Since releasing the first part of this series a couple of months ago the trend has continued and now seems like as good a time as ever to release the latest part.

I've been playing CS:S for a long time now having picked up my first copy back in 2006. Of course much of the early days were spent climbing the HLStats ranking on various public servers with absolutely no idea that a competitive scene actually existed, once I discovered it though I was hooked. Since spectating my first top level match I've spectated a lot of changes; I witnessed the rise and fall of the CGS; I saw the American scene disintegrate; I watched the French scene transform from "those onliners" to the most talented one out there; I saw the UK scene die on it's arse after the death of the CGS, and I've watched it rebuild itself.

In that time I've also watched several players of the highest caliber call an end to their playing days and seen the new generation of younger, hungrier and in some cases better players replace them. In many instances the new breed of player breaking through is a carbon copy of the veteran that they've replaced, and in this series of articles I'll be comparing some of them to their player-likes. You can read part one of the series Here, or part two Here

Josh 'Steel' Nissan	The New.	Kyle 'Mustang' Cummings
Age: 21 Years Old Nationality: Canadian Current Team: Check-Six Time Played At Top: 2009-2011		Age: 24 Years Old Nationality: American Current Team: N/A Time Played At Top: 2005-2009

Neither of these players should need an introduction, with Steel currently riding high at the top of the American scene and Mustang written in CS:S folklore as one of the best riflers America has produced down the years. I've been an admirer of Kyle 'Mustang' Cummings since I first watched him play alongside little known side Visual Gaming and I followed his career from that point onward. His first big break came shortly before the CGS when he was asked to link up with ForbiddeN, alongside some players he would stick with for the remainder of his time in the game.

After winning the buy.com CGS qualifier people began to take notice of Kyle and his teammates, but a shocking performance at the CGS combine not long after left the team with some major issues to sort out. Soon after the Combine changes were made and the side brought in Grant 'Griff' Hall, they would also switch organisations after Pandemic offered them the chance to join, two moves which proved shrewd in the long run as the team would go on to become one of the most feared in the States.

The team featured some of the most talented players in the country but two in particular stood out, the AWP of nickn0it and the rifle of Mustang. Their super aggressive playstyle forced many teams into uncomfortable situations and won them numerous matches both on and offline. After attending the second CGS Combine, and finishing 4th place overall, Kyle was drafted into the Dallas Venom franchise and once more would prove a vital cog in the team, helping them to a win at the individual world finals.

During the CGS he was one of the top performing riflers and was one of the few American rifle players who could keep up with the European opposition, but he brought a lot more than just good aim to any team he was in. His main asset was his ability to control the map; he would force players out of their comfort zone and funnel them into the scope of the teams AWP players - which worked wonders in both Pandemic and Venom given the talent of the AWPers in each side. It's not often a position on a map is named after a player, and when it is it's usually for a good reason!

When the CGS collapsed and Mustang threw in the towel, at least on any serious competitive level, the American scene was lacking a player who shared the same attributes and for a couple of years it was a scene filled with pretenders, until Steel came along. Breaking through in early 2010 he has rose to prominence at break-neck speed and shows no signs of letting up. He was asked to join the best team in America just a few months after his first LAN attendance and flew out to Denmark to take part in DSRack LAN #3 alongside his Canadian teammates.

It was at DSRack that the comparisons between him and Mustang began to emerge as Josh, much like the Mustang of old, proved to be the difference maker for Team Dynamic thanks to some stand-out performances. He was later nominated for the MVP award but lost out to the untouchable Nathan 'NBK' Schmitt. In the months after DSRack LAN he continued to dominate the American scene but in a move nobody saw coming he was kicked from Team Dynamic due to personality clashes, with the team seemingly unhappy as his cocky attitude.

After being removed from Dynamic he linked up with the team now playing under the Check-Six tag and has helped them finally dethrone Dynamic at the top of the American scene, winning the recent ESEA-i season finals in emphatic fashion. As the ESWC once again proved he is the only rifle player in America currently able to compete with the Europeans - something the other big name, anGer, failed to do at the event in Paris - and remains one of the very few players to have toppled Dynamic at LAN since the demise of the CGS.

Christian 'moen' Moen	The New.	Simen 'warclown' Aas Henriksen
Age: 21 Years Old Nationality: Norwegian Current Team: ex-alchemists Time Played At Top: 2009-2011		Age: 23 Years Old Nationality: Norwegian Current Team: N/A Time Played At Top: 2006-2010

Simen 'warclown' Aas Henriksen is one of the most decorated and respected Norwegian players to pick up a mouse, has represented some of the biggest and best organisations in the scene and has played alongside - and beaten - some of the best players Europe has ever produced. Much of his success is down to his decision to play alongside players from countries other than his own, realising that the talent pool in Norway - at least when he was in his prime - was lacking in comparison to other European countries. It his this realisation that saw him link up with the famous Reason Gaming team which took Europe by storm.

The team comprised of Simen, hudzG, c0bain, FeTiSh and jIMMy and just weeks after forming managed a shock second place finish at i32, defeating both fnatic and London Mint in the upper bracket before losing out to the CGS franchise in the grand final. Shortly after the event both hudzG and c0bain left the team and were replaced by Swedish duo Helblinde and giftig, a move which saw the team retain their spot among the European elite and, arguably, made them stronger. The teams first major event was to be IG5 where they again shocked the scene by defeating the best teams Britain had to offer and securing their first event win as a team.

Simen, at the time one of the best AWP players in Europe, was one of the key reasons that the team were so successful but sadly their time as one of the best teams in Europe was short lived. Thanks to the CGS most teams of mixed nationalities were forced to go their separate ways as each player looked to better their chances of bring drafted, and Reason Gaming were one of many high profile victims. The demise of Reason Gaming seemed to knock the stuffing out of Simen and he would fail to reach the same dizzy heights until the very twilight of his playing career when he picked up another winners medal at i39 alongside TCM Gaming.

He has returned with former teammate Helblinde but this time they will be spectating from the commentary seat with their latest project, Ragefest. Still, he will be remembered by most as the most naturally gifted AWPer Norway has produced. Although that could all change if moen continues to improve.

It's still very early in the career of Christian but from the few times I've seen him perform over the past year or so he looks to be one of the most exciting young AWP'ers Europe has produced - and he is also the nemesis of Englishman Henry 'HenryG' Greer. Norway isn't a country renowned for producing talented players and there has yet to be an all-Norwegian lineup that has pushed for honours at major European events, still, every now and then a player springs up who has everything required to make it at the top level, and Christian is one of those players.

His breakout year as one of the top players in Norway came in 2008 when, alongside his long-time partner in crime paint, managed to defeat team Multigamer - arguably the best team in Norway - in the Hellfragger League. The young team failed to do the same when they met again during the offline play-offs, but Christian had done enough to attract the attention of some of Norway's biggest names and it wasn't long before he and paint were asked to join MultiGamer. Since then he has represented just about every major organisation in the country and has played alongside almost every big-name Norway has produced.

The first time I had the pleasure of seeing him in action at a major event was DSRack #3, an event he attended alongside Nordic-eSport. Although the team failed to make it past the second round of the lower bracket moen had done enough to convince me that he was a player to be watched, pulling off some insane AWP shots whilst single handedly keeping his team in the game on several occasions - most notably against SpeedGaming. His performance in Denmark caught the eye of British player Richard 'ritch' Gibbs, who chose to pick up the Norwegian for his latest project, seeing moen follow in the footsteps of warclown and join an international team. Sadly things didn't go to plan and before long moen was back in Norway playing alongside alchemists unleashed.

At the Copenhagen Games, only his second international event, he showed Europe once more why he's considered one of the best players in Norway with some awesome performances, securing his team a spot in the second group stage. Sadly they were lumped in with Reason Gaming, XAYA Gaming and mTw, putting a premature end to their tournament. Since then his team have been teetering on the brink of the European top10 and have performed admirably against some of Europe's best teams, most notably in the ESWC Qualifier. Currently playing under the BX3 tag I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of them, and with moen in the form of his life it's only a matter of time before he breaks into the very top of the scene.