Silver Snipers: A Standard in Esports' Flexibility for All

Amidst all the greatest CSGO players and teams that have ever been assembled out there, it cannot be denied that the Silver Snipers were one of the generational squads that have graced the big stage of the first-person shooter. What makes them unique is that they were not your average players in the game – young players who are just starting to make their name in the esports world, but rather senior citizens who are all keen to prove that they also have what it takes to play at a competitive level in the game.

While the game has already transitioned to CS2 this year, the Silver Snipers will go down in history as the best senior citizen performers on the esports stage, and that says a lot about their legacy and their dedication to proving that esports can indeed be for everyone, and age should not be a barrier for players to enjoy the games that they love to play.

Who are the Silver Snipers?

Backed by Lenovo, the Silver Snipers are a CSGO team that was composed of senior citizens with an average age of 71 years old. This Swedish team was assembled with the hopes of removing boredom and alleviating loneliness for these select senior citizens by helping them focus on gaming instead. So far, this has met with high acclaim from many CS fans and has been widely considered to be a promising trendsetter in the CS community over the years. 

Composed of Inger “Trigger Finger” Grotteblad, Öivind “Windy” Toverud, Yvonne “VonneTrap” Kalldin, Rick “CrazyBOOmer” La Roche, and Sven “Sgt. VenOm” Flink, the Silver Snipers proved to be one of the biggest hits in the CS:GO scene back in the day. The team also included other players in the squad, such as Abbe “BirDie” Drakborg, Wanja “Knitting Knight” Godänge, and Baltasar “El Niño” Aguirre.

So what motivated them to play games at their age? Well aside from combating boredom and loneliness at their respective ages, the Silver Snipers are also grandfathers and grandmothers themselves, which means that they can now relate to their grandchildren and even talk about the game itself when they are eating or bonding together. At most? Well, these senior citizens can play with and against their grandchildren in the long run.

Gaming With no Limits

In 2019, the Silver Snipers made their appearance at DreamHack Summer, taking home the Senior CS World Cup at the time. Back then, it was a promising note that saw one of the legends of CS, Tommy ‘Potti’ Ingemarsson lead the way for the team in the competition. In case you didn’t know, Potti is one of the renowned stars who played for the award-winning team Ninjas in Pyjamas in the early 2000s.

So how did this happen? The Silver Snipers barely had less than 100 hours in the game and took their stand against pro teams. This just showed the world that skill doesn’t come with age, but rather the dedication to learn and come up with impressive performances on the big stage when it mattered most. 

Considering the fact that they are already senior citizens – way past ahead of the usual age of esports players ranging from 18 to 30, it does seem that esports was definitely taken by surprise with the way they emerged on the big stage. Silver Snipers were a big hit among many fans, effectively becoming one of the prominent teams to watch out in some of the tournaments back then.

By the Numbers

Well, no one is impressed about a bunch of senior citizens playing CSGO until we see the numbers. In that case, it is worth noting that the team has amassed a whopping total of 189,478 kills in the game spread among five players in a joint total of 7,171 hours. The team also boasts a 0.89 K/D ratio and a headshot accuracy of 39.4%, which is a promising number that can be compared to many teams out there who are deemed to be the greatest.

If you are still not impressed, the best player in the team is Yvonne “VonneTrap” Kalldin in terms of kill totals. The 65-year-old has the lion’s share of kills at 119,302 in total, with her headshot rate sitting at 32%, which just says a lot about her impressive strides in the game as a sharpshooter and a promising player had she taken to the game at a young age.

Sure, the Silver Snipers may not be as prominent as the teams we know today such as NAVI, Team Liquid, G2 Esports, and many other contenders, but it cannot be denied that they have made a significant impact in the game, and the numbers do not lie – they may even be better than you when it comes to playing the legendary shooter game.

Can We See More of the Silver Snipers?

The gaming industry is increasingly embracing inclusivity, which can lead to more opportunities for older players to participate in esports. At this point, it is easy to say that the Silver Snipers have the potential to foster community and connection among older gamers, promoting social interaction and mental engagement. It is expected that the team will not be the last of its kind, and there will be indeed greater recognition and support for senior esports, potentially leading to sponsorship and funding opportunities should this trend continue.

However, it is worth noting that the esports world was definitely an inclusive atmosphere for the likes of the Silver Snipers, and one can say that the team will see more strides should they even try to enter the CS2 scene. That all remains to be seen at this point if the team would like to try and make some noise on the FPS stage in competitive esports.

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