Age of Empires 2 has been around for more than 2 decades now. From its beginnings as The Age of Kings in September 1999, to the astonishing revival brought by the release of DE, a long and never-ending list of players has impersonated the biggest empires of the middle-ages, battling in the plains of Arabia, the choke-points of Black Forest, the tumultuous waters of Islands...
In late 2020, with a community growing larger than ever before, we figured it was a good time to stop a bit and reflect on the roads we’ve travelled in this last 20 years. We asked a panel of long lasting high level and expert players to give us their top 20 of who they feel are the greatest aoe2 players of all time. Indeed, who better judge in that regard than long time expert players, who took influence from and studied the gameplay of the very best of their pairs, while playing hundreds and thousands of games against them along the years? Giving 20 points to the number 1 in every list, to 1 point to the number 20, we were able to come up with a final top 50 that we are sharing now.
That being said, getting players to come up with a list was not an easy task. If most of them were happy to share their thoughts on the subject, they, understandably, had difficulties coming up with an ordered top 20. What differentiates the #17 from the #18 best player of all time? How to compare players from vastly different eras in term of game knowledge, micro skills, and especially technology available? Those type of questions, participants had to answer when submitting their list. Of course, there is no perfect answer to those questions. But in the end, little by little, as lists were flying in, a set of players kept being cited and detached themselves from the crowd.
That’s why, if we can all agree that it’s probably a bit futile to try to discriminate the 43rd best player of all time from the 39th, I believe that the higher up you climb in the final list, the better the collective consciousness of those high level and expert players is represented.
The criteria for the list were skills, achievements, longevity, influence… and subjective preference. Yes, the resulting list is of course highly subjective. But given that every player who participated has been playing for at least 10 years at the high level, playing repeatedly against the best players, entering the highest level tournaments, and studying the meta of multiple and vastly different time periods, the resulting list will still, we hope, be relevant, interesting, and entertaining.
Thanks to all the participants, in alphabetical order:
Note: We received more lists but some of them were sent by people who have been around at competitive level for way less than 10 years, so we decided to put those lists aside. To all of them: thank you for showing interest and taking the time to send your list.
A big thank you as well to the people who are helping in the elaboration and formatting of the final list:
Funito, 
Nili, 
Rayne, 
Tarsiz, and special thanks to Nicov and 
TheViperWithout further ado, let’s start the countdown of the best AoE2 players of all time according to expert players, as of December 2020.
Today, we’ll start with #50 to #31! Don’t miss out next posts in the next few days, and in the mean time, discussion is of course open for you to talk about the list and the project, try and guess who the participants collectively chose, or obviously give your own personal top 20.
50. Vile
50. True
49. FletcheR
48. feeling
47. Jidba
45. cyclops
45. Mimmox
44. Paladin
41. Abe
41. F1re
41. Zuppi
40. Goodboy
38. GeeK
38. DreaIVIS
37. Buddha
36. Kaiser_Wilhelm
35. vivi
34. RuKie
33. slam
31. RD_Champion
31. Bender
| Alternate IDs | Arch_Vile, Cattino, CsI_AK, L_Clan_ShutUp |
| Name | - |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | Arch, CsI, Legion Clan |
| Recurrent team partners | - |
| Tournament activity | 2002-2004 |
| Best tournament achievements | 3rd place at ReFF’s Rumble Cup (2002) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 0 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 0 |
| Total cash prize earned | $150 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
50. True
| Alternate IDs | QuEnDi_True, L_Clan_Knowledge, L_Clan_True |
| Name | Kellan |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | QuEnDi, Legion Clan |
| Recurrent team partners | I2aGE_ |
| Tournament activity | 2015-present |
| Best tournament achievements |  DM World Cup (2016) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 2 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 4 |
| Total cash prize earned | $6,292 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
49. FletcheR
| Alternate IDs | StorM_FletcheR |
| Name | - |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | StorM |
| Recurrent team partners | Extacy, Rami |
| Tournament activity | 2002-2004 |
| Best tournament achievements | 3rd place WCL 1 (2004) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 0 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 0 |
| Total cash prize earned | $875 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
48. feeling
| Alternate IDs | _Air_feeling, _Air_Breathe |
| Name | - |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | Air |
| Recurrent team partners | - |
| Tournament activity | 2008 |
| Best tournament achievements | 3rd place at The 1st From China (2008) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 0 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 0 |
| Total cash prize earned | $387 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
47. Jidba
| Alternate IDs | ArgoNaut_jidba, BsK_India, BsK_SunYu, CsI_DriNk, CsI_ShaDoWs, pG_ShaDows |
| Name | Christos Lagoudas |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | ArgoNaut, BsK, CsI, pG, TyRanT |
| Recurrent team partners | F1re, RiuT, TheCode, Bender |
| Tournament activity | 2001-present |
| Best tournament achievements | The Awakening (2015) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 3 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 2 |
| Total cash prize earned | $11,230 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
45. cyclops
| Alternate IDs | Erhan, DnB_Turkey, MaLoN_MutanT, HyM_Glor1ouS_ |
| Name | - |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | DnB, HyM, RoR |
| Recurrent team partners | - |
| Tournament activity | 2006-2010; 2019 |
| Best tournament achievements | 3rd place at WOTC Arena Masters Tournament (2007), 4th place at WCL 6 (2007) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 0 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 0 |
| Total cash prize earned | $396 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
45. Mimmox
| Alternate IDs | L_Clan_Dumbo |
| Name | - |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | - |
| Recurrent team partners | - |
| Tournament activity | 2001-2002 |
| Best tournament achievements | Day of the Champions (FOPT Birthday Tournament) (2001) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 1 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 0 |
| Total cash prize earned | $5,312 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
44. Paladin
| Alternate IDs | FengXin |
| Name | - |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | NFQ, CFK, SY, YY |
| Recurrent team partners | Yo, Lyx, LoveCheng |
| Tournament activity | 2012-present |
| Best tournament achievements | Nations Cup I, II (2014-15) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 0 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 3 |
| Total cash prize earned | $10,291 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
41. Abe
| Alternate IDs | MexicanSun, xMexicanx, ZoD_MuMMy_ |
| Name | - |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | RoR, CsI, Sun |
| Recurrent team partners | - |
| Tournament activity | 2004-2008 |
| Best tournament achievements | WCL 5 (2006) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 0 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 1 |
| Total cash prize earned | $1,120 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
41. F1re
| Alternate IDs | - |
| Name | Helenês Romano Cândido |
| Year of Birth | 1988 |
| Teams/Clans | BzK, TyRanT |
| Recurrent team partners | RiuT, GoKu, slam, dogao |
| Tournament activity | 2013-present |
| Best tournament achievements | Master of Islands (2016), runner-up at War Is Coming (2015) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 1 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 0 |
| Total cash prize earned | $17,976 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
41. Zuppi
| Alternate IDs | - |
| Name | Tuomas Törmänen |
| Year of Birth | 1990 |
| Teams/Clans | NaBs, Suomi |
| Recurrent team partners | TheMax, Villese, Rubenstock |
| Tournament activity | 2007-present |
| Best tournament achievements | runner-up at Nations Cup III (2017), 3rd place at Nations Cup II (2015) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 1 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 1 |
| Total cash prize earned | $7,806 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
40. Goodboy
| Alternate IDs | Goodboy1, moments, Ming__ |
| Name | - |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | PBT, CSC, 蜡笔小新 (ShinChan), SY |
| Recurrent team partners | Tim |
| Tournament activity | 2010-2013 |
| Best tournament achievements | CIF 1st Gemini Cup (2010) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 0 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 1 |
| Total cash prize earned | $1,105 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
38. GeeK
| Alternate IDs | CsI_Tea, L_Clan_Geek, Tui_Dominus_, _ArtOfZilla |
| Name | Piers Jolley |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | CsI, Legion Clan, Zilla |
| Recurrent team partners | DauT, Canary, bvirus |
| Tournament activity | 2002-2006 |
| Best tournament achievements | AoC Euro Cup (2002) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 2 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 0 |
| Total cash prize earned | $6,452 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
38. DreaIVIS
| Alternate IDs | CsI_DreaIVIS, StorM_DreaIVIs, StorM_Blizzard, DnB_Finland |
| Name | |
| Year of Birth | |
| Teams/Clans | CsI, DnB, StorM |
| Recurrent team partners | DauT, bvirus |
| Tournament activity | 2003-2010 |
| Best tournament achievements | Runner-up Hero of Arabia (2004), Handicap Tournament (2005), Return of Champion II (2005) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 0 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 0 |
| Total cash prize earned | $1,411 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay part 1 part 2 |
37. Buddha
| Alternate IDs | L_Clan_Buddha, Se7eN_DeCeiT |
| Name | - |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | Legion Clan |
| Recurrent team partners | Capoch, Bender, Chris |
| Tournament activity | 2004-2006 |
| Best tournament achievements | World Clan League 3 (2005) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 0 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 1 |
| Total cash prize earned | $5,451 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
36. Kaiser_Wilhelm
| Alternate IDs | Herr_Bismarck, Huitzlopochtli, JL_The_Raider, Myth_Kaiser |
| Name | Jakob Fredrik Lallerstedt |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | Myth |
| Recurrent team partners | - |
| Tournament activity | 2000-2002 |
| Best tournament achievements | 4th at WCG 2000 |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 0 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 0 |
| Total cash prize earned | $4,000 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
35. vivi
| Alternate IDs | ReallyDiao, Fat_Dragon, Fat_PIG, qnmlgb, 斗鱼TV肥龙最帅最牛B, youaresocai |
| Name | Wang Long |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | Frantic, AreS, Chao Ren |
| Recurrent team partners | CL_, Tim |
| Tournament activity | 2015-present |
| Best tournament achievements | SY Nations Cup II (2015) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 0 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 1 |
| Total cash prize earned | $12,234 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
34. RuKie
| Alternate IDs | ThuG_RuKie, Wolf_Rukie |
| Name | - |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | ThuG, Wolf |
| Recurrent team partners | ralber, Ruso, KicK, Chero |
| Tournament activity | 2003-2007 |
| Best tournament achievements | ArgoNaut For All Tournament (2002), runner-up Back to Almaty (2005) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 1 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 1 |
| Total cash prize earned | $3,676 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
33. slam
| Alternate IDs | ZhaoLee, HasanForgiveMe, MalevolentRealm, Snowman1988, _Surya_ |
| Name | Chris Gregson |
| Year of Birth | |
| Teams/Clans | TyRanT, Secret, GamerLegion |
| Recurrent team partners | Viper, DauT, RiuT |
| Tournament activity | 2011-present |
| Best tournament achievements | Veterans of the Clash (2014) and ECL (2019), runner-up War Is Coming (2015) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 2 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 4 |
| Total cash prize earned | $21,352 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
31. RD_Champion
| Alternate IDs | Exodus_sun, Kimchisarang, Slayers_Boxer, L_Clan_Terran |
| Name | Ahn Seo Yong |
| Year of Birth | 1982 |
| Teams/Clans | TyRanT |
| Recurrent team partners | - |
| Tournament activity | 2000-2002 |
| Best tournament achievements | MFO DM Grand Champion (2001), 7th-8th at WCG 2000 |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 1 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 1 |
| Total cash prize earned | $725 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
31. Bender
| Alternate IDs | Aantan, L_Clan_Bender, pG_Lance, sensemann |
| Name | Andy |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | Legion Clan, pG |
| Recurrent team partners | Capoch, Buddha, 2scareD |
| Tournament activity | 2002-2007; 2014-2015 |
| Best tournament achievements | WCL 3 (2005), JuNo Cup I, II, III (2004-2005), runner-up Arbalet Cup III (2003) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 5 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 2 |
| Total cash prize earned | $9,469 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
30. Yanzi
29. Rami
27. PeEl
27. IamKmkm
26. BT4
25. Tammy
23. TheMax
23. Nicov
22. BacT
21. Alive
| Alternate IDs | Chun_Yu |
| Name | Chun Yu Shing |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | BsK, poZ |
| Recurrent team partners | Halen, Grunt, Koven |
| Tournament activity | 2001-2007 |
| Best tournament achievements | WCL 1 (2004) and WCL 4 (2006), Masters of AoC (2003), 3rd place at WCG 2001 |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 2 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 2 |
| Total cash prize earned | $11,902 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
29. Rami
| Alternate IDs | CsI_Ramirez_, StorM_Blade, Ninja_Soul_, Winds |
| Name | - |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | CsI, StorM |
| Recurrent team partners | DauT |
| Tournament activity | 2003-2006 |
| Best tournament achievements | Legion Cup 3 (2004), WCL 5 (2006) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 1 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 1 |
| Total cash prize earned | $3,991 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
27. PeEl
| Alternate IDs | PL_PeEl, DnB_Poland |
| Name | - |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | PL, DnB |
| Recurrent team partners | Dziamdziak |
| Tournament activity | 2002-2007; 2015 |
| Best tournament achievements | CERPIO Gladiators Cup II (2002) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 1 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 0 |
| Total cash prize earned | $3,539 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
27. IamKmkm
| Alternate IDs | - |
| Name | Jeng Cheng Tseng |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | - |
| Recurrent team partners | - |
| Tournament activity | 2001-2002 |
| Best tournament achievements | WCG 2001 |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 1 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 0 |
| Total cash prize earned | $20,000 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
26. BT4
| Alternate IDs | - |
| Name | - |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | MyST |
| Recurrent team partners | IORI, BT_002, feng_yung |
| Tournament activity | 2004-2008 |
| Best tournament achievements | Simply the Best (2004) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 2 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 0 |
| Total cash prize earned | $1,825 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
25. Tammy
| Alternate IDs | Ding, poZ_Tammy, Chan_Ka_Qing, _mouseloverice, _MyST_Stefanie |
| Name | - |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | poZ |
| Recurrent team partners | cloud, ratS, kyo, Yanzi |
| Tournament activity | 2007-2015 |
| Best tournament achievements | runner-up Brain Champion Cup 2 (2009) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 0 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 0 |
| Total cash prize earned | $8,043 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay part 1 part 2 |
23. TheMax
| Alternate IDs | - |
| Name | - |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | Suomi |
| Recurrent team partners | Zuppi, Villese |
| Tournament activity | 2014-present |
| Best tournament achievements | 
AoE 2 World Cup 2v2 (2018), runner-up of Hidden Cup 2 (2019) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 0 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 4 |
| Total cash prize earned | $18,816 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
23. Nicov
| Alternate IDs | shadowplay_, Kalashnicov |
| Name | Nicolás Bruno |
| Year of Birth | 1992 |
| Teams/Clans | aM |
| Recurrent team partners | MbL, Hera, Liereyy, Hearttt |
| Tournament activity | 2013-present |
| Best tournament achievements | Battle of Africa 2 (2020) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 2 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 8 |
| Total cash prize earned | $23,059 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
22. BacT
| Alternate IDs | bacgioifro, 8euro |
| Name | Ha Bien |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | TyRanT, VNA, VNS |
| Recurrent team partners | ACCM, RiuT, slam |
| Tournament activity | 2013-present |
| Best tournament achievements | ECL Middle East 1v1 (2018), Clan Masters Invitational (2015), runner-up in War is Coming (2015) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 7 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 1 |
| Total cash prize earned | $22,371 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
21. Alive
| Alternate IDs | Alive_KGB, L_Clan_Alive |
| Name | Fernando Arnoso |
| Year of Birth | 1985 |
| Teams/Clans | KGB, Legion Clan |
| Recurrent team partners | Chris |
| Tournament activity | 2005-present |
| Best tournament achievements | WCL 6 (2007) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 0 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 2 |
| Total cash prize earned | $4,897 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
20. Windy
19. MbL
18. Tim
17. Capoch
16. TaToH
15. IORI
14. dogao
13. RiuT
12. JorDan_23
11. Ruso
| Alternate IDs | SWJ_Windy |
| Name | - |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | SWJ, SY |
| Recurrent team partners | Cloudy |
| Tournament activity | 2003-2004; 2013 |
| Best tournament achievements | FOPT Arabia Masters (2003) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 1 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 0 |
| Total cash prize earned | $1,935 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
19. MbL
| Alternate IDs | MbL40C |
| Name | Morten Levernes |
| Year of Birth | 1994 |
| Teams/Clans | aM |
| Recurrent team partners | Nicov, Hera, Liereyy, Hearttt |
| Tournament activity | 2015-present |
| Best tournament achievements | Battle of Africa 2 (2020) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 2 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 9 |
| Total cash prize earned | $34,931 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
18. Tim
| Alternate IDs | Kiss_BB, Tim_, MiLaoShu |
| Name | Huang Wen Xuan |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | Chao Ren, Frantic |
| Recurrent team partners | vivi, CL_ |
| Tournament activity | 2008-present |
| Best tournament achievements | 日升杯 (Sunrise Cup) (2008) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 4 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 3 |
| Total cash prize earned | $14,461 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
17. Capoch
| Alternate IDs | L_Clan_Capoch |
| Name | Patricio Del Olmo |
| Year of Birth | 1987 |
| Teams/Clans | Legion Clan, Infinity Legends |
| Recurrent team partners | Chris |
| Tournament activity | 2001-2013; 2020-present |
| Best tournament achievements | MFO The Conquering Hero (2003), WCL 3 (2005) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 4 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 2 |
| Total cash prize earned | $20,956 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
16. TaToH
| Alternate IDs | Rob3rStinson |
| Name | Roberto Jiménez |
| Year of Birth | 1989 |
| Teams/Clans | WolfpacK, TyRanT, Secret, Gamer Legion |
| Recurrent team partners | Viper, DauT, JorDan |
| Tournament activity | 2014-present |
| Best tournament achievements | Battle of Africa (2018), ECL LAN finals (2019) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 13 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 9 |
| Total cash prize earned | $44,869 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
15. IORI
| Alternate IDs | BsK_KISS, _MyST_IORI |
| Name | |
| Year of Birth | |
| Teams/Clans | BsK, MyST |
| Recurrent team partners | BT4 |
| Tournament activity | 2004-2008; 2017 |
| Best tournament achievements | WCL 4 (2005) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 0 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 1 |
| Total cash prize earned | $3,231 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net |
14. dogao
| Alternate IDs | - |
| Name | Guilherme Pippi |
| Year of Birth | 1991 |
| Teams/Clans | RVK, Legion Clan, SY, Heresy |
| Recurrent team partners | miguel, RiuT, Chris |
| Tournament activity | 2009-present |
| Best tournament achievements | Nations Cup III (2017) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 4 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 5 |
| Total cash prize earned | $22,858 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
13. RiuT
| Alternate IDs | - |
| Name | Daniel Lima |
| Year of Birth | 1993 |
| Teams/Clans | RVK, LoS, TyRanT, Brazukas, Infinity Legends |
| Recurrent team partners | F1re, dogao, BacT |
| Tournament activity | 2010-present |
| Best tournament achievements | Brain Champion Cup 3 (2010) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 4 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 1 |
| Total cash prize earned | $26,985 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
12. JorDan_23
| Alternate IDs | JorDanTV, JorDan_AoE |
| Name | Marco Bloch |
| Year of Birth | 1991 |
| Teams/Clans | TyRanT, Secret, Gamer Legion |
| Recurrent team partners | Viper, DauT, slam, TaToH |
| Tournament activity | 2008-2015; 2017-present |
| Best tournament achievements | War Is Coming (2015) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 2 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 13 |
| Total cash prize earned | $27,617 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
11. Ruso
| Alternate IDs | AK_Ruso, CsI_Ruso__, L_Clan_Ruso |
| Name | John Erik Svensson |
| Year of Birth | 1985 |
| Teams/Clans | AK, CsI, Legion Clan, ThuG |
| Recurrent team partners | RuKie, KicK |
| Tournament activity | 2003-2013 |
| Best tournament achievements | Brain Champion Cup 1 (2008), WCL 6 (2007) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 1 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 2 |
| Total cash prize earned | $5,843 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
10. Hera
9. kkab
8. Liereyy
7. Koven
6. Yo
The Quickest Gun | "Hera was still very young when he broke into the scene. Known for his exceptional speed and micro, he excelled at Huns wars that were, at the time, hugely popular among top level pros on Voobly. After a few hiatuses away from the game, Hera came back strongly in 2018 and steadily improved to become one of the best players in the world. Transitioning from a pure micro-oriented, aggressive playstyle, Hera matured into a very complete player, mastering all varieties of maps and facets of the game. While he remains one of the fastest players in the world, Hera now prefers relying on his macro to win games more reliably. Hera’s stye is characterized by his exceptional ability at expending his economy, even under heavy pressure, confidently defending and winning in the late game thanks to his superior unit control, raiding, and general macro play." - Tarsiz |
| Alternate IDs | - |
| Name | Hamzah El-Baher |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | Heresy, aM, Tempo |
| Recurrent team partners | MbL, Liereyy, Nicov, Hearttt |
| Tournament activity | 2015-present |
| Best tournament achievements | Battle of Africa 2 (2020) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 2 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 4 |
| Total cash prize earned | $42,914 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
9. kkab
The Strategist | "kkab is arguably the greatest strategic mind this game has ever seen. He was a guy that did play 20 games against the AI to figure out if you add the 5th fishing ship before or after the 2nd lumbercamp and due to his endless studies optimized the use of sling close to perfection. Being the leader of BsK and TyRanT and winning several WCLs and War is Coming might make him the most accomplished TG player of all time. He also was very active in forums, posting Arabia guides and posted the Land Nomad Bible during a time in which he was considered the best LN player in the world. He never really competed in 1v1 tournaments and therefore might not be on the radar of many 1v1 fans. The biggest intel into kkab's 1v1 skill could probably be seen in a recorded training session between him and DauT: DauT just won Brain Champions Cup 2 and was considered the #1 in the world at that time by many. The rec pack showed that kkab actually took more games of DauT than the other way around." - Nili |
| Alternate IDs | kkab__, BsK_DePtHBoMb, CNS_PG |
| Name | Kim Heesang |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | CNS, BsK, TyRanT |
| Recurrent team partners | Grunt, Halen, Koven, DauT, JorDan_23, Viper |
| Tournament activity | 2003-2006; 2011-2015 |
| Best tournament achievements | War Is Coming (2015) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 0 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 8 |
| Total cash prize earned | $19,543 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
8. Liereyy
The Micro Nerd | "For people who have followed him since his beginnings on the professional scene, Liereyy may forever be known as the “kid prodigy” who stormed the scene in 2017, making the finals of the Escape LAN event in Cologne at the age of just fifteen. In the following years, he was arguably the world’s second best but always fell short against TheViper, until 2020 where he broke through and claimed his first major tournament victories. Liereyy is perhaps the fastest player who ever competed at the top level. He was initially famous for his incredible micro, and the “dancing” style of his archers enabled him to take better fights than anyone else. Now a very complete player, he still favours an aggressive style where he puts his opponent under heavy pressure from the beginning of the game, dictates the pace of the match and use an economy or technology lead to close out the game." - Tarsiz |
| Alternate IDs | - |
| Name | Kai Kallinger |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | aM, Tempo |
| Recurrent team partners | MbL, Hera, Nicov, Hearttt |
| Tournament activity | 2016-present |
| Best tournament achievements | King of the Desert 3 (2020) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 2 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 9 |
| Total cash prize earned | $57,982 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
7. Koven
The Original 2k5 | "According to Koven in an interview with FOPT, he was a professional gamer for Samsung in 1998. Koven was the best at AoE2: The Conquerors, AoE/AoE2: The Age of Kings, and he was the best at Command and Conquer: Red Alert. In his peak years, Koven dominated the competition in AoC. His macro was first-rate in Castle Age where he won games and outboomed everyone. But what stood out even more was his micro. Koven was especially skilled at fighting with mixed units. For instance, when it came to battles in which both players had spearmen, scouts, and skirmishers, Koven outmicroed his opponent. He had patience in warfare and never rushed into battle. He preferred gathering a large army before the fight. There would be a smaller chance he would lose, and a bigger chance he would win key spots on the map. And if the game went to Imperial Age, Koven was unmatched. After all, Koven was a top DMer from AoK. In those days, it was a rare occurrence for a RMer. From 2000 to 2002, Koven emerged as the best player. And then duty called. Koven left gaming to serve in the military for the next two years." - Rayne and Funito |
| Alternate IDs | Arch_Koven |
| Name | Lee Jae Baek |
| Year of Birth | 1980 |
| Teams/Clans | Arch, BsK |
| Recurrent team partners | Grunt, Halen, kkab |
| Tournament activity | 2000-2002; 2004-2006; 2014 |
| Best tournament achievements | Arbalet Cup I (2002), WCG 2v2 2001 |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 1 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 3 |
| Total cash prize earned | $17,675 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
6. Yo
The Master Mind | "Mr Yo has been a top 10 player since 2014. Aside from his awesome nickname and for him being the only Chinese top player to ever to speak English, watching him play live gives as a tip: he doesn’t move around as crazily as someone like Hera or MbL does. When you think of micro gods you don’t think of him. So, how has he managed to always been SO good? How is he the player with the best tournament results besides Viper since he showed up? Well, I think the main reason is because of how smart he is and how he had always being the king of master planning. Forget about comfort zone when you play him: he is taking you out to his dirty one. Mr Yo is the kind of guy that you say wtf is he doing and then 15 minutes later you realise you are ****ed because of that. It’s like he can see the future while your struggling to balance your economy. There are many other factors: he is a total beast at performing comebacks, he has top mentality and he is the second best on late game. He always knows where to place his castles, when to fight and where to attack, and a total master at distracting you by attacking at multiple spots at the same time with great timing. And he is great with his aggression on castle age that he usually chooses instead of booming. And well, don’t face him on a tournament where he has time to prepare because he would know everything about you and you will die. That’s the main reason he won Mangrove Shallows Cup or Red Bull Wololo first edition: settings that no one has ever played so you have to come up with something new. And what a TG player he is! He is there carrying his team with his wacky game plans. Forget about something called meta if he is in your TG." - Funito with Nicov |
| Alternate IDs | Mr_Yo, _TheYo_ |
| Name | Gan Yangfan |
| Year of Birth | 1992 |
| Teams/Clans | SY |
| Recurrent team partners | Lyx, Tim, vivi |
| Tournament activity | 2012-present |
| Best tournament achievements | Red Bull Wololo (2020) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 5 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 6 |
| Total cash prize earned | $50,887 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
5. Grunt
4. Halen
3. Chris
2. Daut
1. TheViper
The Creative Mind | "Grunt was already an AoE2 player when he became an apprentice of Koven. Under his wing, Grunt evolved into a more clever, efficient player. He became solid in all aspects of the game, notably macro and economy. He immediately recognized what was required for survival in bad situations and adapted appropriately. His quick wit, brilliance, and creative thinking helped him win games. At some point in time, Grunt decided to play in tournaments. Although he was inactive for months or even a year, when he competed in a tournament, he trained hard for the event. Grunt won the Microsoft International and Legion Cup 1, and generally placed second or third in other tournaments. The Microsoft International was particularly special, because Grunt was the only player who did 22 pop scout rushes. He used this strategy in the final match. His expert handling of the 22 pop scout rush was the reason he won the event. He walked away with the largest 1v1 prize pool in AoE2 history. In 2004-2006, Grunt participated in WCL Tournaments where his team won three events. After WCL 4 ended in 2006, Grunt temporarily left AoE2 and started playing Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends. There he became the number one player. Following Rise of Nations, he played AoE3 and competed in the WCG 2007 Tournament in which he won a gold medal. Since Grunt had previously won a gold medal in another tournament, and he had two gold medals, he was eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame." - Rayne and Funito |
| Alternate IDs | BsK_erer_s, iamgrunt, wargrunt_kr, __Mossar |
| Name | Kang Byung Geon |
| Year of Birth | 1983 |
| Teams/Clans | BsK, TyRanT |
| Recurrent team partners | Halen, kkab |
| Tournament activity | 2001-2006; 2011 |
| Best tournament achievements | Microsoft International Tournament (2001) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 3 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 5 |
| Total cash prize earned | $74,430 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
4. Halen
The Explorer | "A legendary player, Halen was on the famous BsK team back in the MSzone days. He participated in the WCG 2002, which was the biggest tournament that year. He won without losing a single game. In the tournament, Halen’s Feudal Age was unique. He used a stable forward and later added archers in some games. In those days that was a distinctive style of play. He had great micro, killed villagers in many spots, and got an advantage. Halen’s biggest strength, however, was in the Castle Age. He frequently made many TCs to boom, amassed a huge economy and villager lead. This increased an advantage that was usually obtained earlier when he advanced to Castle Age first. His macro worked great with this style of play. He kept up the villager and military production, maintained an economic equilibrium, and raided his opponent all at the same time. The rest was history for anyone behind in the game. After the tournament, Halen retired from AoE2, played Age of Mythology for about a year, and then returned to AoE2 in 2004. Back at AoE2, he played TGs with friends and became one of the best TG players. Halen and other BsK players (Grunt, kkab, Koven, and Yanzi) won three of the WCL tournaments." - Rayne and Funito |
| Alternate IDs | poZ_Ray, _oN_Silva_ |
| Name | Akihiro Nakamura |
| Year of Birth | - |
| Teams/Clans | CNS, BsK, poZ, TyRanT |
| Recurrent team partners | grunt, kkab, Koven, Chun_Yu |
| Tournament activity | 2001-2007; 2011 |
| Best tournament achievements | WCG 2002 |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 4 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 3 |
| Total cash prize earned | $33,987 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
3. Chris
The Situationist | "As far as names go, Chris was the player who will always be remembered. Versatile and highly intelligent, he played all settings. Yet he was mostly known for being a forwarder on Arabia with the Huns. During MSzone, two RM players achieved a rating over 2600: Chris and Daut. They were the strongest and the most competitive players during those years. An intense rivalry developed between them. For example, Chris issued a Best of 21 Challenge to Daut. The winner would be considered “King of AoE2.” For Chris, Arabia with the Huns was where he excelled as a forwarder. He did 22 pop forwards, and over time he became a situationist. Certain factors influenced him such as map, opponent’s style, and meta of the time. This made Chris more skillful at the game. In addition, he had great macro, controlled the economy well, exploited mistakes, and adapted accordingly. He successfully defended himself in the worst situations. Chris was virtually invincible in the Huns war. If that wasn’t enough, Chris was an AoE2 pioneer. He had ideas no one else did: no loom in Dark Age until he researched the Feudal Age, and he invented the 21 pop build order. While other methods faded, Chris’ ideas withstood time. Eventually the game changed and moved in his direction." - Rayne |
| Alternate IDs | L_Clan_Chris, IamChris, Thewanderer, GTL_Chris |
| Name | Chris Bourque |
| Year of Birth | 1988 |
| Teams/Clans | RVK, Wolfpack, Legion Clan, Infinity Legends |
| Recurrent team partners | Capoch, Buddha, Bender |
| Tournament activity | 2001-2017, 2020-present |
| Best tournament achievements | Arbalet Cup 4 (2007) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 14 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 3 |
| Total cash prize earned | $38,843 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
2. Daut
The Eternal Legend | sieste - Why do you think participants chose Daut? What are his strengths and weaknesses as a player? TheViper - Daut is one of the all time greats. His strengths are his macro, strategy and decision making (except when to drop castles). Whenever there are new civs, new game modes and new maps he will always come up with an interesting idea or approach. What are his biggest achievements in the game in your opinion? Definitely the longevity of his success. After all this time he's still achieving and competing at the top, top level. When you first arrived in the competitive scene, what did you think of Daut, what was his status? I didn't really know what to think of him, as he didn't talk much at all and wasn't an active figure, bar playing. It was a completely different landscape as there wasn't streaming, there wasn't discord and all these areas for the community where you got to know each other better. Only place was pretty much Aoczone, and he wasn't active there either. How would you say his play style evolved since then? It is fairly similar to what it was at the time. His ability to macro under pressure is what everyone was talking about back then, and although he has adapted to the times, his playstyle remained consistent. What do you learn from him? I would say my playstyle is quite similar to his all things considered. When I entered the scene he was the best, so I did look to his games to learn. In general, I never really studied games in extreme detail, but I watched many Daut games back then to see what he was doing. His overall gameplay was impressive to me. How different as a player would you be if he was not your teammate? I think I would be quite the same still even if he wasn't my teammate, probably would have more hair. I think our brains work well together though, so when we merge thoughts and ideas, we come up with really good strategies and approaches sometimes. We've played one 2v2 tournament together in our life where we actually prepared together properly, and we won that tournament. I think when we are serious together, we are a really good team, but that's rare (laughs) |
| Alternate IDs | ArgoNaut_GoKu_, CsI_Vegeta_, IamDauT, L_Clan_Shmeker |
| Name | Darko Dautovic |
| Year of Birth | 1985 |
| Teams/Clans | ArgoNaut, CsI, Legion Clan, TyRanT, Secret, Gamer Legion |
| Recurrent team partners | Rami, Viper, kkab, JorDan_23 |
| Tournament activity | 2002-present |
| Best tournament achievements | Brain Champion Cup 2 (2009), War Is Coming (2015) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 14 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 13 |
| Total cash prize earned | $89,912 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
1. TheViper
The Greatest of All Time (the jury has decided) | "TheViper has played Age of Empires for a long time before getting interested in competing. Starting from custom Lord of the Rings scenarios and Land Nomad team games, he progressively switched to Arabia 1v1 in 2011, steadily climbing his way up the ladder. Winning his first tournaments in 2012, TheViper has since become the most dominant player in the history of the game. In addition to his long tournament experience at the highest level, TheViper is a pure archetype of a complete player with great macro, micro and decision making. TheViper is a patient player, who excels at defending and saving gold for the late game, where his superior macro, map awareness and positional play enables him to take the win. Perhaps more than any other player, TheViper offers very little to his opponents, and turns enemy mistakes into a game-deciding advantage." - Tarsiz "When Viper became quite famous around 2011 he was more of a team game player than 1vs1. Then around July of that year he started playing 1vs1. By October he was around 2300, and by March 2012 he was already at the peak level a player ever played his game and of course #1 on the ranked ladder. Watching him improve so fast, faster than any player ever did, was a preamble of what he was going to be. He was probably the first player to dominate every aspect of the game: micro, macro, decision making, and especially, knowledge. I would say up until he showed up almost every player lacked a bit on some area. Viper not only became the best, he changed the way this game was played and he also mastered everything you can think of. Everyone is trying to master all civilisations now because Viper was there trying to master all civilisations and showing how fun it can be. He showed the variety this game has, how to even master all units. He was the main reason why Age of Empires 2 overall gameplay and meta has evolved through the years and he even took DM to the next level. And well, his tournament record shows how absolute dominant he has been. I don’t have the exact math but I would say that from 2013 onwards he has won something like 90% of all tournaments he entered. Won, not reaching semi-finals or finals, won. And we are talking about a game that has a lot of luck involved. He has been the main figure of the game not only by his gameplay but also by his charming personality that we got to know better through his streams. And his masterpieces are the reason why many of us thinks this game would never get boring. It’s hard to imagine in the future someone as dominant and influential as Viper has already been." - Funito |
| Alternate IDs | - |
| Name | Ørjan Larsen |
| Year of Birth | 1991 |
| Teams/Clans | RVK, TyRanT, Secret, Gamer Legion |
| Recurrent team partners | DauT, TaToh, JorDan_23, kkab |
| Tournament activity | 2011-present |
| Best tournament achievements | Hidden Cup 3 (2020) War Is Coming (2015) |
| 1v1 tournament 1st places | 42 |
| TG tournament 1st places | 19 |
| Total cash prize earned | $129,205 |
| Links | esportsearnings | aoe-elo | voobly | aoe2.net | gameplay |
- 5 different players have been placed at #1 in individual lists
- 4 different players were cited in every single individual list
- 73 different players were cited in total by all the participants
- 3 participants put themselves in their own top 20
- Most represented nations in the top 50 are China (9), South Korea and Brazil (4), Norway, Canada, Spain and Finland (3). There is a total of 24 different nations represented in the top 50.
- The number one player in the final list align with 13 individual choices, the top 3 with 7 individual top 3, and the top 5 with 1 individual top 5.
- 3 participants “found” the top 5 in the wrong order. 1 participant “found” the top 9 in the wrong order.
- Most represented nation in the top 10 is South Korea (3).
- Players who were cited in all lists are Viper, DauT, Chris and Halen
- Players who were cited at first place were Viper (13 times), DauT (5 times), Chris, Grunt and Yo (1 time)
- 4 different players were cited in every single individual list
- 73 different players were cited in total by all the participants
- 3 participants put themselves in their own top 20
- Most represented nations in the top 50 are China (9), South Korea and Brazil (4), Norway, Canada, Spain and Finland (3). There is a total of 24 different nations represented in the top 50.
- The number one player in the final list align with 13 individual choices, the top 3 with 7 individual top 3, and the top 5 with 1 individual top 5.
- 3 participants “found” the top 5 in the wrong order. 1 participant “found” the top 9 in the wrong order.
- Most represented nation in the top 10 is South Korea (3).
- Players who were cited in all lists are Viper, DauT, Chris and Halen
- Players who were cited at first place were Viper (13 times), DauT (5 times), Chris, Grunt and Yo (1 time)
1. TheViper
2. DauT
3. Chris
4. Halen
5. Grunt
6. Yo
7. Koven
8. Liereyy
9. kkab
10. Hera
11. Ruso
12. JorDan_23
13. RiuT
14. dogao
15. IORI
16. TaToH
17. Capoch
18. Tim
19. MbL
20. Windy
21. alive
22. BacT
23. Nicov
23. TheMax
25. Ding
26. BT4
27. PeEl
27. IamKmkm
29. Rami
30. Yanzi
31. RD_Champion
31. Bender
33. slam
34. RuKie
35. vivi
36. Kaiser_Wilhelm
37. Buddha
38. Dreams
38. GeeK
40. Goodboy
41. zuppi
41. Abe
41. F1Re
44. paladin
45. Mimmox
45. cyclops
47. Jidba
48. feeling
49. FletcheR
50. True
50. Vile
2. DauT
3. Chris
4. Halen
5. Grunt
6. Yo
7. Koven
8. Liereyy
9. kkab
10. Hera
11. Ruso
12. JorDan_23
13. RiuT
14. dogao
15. IORI
16. TaToH
17. Capoch
18. Tim
19. MbL
20. Windy
21. alive
22. BacT
23. Nicov
23. TheMax
25. Ding
26. BT4
27. PeEl
27. IamKmkm
29. Rami
30. Yanzi
31. RD_Champion
31. Bender
33. slam
34. RuKie
35. vivi
36. Kaiser_Wilhelm
37. Buddha
38. Dreams
38. GeeK
40. Goodboy
41. zuppi
41. Abe
41. F1Re
44. paladin
45. Mimmox
45. cyclops
47. Jidba
48. feeling
49. FletcheR
50. True
50. Vile
Thanks for all the warm response to this project. It has been quite time consuming in the last 2 months but I'm happy how it turned out. If by any chance you feel like tipping me for this you can do it here: https://streamlabs.com/multiples_siestes/tip (it's of course not at all mandatory, and if some crazy people actually end up tipping it will be shared with the people who did the write ups)
Until 2021-12-30, the following thread stood in this place: https://www.aoezone.net/threads/best-aoc-players.69712/
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