The usual story says competitive gaming belongs to teenagers. The Major record book says it belongs to teenagers, and to veterans, and sometimes to both on the same stage.
The ages below come from Liquipedia, Wikipedia, HLTV, and Bo3.gg. Outlets sometimes calculate ages to the day slightly differently, so treat the exact day counts as approximate.
The Youngest: donk
At the Perfect World Shanghai Major in 2024, donk won the title with Team Spirit at 17 years and 324 days old. He became the youngest Major champion in history and, in the same match, the youngest Major MVP.
He broke a record that had stood for seven years. Markus "Kjaerbye" Kjaerbye held both marks from the ELEAGUE Major in 2017, at 18 years and 277 days. Donk also became the highest-rated Major MVP at the time, with a 1.49 rating, passing s1mple's earlier 1.47.
The Second Youngest: kyousuke
At Cologne 2026, Falcons' Maksim "kyousuke" Lukin collected his first Major title at 18 years and 142 days old, according to Bo3.gg. That made him the second youngest champion in the history of CS:GO and CS2. He fell short of donk's record by roughly 180 days.
The Oldest: A Record That Keeps Moving
The oldest-champion record is the one with the most history. By Liquipedia's count, it has changed hands four times.
Zeus held it first, winning Kraków 2017 at 29 years and 289 days. Karrigan took it at Antwerp 2022, winning with FaZe at 32 years and 42 days. Vitality's apEX passed him at Austin 2025, at 32 years and 121 days. And then karrigan took it back at Cologne 2026, winning with Falcons at 36 years and 68 days.
He did it with a team he had joined only weeks before. FaZe failed to qualify for Cologne, the first time the organization had missed a Major, and Falcons announced karrigan's signing on April 20. He won the title 61 days after joining.
Two Records, One Roster
Here is the detail that makes 2026 unusual. The Falcons roster that won Cologne included both the oldest Major champion ever and the second youngest. By my arithmetic from the ages above, karrigan and kyousuke were separated by nearly 18 years.
It was also a night of long-awaited milestones. The win gave Falcons their first Major, and NiKo his first, according to Dust2.in.
Karrigan's own record has another side. Liquipedia lists four lost Major finals for him, the most by any player, alongside his two titles. That makes six finals in total.
Records Beyond the Majors
The age extremes show up elsewhere too. Donk is the youngest HLTV Player of the Year, at 17 years and 352 days. He also became the youngest player to pass $1 million in career prize money, reaching it at 19 years and six months, ahead of b1t's 19 years and ten months.
At the other end of the ESL Grand Slam, b1t was the youngest winner, at 18 years and 250 days with NAVI, while apEX is the oldest, winning Season VI at 33 years and 56 days. Karrigan had briefly held that record at 32 years and 346 days.
What the Numbers Suggest
This is interpretation, not proof. Dust2.in framed karrigan's win as a rebuttal to the idea that esports is a young person's game, and the records support a more nuanced view. Reflexes and mechanical skill are often tied to youth, as donk's rise shows. But all three players who have held the oldest-champion record, Zeus, karrigan, and apEX, were in-game leaders, the players who call the game, and that role may reward experience in ways that raw aim does not.
Whatever the reason, the Major stage has now been won by someone not yet 18, and by someone who started playing competitively in 2006.
Records Can Fall
None of these marks is permanent. The Singapore Major in late November and December will bring new champions, and with them new chances for a record to move. Youth records are hard to beat, since a player must win at 17 or younger. The oldest-champion record may be easier to challenge, as veterans like karrigan keep competing.
Keep Learning the Stories
Records tell you who did something first, and who did it last. The mini games on CS Guess test your knowledge of Counter-Strike, covering skins, cases, music kits, and the history behind this game, with free perks for playing well.
Head over to CS Guess and see how much of this game's history you know.
