Crosshairs not only affect your aim, but your perception as well. Changing the size of your crosshair, for example, may improve your attention span (e.g. a smaller crosshair may also force you to pay more attention over time). In fact, most of your attention should be on tracking enemies with your crosshair while using the environment for clues. Losing focus even for a split second could mean life or death. Good crosshairs may also have an impact on your movement, based on visibility, tracking skills, and personal preferences. 
 
Aside from attention span, the size of a crosshair usually presents some trade-offs. Whereas a smaller crosshair lacks some transparency, it can also offer a better alignment. Conversely, a bigger crosshair may offer better transparency, but a less efficient alignment. Of course, there are exceptions based on personal preferences. That said, one way to find the ideal crosshair is to break down some of its key features. And what better way to do so than checking out what some of the pros use?

10. Hobbit

A thin and large crosshair that’s fairly transparent.

Hobbit offers a more balanced approach to crosshair visibility. As you know, the greater the thickness or size of a crosshair, the easier it is to see (generally speaking). However, visibility should be one of, and not always the main factor for an ideal crosshair. One reason being is personal preference. But, for some players, a crosshair that is too big and thick may be distracting. For example, a crosshair that is too thick can negatively shift your attention to your surroundings or other parts of the body rather than your opponent’s head. Your spray pattern may also be negatively affected.

At times then, by putting emphasis on either the size or thickness (not necessarily both), a crosshair like HObbit’s provides solid visibility while minimizing any sort of distractions. Lastly, the crosshair often aligns exceptionally well to the player’s head at multiple distances (especially mid-range and at some long-range distances), while overlapping to the body every now and then.

About Hobbit

Hobbit (formerly known as HObbit) is a 27-year-old Kazakhstan rifler for Gambit Esports. Combing his stints with the HellRaisers, Winstrike, and a few other teams, he’s played for a grand total of 7 years thus far. Looking at his individual stats, he currently possesses a K/D. consistently above 1, a hs% rate of about 47%, and an ADR of roughly 80. And in 2021, he and Gambit Esports won first place in the Blast Premier Spring Finals by defeating NAVI 2:0 ($225,000/$425,000).

What’s Good About Hobbit’s Crosshair

• Offers players a balanced/trade-off between size and thickness
• A fairly large and transparent crosshair
• A thin crosshair may reduce some visual distractions

Settings

• cl_crosshairsize 3; cl_crosshairgap -2; cl_crosshairthickness 0.4; cl_crosshaircolor 5; cl_crosshaircolor_b 144; cl_crosshaircolor_g 195; cl_crosshaircolor_r 27; cl_crosshairdot 1; cl_crosshairstyle 4; cl_crosshairalpha 250; cl_crosshairgap_useweaponvalue 0; cl_crosshairusealpha 1; cl_crosshair_drawoutline 0; cl_crosshair_dynamic_maxdist_splitratio 0.35; cl_crosshair_dynamic_splitalpha_innermod 1; cl_crosshair_dynamic_splitalpha_outermod 0.5; cl_crosshair_dynamic_splitdist 7;

9. ropz

An effective crosshair based on its vibrant color and alignment. 

ropz’s crosshair predominantly focuses on a near-perfect alignment thanks to its small size. While smaller crosshairs don’t always offer great visibility, they often immerse exceptionally well with your opponent’s head by mimicking its size. A bigger crosshair may do the same, but often overlap to the chest or outside the head, which creates a distraction for some. To compensate for a smaller size, however, ropz uses a vibrant green color. It’s also worth noting that the more you practice with a small crosshair (or any for that matter), the easier it becomes to adjust to. At some point, a smaller crosshair may even seem bigger than before! So far in 2021, ropz carries a 52% headshot rate to complement his crosshair.

About ropz

ropz is well known for his rifling skills and calm demeanor. He used to play for MOUZ as a lurker/support. Looking at his stats, he owns an exceptional 2.0 HLTV Rating (which takes into account clutches, assists, kills, damage, opening kills, trades, survivability, and deaths) at 1.18 (with 1 being average) and a K/D of 1.25 in 2021 thus far. In 2020, he and MOUZ esports defeated NAVI for first place from the ICE Challenge ($125,000/$250,000). He was born in Estonia.

What’s Good About ropz’s crosshair

• Vibrant green color
• Closely mirrors the size of your opponent’s head
• Size may no longer be a setback if adjusted to over time

ropz’s crosshair settings

• cl_crosshairalpha 255; cl_crosshaircolor 1; cl_crosshairdot 0; cl_crosshairgap -3; cl_crosshairsize 2; cl_crosshairstyle 4; cl_crosshairusealpha 1; cl_crosshairthickness 0; cl_crosshair_drawoutline 0;

8. XANTARES

A vibrant crosshair that uses a gap for headshots.

Another way professional players take advantage of their crosshair settings is by creating a gap in the middle. Doing so may put a greater emphasis on the center of the crosshair. As a result, your focus may improve since headshots can be easier to spot. And sometimes, if you create a large enough gap (as in XANTARES’s case), the space within mimics the size of your opponent’s head across many distances. Lastly, the crosshair gains some transparency points thanks to its overall size and bright green color.

About XANTARES

XANTARES was well known for his role in BIG and Space Soldiers as a rifler. Currently however, he plays for Eternal Fire and serves as their in-game leader. Born in 1995, he is a Turkish-Macedonian CS:GO prodigy with a high headshot rate. In fact, his overall headshot percentage is currently higher than 50%, or roughly, 53%. In 2020, he was the MVP of the Dreamhack Open Summer tournament against Heroic ($35,000/$90,000).

What’s Good About XANTARES Crosshair

• Large gap in the middle provides ample space for a headshot
• Vibrant green color
• Fairly large crosshair

XANTARES Crosshair Settings

• cl_crosshairalpha 255; cl_crosshaircolor 1; cl_crosshaircolor_b 50; cl_crosshaircolor_r 50; cl_crosshaircolor_g 250; cl_crosshairdot 0; cl_crosshairgap 0; cl_crosshairsize 3; cl_crosshairstyle 4; cl_crosshairusealpha 1; cl_crosshairthickness 0.5; cl_crosshair_drawoutline 0;

7. KSCERATO

Small and compact.

A fairly simple, yet effective crosshair. How so? Well, despite its size, the crosshair’s transparency is reinforced by a bright green color with some added thickness. Not only that, but the crosshair is very compact, which for some, improves focus (toward the center, or head). Smaller crosshairs also tend to immerse well with your opponent’s head, since they don’t overextend as much. There is a small gap in the middle, but since the crosshair is so compact, it’s barely noticeable.

About KSCERATO

KSCERATO is a Brazilian CS:GO player for FURIA Esports. He primarily serves as a rifler. So far in 2021, he has a K/D of 1.21, headshot rate of ~48%, and a DPR of .61. And in 2020, he and team Furia defeated Liquid 2:1 at the DreamHack Open Spring NA ($35,000/$90,000).

What’s Good About KSCERATO Crosshair

• Compact
• Added layer of thickness for better visibility
• Rarely overlaps or overextends (outside of the head) thanks to its small size

KSCERATO Crosshair Settings

• cl_crosshair_drawoutline 0; cl_crosshair_sniper_width 1; cl_crosshairalpha 800; cl_crosshaircolor 1; cl_crosshaircolor_b 125; cl_crosshaircolor_g 50; cl_crosshaircolor_r 255; cl_crosshairdot 0; cl_crosshairgap -4; cl_crosshairsize 1; cl_crosshairstyle 4; cl_crosshairthickness 1;

6. NAF

A simple and compact crosshair.

If transparency isn’t the main factor for you, then NAF’s small crosshair could work. In exchange, players often find it easier to align their shots, since it stays within the confinement of your opponent’s head. Surprisingly, the crosshair seems fairly visible despite its size. What’s also interesting is that you can barely notice the middle dot, and yet from afar, it all seems interconnected. These factors in turn, increase the compactness of the crosshair and may improve your focus over time.

About NAF

NAF is a Canadian CS:GO rifler for Liquid. He owns a 44% headshot rate, 1.19 K/D, and a DPR (Deaths Per Round) of .60 so far in 2021. The latter stat essentially means he’s close to dying every other round, instead of every round, for example. In 2019, he and team liquid beat ENCE 3:0 at the Intel Extreme Masters XIV ($125,000/$250,000).

What’s Good About NAF’s Crosshair

• Consistent from multiple distances (size) 
• Vibrant green color
• Extremely compact

NAF’s Crosshair Settings

• cl_crosshair_drawoutline 0; cl_crosshairalpha 250; cl_crosshaircolor 5; cl_crosshaircolor_b 144; cl_crosshaircolor_g 195; cl_crosshaircolor_r 27; cl_crosshairdot 1; cl_crosshairgap -3; cl_crosshairsize 1; cl_crosshairstyle 4; cl_crosshairthickness 0;

5. yuurih

Fairly large, but compact.

For some players, a smaller crosshair is difficult to see/track, even with consistent practice. A larger crosshair, however, such as yurrih’s or b0RUP’s, could help. Moreover, by increasing the compactness of a large crosshair, your focus may shift even more towards the center/head. A more compact crosshair may also improve visibility. And surprisingly, for its size, the crosshair aligns well with your opponent’s head at close to mid-ranges, while sometimes overextending (outside the head) at long ranges.

Regardless of whether a crosshair overlaps or not, the t-shape is generally designed to gravitate your attention toward the head or center of it, with the four ends pointing inward, so to speak.

Lastly, for some players, a large crosshair, like yurrih’s, provides a better visualization of a headshot. For example, with multiple crosshairs offering a high degree of parallelism (with respect to the size of your opponent’s head), would you rather see a dot, small, or big crosshair as you’re about to shoot or, “headshot” your opponent? A dot offers the highest degree of parallelism, but may also be hard to see. A small crosshair tends to stay within the boundaries of the head, but can also be hard to see. And a large crosshair can actually cover the entire area of the head as if it were a claw from a toy machine or some sort of face scan, yet it may be distracting to some given the inevitable overlap. Spray also comes into play. Just a few things to think about.

The point is slightly bigger crosshairs can work for some players, like yuurih, thanks to their high visibility, appearance/alignment, and so on.

About yuurih

Like KSCERATO, yurrih is also a Brazilian rifler for Furia Esports. In 2020, he was ranked the 14th best CS:GO player in the world by HLTV and was the MVP of the DreamHack Masters Spring event ($40,000/$100,000). So far this year he owns a K/D of 1.13, an ADR of 81, and a headshot rate of ~45%. 

What’s Good About yuurih's Crosshair

• Compact
• Highly visible 
• Aligns fairly well with your opponent’s head, despite its size

yuurih’s Crosshair Settings

• cl_crosshairalpha 200; cl_crosshaircolor 2; cl_crosshairdot 0; cl_crosshairgap -3; cl_crosshairsize 3; cl_crosshairstyle 4; cl_crosshairusealpha 1; cl_crosshairthickness 1; cl_crosshair_drawoutline 0;

4. ScreaM

The headshot machine.

Although ScreaM’s crosshair is extremely small, it parallels the shape of your opponent’s head. In fact, most dot crosshairs, do. Why is this important? Well, when you overlap similar shapes on top of one another, it’s often easier to align the two. In this case, a dot crosshair mimics the oval/circular shape of the head and the alignment from the dot to the head becomes even more transparent. If you want to increase the size of ScreaM’s former crosshair though, you can experiment with the cl_crosshairsize x (x=1 or more) or cl_crosshairthickness x (x=1 or more) via in-game console (usually ~ button). Lastly, for some players, it’s easier to track your spray patterns with a dot or smaller t-crosshair than something bigger.

About ScreaM

Well known for his headshots, ScreaM was a CS:GO player for multiple teams, including G2 and Envy. As a former professional player, he holds one of the highest headshot rates, standing at 68%. His primary roles included entry fragger and rifler. In 2017, he and team Envy defeated Heroic 2-0 at the DreamHack Open Altanta ($50,000/$100,000). ScreaM is of Moroccan and Belgian descent.

What’s Good About ScreaM’s Crosshair

• Dot crosshairs tend to align/overlap well with your opponent’s head
• Rarely overlaps or overextends
• You can signficantly increase the size or thickness of this dot crosshair without losing its overall shape

ScreaM’s Crosshair Settings

• cl_crosshairalpha 255; cl_crosshaircolor 4; cl_crosshairdot 1; cl_crosshairgap -999; cl_crosshairsize 3; cl_crosshairstyle 4; cl_crosshairusealpha 1; cl_crosshairthickness 0.5; cl_crosshair_drawoutline 1; cl_crosshair_outlinethickness 1; cl_crosshair_sniper_width 1; cl_crosshairgap_useweaponvalue 0; cl_crosshaircolor_b 250; cl_crosshaircolor_r 250; cl_crosshaircolor_g 250;

3. ZywOo

A small and efficient crosshair that’s not as rigid.

Over the years, ZywOo slowly transitioned from an AWPer to a rifler (and now back to an AWPer it seems). However, that’s not to say he won’t buy an AWP every now and then, nor that his rifling skills are sub-par. In fact, in 2021, he’s boasted one of the highest ratings in the game with a similar kill count between the AWP and rifle. Thus, his crosshair, deserves some consideration, at the very least.

Here, we see a small green crosshair with a slight gap in the middle. Besides the fact that smaller crosshairs tend to align within the boundaries of your opponent’s head, some players prefer a gap in the middle because it gives them something to look at or peer into, aka your opponent’s head. It’s also not as, “tense” for some, and appears to be slightly more spacious. So it may not just be the outward alignment you look for in a crosshair, but what appears on the inside or middle as well.

About ZywOo

As one of the top players in the world, ZywOO possesses excellent skills with the AWP and rifle. In 2021, he owns a K/D of 1.36 (thus far) with roughly 1,100 kills from the AWP/rifle apiece. He also owns an overall 67% 1v1 clutch rate (based on total wins/total opportunities thus far). ZywOo was born in France and is currently 21 years old. He and Vitality defeated Astralis 2:1 in the Blast Premier Fall ($85,000/$225,000). 

What’s Good about ZywOo’s Crosshair

• Slightly more spacious than most compact crosshairs
• Transparent green color, despite the crosshair’s small size
• A gap in the middle can shift more of your attention toward the center

ZywOo’s Crosshair Settings

• cl_crosshair_drawoutline 1; cl_crosshair_sniper_width 1; cl_crosshairalpha 200; cl_crosshaircolor 1; cl_crosshaircolor_b 50; cl_crosshaircolor_g 250; cl_crosshaircolor_r 50; cl_crosshairdot 0; cl_crosshairgap -2; cl_crosshairsize 1.2; cl_crosshairstyle 4; cl_crosshairthickness 0.5;

2. s1mple

Consistent across multiple distances.

While it is true that the size of a crosshair never changes, in our minds, it appears differently depending on the distance and placement. For example, a small crosshair may appear smaller on the head at close ranges, but bigger at longer ranges. What’s interesting about s1mple’s crosshair though, is that the size seems to stay the same at mid to long-range distances, thereby offering more consistency. And it doesn’t really overlap either, as it often stays within the boundaries of your opponent’s head, making it easier to align the shot. His crosshair is also very compact, thanks to the size and middle dot. The green color adds some transparency as well.

About s1mple

While s1mple is primarily an AWPer, he possesses excellent skills with a rifle. In fact, in 2021 (so far), about ~35% of his kills came from rifles while roughly 47% came from the AWP. He also owns a 1.46 K/D, ~88 ADR, and an impact rating of 1.42 this year. Aside from stats, s1mple has exceptional awareness, which enables him to, essentially, put himself in the right spot at the right time. He is often regarded as the best AWPer, if not player, in the history of CS:GO. This was further noted from his performance at the 2021 PGL Major Stockholm Major, winning the MVP award ($1,000,000/$2,000,000) and his recent win against Gambit in the Blast Premier World Final of 2021.

What’s Good About s1mple’s Crosshair

• Aligns almost perfectly with the player model’s head
• Transparent green color
• Compact

s1mple's Crosshair Settings

• cl_crosshairalpha 255; cl_crosshaircolor 4; cl_crosshairdot 1; cl_crosshairgap -3; cl_crosshairsize 1; cl_crosshairstyle 5; cl_crosshairusealpha 1; cl_crosshairthickness 0; cl_crosshair_drawoutline 0; cl_crosshair_sniper_width 1; cl_crosshaircolor_r 255; cl_crosshaircolor_g 255; cl_crosshaircolor_b 255;

1. NiKo

A small and compact crosshair with a unique color/shade.

Here we see a crosshair with some added thickness; giving it a bold appearance. Depending on your screen’s settings, a white crosshair can also provide a nice contrast on a dim display. And the size of NiKo’s crosshair fits very well with the player model’s head. Although there is a gap, it’s barely noticeable given the size of the crosshair, thereby making it more compact. So if you’re comfortable with a smaller crosshair, but want to increase its visibility via color and thickness, I’d recommend giving NiKo’s a shot.

About NiKo

Arguably one of the best players in the world, NiKo is a Bosnian CS:GO player for G2 Esports. You may have seen his dominant performance recently in the PGL Major Stockholm (2021) despite G2’s loss to NAVI. What can I say? This guy is truly, in my book, the definition of a professional esports gamer. It’s not merely his stats, but presence, aggression, deagle prowess, rifling skills, consistency, and so on that gives him an edge. A well-rounded player, and then some, by far.

If you’d like to know more about his stats, however; In 2021 (thus far), he owns a K/D of 1.18, a headshot rate of ~50%, an ADR of ~86, and an impact rating of 1.31 (meaning more clutches, opening kills, and multi-kills) with 1 as the norm. In 2018, he and Faze defeated NAVI 2-0 At the EPICENTER ($150,000/$295,000). I should also mention he’s been consistently ranked as one of the top 20 players or so in CS:GO history.

What’s Good About NiKo’s Crosshair

• A white crosshair provides a good contrast on some displays
• Small and compact
• Mirrors the size of the player model’s head fairly well

NiKo’s Crosshair Settings

• cl_crosshairalpha 255; cl_crosshaircolor 5; cl_crosshairdot 0; cl_crosshairgap -4; cl_crosshairsize 1; cl_crosshairstyle 4; cl_crosshairthickness 1; cl_crosshair_drawoutline 0; cl_crosshair_sniper_width 1; cl_crosshaircolor_r 255; cl_crosshaircolor_g 255; cl_crosshaircolor_b 255;

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