Rambo joins two fellow Americans on Hall of Fame ballot as four legends await Belgrade induction

A veteran’s long‑awaited moment

Ronald “Rambo” Kim, 42, finally sees his name etched on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time. The former CPL prodigy first burst onto the scene at Babbage’s CPL 2000, one of Counter‑Strike’s inaugural LAN spectacles. He clinched back‑to‑back CPL crowns in 2001 with X3 Blue and in 2002 with 3D, then added World Cyber Games gold medals in 2004 and 2005.

After a successful run in Counter‑Strike: Source with LA compLexity during the Championship Gaming Series, Kim hung up his mouse in 2010. He resurfaced years later as a coach in CS:GO, guiding Korean side MVP PK, returning to compLexity, and ultimately steering Cloud9 as head coach. HLTV lauds his “remarkable consistency at LAN events” and “strategic mind,” qualities that now push him onto the Hall of Fame stage.

9, 2027, where four of the ten nominees will be inducted.

The American trio stakes their claim

Rambo shares the ballot with two seasoned U. S. players: Danny “fRoD” Montaner and Kyle “Ksharp” Miller, both on their third nomination. HLTV remembers fRoD for his ESWC 2005 triumph with compLexity, a win that cemented his status among the world’s elite AWPers.

Ksharp, hailed as the continent’s first true star, built his reputation on flash‑fast AWP reflexes. His résumé mirrors fRoD’s: back‑to‑back WCG golds, a silver, and two CPL titles, all while carrying X3 and Team 3D to global glory.

The global heavyweights eye the four spots

The remaining nominees read like a Hall of Fame hall of mirrors. NEO’s résumé spans both eras: Player of the Decade for the 2000s, three WCG crowns, two ESWC titles, two IEM World Championships, a CS:GO Major win, two MVP awards, eleven notable trophies, and four coaching victories.

France’s Kenny “kennyS” Schrub, a three‑time nominee, missed out in 2024 and 2025 but still boasts ten MVP awards before his May 2023 retirement.

Other second‑time contenders include Norway’s Ola “elemeNt” Moum Rasmussen, South Korea’s Keun‑Chul “solo” Kang, Norway’s Abdisamad “SpawN” Mohamed, and Norway’s Jorgen “XeqtR” Johannessen.