Athletes often have various superstitions and fixed rituals: football players insist on stepping onto the field with a specific foot first, while hockey players might refuse to shave during the playoffs. Similar habits exist in CS competitions too. From rocks, pillows, and plush toys to game settings, clothing, and even stage seating, professional players will do whatever it takes to secure a bit of good luck.
flameZ's cheek kiss
After Vitality's victory, flameZ would often celebrate by getting up close with his teammates. Strictly speaking, this isn't a real kiss, but rather the common French cheek-kissing greeting. FlameZ's family originates from Morocco, and this celebration style is also part of his family culture. In contrast, the two French players on the team, apEX and ZywOo, have not actively continued this tradition.
Karrigan's Lucky Stone
karrigan has carried several lucky charms throughout his career. About a decade ago, he often brought a loud handbell to matches, giving it a few shakes after winning rounds. In recent years, his lucky charms have become much more low-key, consisting of a few stones arranged neatly on the desk.
Karrigan has never explained what these stones are or what significance they hold. He is not the only player who believes stones can bring good luck—Spirit's sniper sh1ro also keeps stones beside him during matches.
The pillow sh1ro can't do without
In addition to the rock, sh1ro also has a lucky charm that came into being unexpectedly: a pillow. Initially, he only wanted to make himself more comfortable sitting in an esports chair, but it gradually became a signature item he had to bring with him everywhere. Even at his own wedding, what sh1ro threw was not a traditional garter, but a pillow.
Armies of Plush Toys Behind the Monitor
GTR's teddy bear
Stuffed toys are probably the most common lucky charms among professional CS players. Both karrigan and Ax1Le have kept hedgehogs behind their monitors, with Ax1Le's being a gift from his girlfriend. GeT_RiGhT, on the other hand, carries a teddy bear whose shirt features a photo of him and his girlfriend along with a Swedish phrase: "More kills, more hugs; fewer kills, fewer hugs."
b1t once attended the Stockholm Major with a small goat plushie. The on-site administrators initially requested its removal, but ultimately allowed the goat to stay while prohibiting players from touching it. Snax had brought a small wild boar, as the Polish community often refers to him by that nickname; BELCHONOKK chose a squirrel because his ID means "little squirrel" in Russian.
donk's girlfriend gifted him a small lion toy
donk has received a plush cat and a crowned lion cub from his girlfriend, the latter named Chempik, derived from a diminutive form of "champion." However, Spirit's most famous mascot is the frog Jab Jabich.
Spirit's "interim coach" Jab Jabich
During the 2026 Cologne Major, Spirit's coach hally and assistant coach S0tF1k were unable to arrive at the venue on time, so the team jokingly brought along a frog plush toy to stand in for them. Jab Jabich quickly became a popular figure at the event, not only sitting beside the team to "study strategies," but also calling timeouts, touring Cologne, and even giving interviews.
siuhy's screaming chicken
During siuhy's time with GamerLegion and MOUZ, he would place a squeaky rubber chicken behind his monitor that would scream when pressed. This was a gift from a supportive Brazilian friend before he became well-known. After joining Liquid, siuhy no longer brought the screaming chicken with him.
m0NESY: Bracelets can bring good luck, can't change jerseys before the Major
m0NESY has long worn a Louis Vuitton bracelet worth approximately $1,500, adorned with a four-leaf clover symbolizing good luck. During his time with G2, he wore the black version, and later switched to red. Coinciding with 2026 being the Year of the Fire Horse, m0NESY also won the Cologne Major while wearing this new bracelet.
Before winning a Major, m0NESY also noticed an unsettling pattern: whenever his team released new jerseys before a major tournament, the results were often poor. Similar situations occurred at the Paris, Copenhagen, Shanghai, and Austin Majors, leading him to publicly state that teams should not change their jerseys before a Major.
Falcons seemed to heed his advice, continuing to wear their original jerseys at the Budapest Major, but the results remained unsatisfactory. It wasn't until Cologne that this theory finally succeeded once.
Even sensitivity and skins have alchemy
One of kennyS's signature folding knives
Some players' superstitions extend directly into the game itself. kennyS believes he can only perform at his best when using a folding knife, and if his form drops after switching to other knives, he will immediately switch back to the folding knife.
Device previously had his sensitivity set at 1.95, for a very simple reason: he was born in 1995. Later, he chose a more comfortable setting. The Brazilian player arT simply dislikes the number 1.5, so when adjusting his sensitivity, he always sets it either higher or lower than 1.5.
Casual players exhibit similar habits, such as switching to their knife or inspecting skins at the most inopportune moments. A community statistic cited in the video suggests that during the CS:GO era, players would, on average, give away 4 to 6 rounds per 1,000 matches simply due to inspecting their weapons.
device's lucky red underwear
Clothing can also become part of superstitions. Device once had a pair of lucky red underwear and wore it during Astralis's three consecutive Major wins, but later lost it for unknown reasons. allu and Maikelele would immediately change their pants after a loss, while kennyS would choose to swap out his jacket.
FalleN's dog also served as the team mascot
FalleN and his wife Leticia once brought their Pomeranian dog Barto to participate in a competition. The first time Barto appeared at Fission World in Belgrade, FalleN's team happened to win the championship, so it was immediately regarded as the team's lucky mascot and even received an exclusive team jersey.
Barto later joined the team again to compete in the EPL, but unfortunately, this time it failed to bring home the championship. The team had even prepared a hotel room and plenty of snacks for it during the Budapest Major, but it ultimately couldn't make the trip and had to stay at home to follow its owner's matches.
Which side of the stage is luckier?
Professional gamers' superstitions sometimes even affect whether matches start on time. During the 2023 BetBoom Dacha, GamerLegion noticed that the team previously seated on one side of the stage had lost all four matches. As a result, before facing BetBoom, they refused to sit in that area and earnestly proposed deciding the positions by flipping a coin. The organizers did not accept this request, and GamerLegion ultimately finished at the bottom of that tournament.
A more famous example occurred at the 2021 Stockholm Major. In the seven playoff matches, the team seated on the left side of the stage won every time. By the finals, many spectators assumed NAVI, who were seated on the left, would win based solely on their position—and that's exactly what happened.
From cheek-kissing, rocks, and plush toys to sensitivity settings, red underwear, and arena seating, CS players have a wide range of fixed habits and superstitions. While they may not necessarily change the outcome of a match, they provide familiarity and psychological comfort in high-pressure environments and sometimes unexpectedly become the most memorable stories off the battlefield.