of the event.

Ace against Moscow Five in quarter-final of Xperia PLAY

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
DreamHack Summer 2011 (1st place)	1.05 (4th)	-4%
Selected for All-Star lineup Best in pistol-rounds

Before DreamHack Summer, SK Gaming concluded that they needed a full-time AWPer in the team, so at the end of May they snatched Marcus "Delpan" Larsson from fnatic. The result was their first title of the year, as they overcame Natus Vincere in the semi-final and mTw in the final.

Lindberg had another unstable performance as the one at IEM5 WC, but he once again had a crucial role in some matches. His most important contribution came in the semi-final clash with the Ukrainians when he was best rated in their both map-wins, while he also ended up as the best rated player in pistol-rounds overall. After the event, he was for the second time in a row selected for the All-Star lineup.

A day before the international tournament at DreamHack Summer began, SK Gaming also won IOL FINAL4 S3 where Lindberg had an amazing performance, ending up by far the best rated of the four-team event with an astonishing 1.58 rating. In the group stage of this event, Lindberg recorded his best performance of the year (and one of the best by any player in 2011), as he had a 43:17 score (2.03 rating) in a match that ended 15-15.

A pistol-round from his famous match against fnatic

In July, Lindberg's form reached its peak, just like during 2010 when he was the MVP of GameGune and IEM5 GC Shanghai. This time he started with an impressive performance at ICSC 8 finals, where he was by far the best of the tournament with a 1.35 rating, while SK Gaming won another title.

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
GameGune 2011 (1st place)	1.33 (2nd)	+3%
MVP of the tournament 3rd best rated in playoffs (1.32) 2nd most consistent 3rd hardest to kill (0.49 DPR)

A few weeks later GameGune came along, where SK Gaming continued their winning streak and Lindberg won his 3rd medal from that event (2007 and 2010 with fnatic). He was also named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament for the second year in a row, and while he wasn't the best rated in his team, he was the most stable, playing above average in all 8 maps.

f0rest vs fnatic at GameGune

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
e-Stars Seoul 2011 (2nd place)	1.12 (4th)	+4%
Selected for All-Star lineup 3rd most kills (135)

At e-Stars Seoul SK Gaming's unbeaten run came to an end, as Frag eXecutors bested them in the Upper final and in the Grand final. Lindberg didn't excel much this time, but he still playing solid overall with a 1.12 rating and above team's average, which earned him another All-Star lineup selection. Similarly to previous occasions, he was particularly inspired against his former team fnatic, having another man-of-the-match performance against them (26:16, 1.60 rating) and recording another highlight:

f0rest's famous ace against mousesports in ESWC online qualifier

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
SEC 2011 (Quarter-final)	1.07 (2nd)	+5%
All-Star nomination 2nd best entry killer

SK's first big disappointment with the new lineup came at SEC, where they found themselves knocked out in the quarter-final by Natus Vincere. Despite that, Lindberg played well in every match and earned another All-Star nomination, in particular for being the 2nd best entry killer of the event.

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
IEM6 GC New York (1st place)	1.35 (2nd)	+6%
2nd best rating (1.35) 2nd best fragger (0.89 KPR) 2nd best K-D difference (+66) 2nd most consistent 3rd hardest to kill (0.53 DPR) Best in pistol-rounds

They came back strong in their next tournament, IEM6 GC New York, winning it over mTw and WinFakt, while Lindberg shined having his year-best 1.35 rating, although not the best in the team. He was still one of the main stars of the event, as he played above average in all 8 maps and, had there been a vote, he would have definitely be nominated for MVP of the event.

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
ESWC 2011 (1st place)	1.28 (2nd)	+7%
MVP nomination Selected for All-Star lineup 3rd best rating (1.28) 4th best fragger (0.83 KPR) 3rd best K-D difference (+77) Hardest to kill (0.55 DPR)

They had apparently found their form back at the right time, as ESWC was just around the corner. SK Gaming managed to win another event, this time one of the most competitive ones of the year, as they had to overcome WinFakt, mousesports and Natus Vincere on their road to first place.

Similarly to the New York tournament, Lindberg was one of the stars of the event, although once again not the best in his team. He had an excellent 1.28 rating (3rd best of the event) and played above average in 9 of 11 maps. He initially shined in the group stage as the best rated of that part, but more importantly he was best rated in the final against the Ukrainians (51:32 score, 1.30 rating). That earned him another MVP nomination, but he had to be satisfied with his 5th selection for the All-Star lineup.

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
DreamHack Winter 2011 (Quarter-final)	1.15 (3rd)	+5%
All-Star nomination Best in pistol-rounds

A month later, SK faced similar fate to their SEC disappointment, as Natus Vincere stopped them at the quarter-final of DreamHack Winter. Lindberg however didn't miss out on the chance to leave his mark at this tournament as well, having a solid 1.15 rating and earning another All-Star nomination. He especially stood out in a group stage match against eSahara having a 32:13 score (1.81 rating), while he was also the best player in pistol-rounds.

highlight rounds against eSahara at DH Winter

Tournament (team result)	Rating	Avg% +/-
WCG 2011 (2nd place)	1.16 (2nd)	+1%
Selected for All-Star lineup 3rd most kills (231) 4th best in pistol-rounds

World Cyber Games was the last major event of the year, and the only chance for SK to redeem themselves for the DreamHack disappointment. Despite wanting the gold so badly, they were outplayed by the Poles ESC Gaming in the final and had to take the silver medals. Still, in an overall successful tournament for them, Lindberg was an important factor as team's second best rated with a 1.16 rating. He played above average in every best-of-three encounter, even in the final loss, and he also ended up as one of the best in pistol-rounds, which eventually granted him another All-Star lineup selection.

f0rest's last highlight from 2011, killing 4 of Natus Vincere in IEM6 GC Kiev qual

Changing the team didn't affect his performance

After five years in fnatic, Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg needed a new challenge so he decided to join SK Gaming. In his first year with the new team, he displayed performances on the same level as before, proving that he is one of the best in the world, and he helped bring SK Gaming back to their old glory after an unsuccessful 2010.

Even though Lindberg wasn't as influential as he was a few years ago, he excelled on numerous occasions throughout 2011. Most importantly, he was named the MVP of GameGune which his team won, and also made it into the All-Star lineups in the other two major title-winning campaigns of his team, ESWC and DreamHack Summer. In addition to that, he also performed excellent at their 2nd place campaigns, WCG, e-Stars and Xperia PLAY, which made him one of three players who were selected in the most All-Star lineups (6).

One of the ways he contributes to the team the most is excelling in pistol-rounds, as he was the world's best in them during 2011 with a 1.43 rating, overtaking the title from Natus Vincere's Ioann "Edward" Sukhariev. He was top rated in 20 of his 96 maps, making that 2nd most, although along with two other players, but showing that he often stands out in a match.

For his overall contribution to the team and the fact that he particularly enjoys big matches, as he excelled in so many of them throughout the year, Lindberg had to be placed in the top 5. On the other hand, he wasn't placed higher due to not being the best in his team and due to being the least consistent of the remaining players.

Recommended demos of Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg in 2011:

Opponent	Map	Event	Score	Demo
mousesports	inferno	IEM5 Eu Finals (Group stage)	24:10	POV
fnatic	nuke	IEM5 World (Group stage)	28:11	POV
Fx	nuke	IEM5 World (Semi-final, map 2)	27:15	POV
Lions	nuke	Xperia PLAY (Group stage #2)	26:10	HLTV
M5	nuke	Xperia PLAY (Quarter-final, map 2)	45:31	HLTV
Virtus.pro	train	ICSC 8	22:2	HLTV
fnatic	nuke	IOL FINAL4	43:17	POV
playArt	inferno	DH Summer (Group stage)	21:6	HLTV
Na´Vi	nuke	DH Summer (Quarter-final, map 1)	24:8	POV
Fx	inferno	ICSC 8 finals (Group stage)	31:17	HLTV
Fx	train	ICSC 8 finals (Semi-final, map 1)	31:18	HLTV
M5	train	GameGune (Upper round 1)	19:9	HLTV
fnatic	nuke	e-Stars (Upper round 2)	26:16	HLTV
mouz	nuke	ESWC online qual	27:12	POV
eSahara	nuke	DH Winter (Group stage)	32:13	HLTV

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What did you make of Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg's performance in 2011? Do you think he should have been placed higher, or perhaps lower? Will he continue playing on the same level in 2012 as well?

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 4.