Creating a top 10 list consisting of the biggest talents in PUBG is never an easy task, but someone must do it. We have decided to compile a list of top players across the entire pro PUBG scene that display talent, leadership, and potential for the future.

With many faces from the past returning, new contenders emerging and skill levels being at an all-time high, we truly are spoilt for choice.

Who are the Top 10 PUBG Players to watch in 2023?

We made the top PUBG players list to help you figure out who you should keep a closer eye on in 2023! For the rankings we are taking into consideration performances from last year, and up until this current point in this year. Since competition can vary domestically, we wanted to include talent from different regions.

These rankings can change, but currently these are the top 10 players you should watch.

10. Ubah

Source: Natus Vincere

Ivan “ubah” Kapustin is one the original PUBG Esports athletes featured in our highlights. He was the inaugural Nations Cup Champion in 2019 and FaZe Clan’s dominant fragger for almost four years.

During his FaZe stint the roster was even refereed to as: “Ubah and the boys”, for the sheer dominance he exerted on the battlefield. After a hiatus and missing our rankings last year, he re-joined NaVi and brought them the PGC 2022 trophy and hailed in a new era for the team.

In 2023 he seeks to win yet another Championship, but will sadly miss out on the Nations Cup action.

9. Inonix

Na “Inonix” Hee-joo

Na “Inonix” Hee-joo is a veteran in the Korean scene, and a long time member of the dominant Gen.G roster. He made the jump from Gen.G to Danawa at the start of the 2023 season, and as a result, they became the top contender in the Korea region and a big favorite for PGS2 and PGC this season.

8. Pio

Cha “Pio” Seung-hoon

Cha “Pio” Seung-hoon has been featured in our rankings for four years running. He is an impressively consistent player that truely defined the Gen.G era with his unorthodox positioning and insane fragging skills. He enables himself and the rest of the squad to set up quickly, which allows his team to take favoured fights across all maps.

After a small retirement stint, following founding his own (now defunct) team, Pio is back to Gen.G for yet another season of PUBG Esports.

7. BatulinS

Aleksandr “BatulinS” Batulin

Aleksandr was instrumental for the success of Twisted Minds (Virtus.Pro / Northern Lights) over the past few seasons. While the name of the team changed several times, the players and consistency in performance has not. BatulinS is an expert in squad positioning on the map in order to maximize earning points. His game sense and overall fragging power put him right there among the best PUBG players in 2023.

6. Kickstart

Matt “Kickstart” Smith is probably the second best PUBG player in the Americas region, and an absolute gigachad fragger in his own right. Over the past five years, five different teams (Wildcard, Oath, Zenith, eUnited, Luminosity) have looked to Matt for his insane talent in bringing the team the Chicken Dinner.

This season, LG is the closest challenger to the Soniqs over in the Americas region and Kickstart has been a big part of that challenge.

5. xmpl

Artem “xmpl” Adarkin

xmpl is probably the most prolific PUBG ranked pub server player on this list. He is a staple of the EU Server competitive queue and an amazing fragger in his own right. When he is not hunting rats in PUBG lobbies, he is busy maintaining NaVi as the best team in Europe this season.

4. Aixleft

Zuo “Aixleft” Zixuan

Zuo “Aixleft” Zixuan is regularly part of the All-PCS team in China, as well as the Kill Leader in PCS 4, 6 and 7. He is Petrichor Road’s superstar fragger and narrowly misses out on the top 3 in our Best PUBG Players rankings.

If PeRo manage to perform internationally, Aixleft is definitely going to make it into the Top 3 by the end of this year.

3. TGLTN

James “TGLTN” Giezen

Tiggy is arguably the most talented fragger on this list and the best player coming out of the Americas region in PUBG Esports. He is simultaneously among the Top 3 PUBG Players and a Top 3 PUBG Streamer at the same time. The only thing holding James from being the best player on this list are the dog performances of hwinn and M1ME 😂.

2. Nourinz

Thanaporn “Nourinz” Udomphonampai

Thanaporn “Nourinz” Udomphonampai dominates the APAC region and carries Daytrade to most victories this season. Going into PGS Phase 2 in Riyadh, he has a chance to finally break an Thai team into the PUBG Esports elite. This 20-year old still has a prolific career ahead of him, and is only just getting started.

1. ZpYan1

ZpYan1 retains his #1 spot for yet another year. He recently made the transition from NewHappy to 4AM, and now has to battle CRAZY112 for fragging supremacy on the roster. The new 4AM roster is a who’s who super team from the Chinese scene, and ZpYan1 will seek to bring the Global Championship trophy to China this season.

Read next: PUBG Rank System Explained: How to Rise Up in Rank Quickly

Best PUBG Players in 2022

Here is an archive of our previous rankings for 2022. You can use it to check how some players have advanced or declined in rankings over the years.

1. ZpYan1

We start off with one of the most effective In-game leaders actively playing professional PUBG. Zhou “ZpYan1” Pinyan is currently 20 years old and has led his team NewHappy-Esports to great success at a high level. They have won four of their last five tournaments, which consist of four A-tier and one S-tier class competition. His highest accolade came at the 2021 PUBG Global Championship with a 1st place finish. Due to him being young and still performing as a strong IGL, his skill ceiling is as high as anyone on the scene. When all factors are brought together, and combined with his strong teammates, this group and ZpYan1 are definitely a must watch for the rest of 2022 and beyond.

Zhou “ZpYan1” Pinyan

2. TGLTN

Despite no showing across tournaments in 2022, we cannot disregard the skill of James “TGLTN” Giezen, He and his Soniqs squad dominated towards the end of 2021, where they had finished 1st in five of the last six showings. This included an unreal performance in their PGI’s 2021 victory. North America have been dominated by TGLTN and Soniqs thus far, but with the level of competition increasing, can he push on to repeat their success.

If you want to watch the best at work, definitely go to TGLTN. And yes Pr0phie did die for this.

3. Pio

Cha “Pio” Seung-hoon is the IGL for Gen.G and has been one of the most impressively consistent players over the last two years. He had been the driving force behind Gen.G’s success in 2021 and is a versatile rifler plus lurker combined. What sets him apart from the rest is his general map awareness and key positioning. He enables himself and the rest of the squad to set up quickly, which allows his team to take favoured fights across all maps.

On top of winning PUBG Global Championship 2019, Pio represented South Korea at the 2019 Nations Cup and was instrumental for Gen.G’s late rally at PGI.S 2021.

Cha “Pio” Seung-hoon

4. Taikonn

So far we have seen talent from Europe and Asia, but we cannot overlook Vietnamese talent. Ha Huu Tai “Taikonn” is only 17 years of age and is winning titles. Since joining Cerberus Esports in 2019, he has never finished outside of the top 5 in a tournament. To add to this stunning record, he has claimed five 1st place finishes as the primary fragger. Due to being a part of a top Vietnamese set-up, he is only going to get better. With so much development still to come, the world is his oyster. With being so young, he could have the potential to feature on a large NA, Asian or European stage.

Ha Huu Tai “Taikonn”

5. GODV

Former LoL midlaner turned PUBG mastermind Wei “GODV” Zhen is a true PUBG veteran. Active since day one he is the owner and captain of 4AM, and the “Steph Curry of PUBG”. A true throwables god, he provides the stability and know-how to his team to control large and small corners of the map. He is the most famous PUBG player in China, and has represented his country at the Nations Cup and played at both PGC and PGI.s 2021.

Wei “GODV” Zhen

6. Inonix

Na “Inonix” Hee-joo is one of the most reliable players in the world of PUBG. On countless occasions he can be seen to stay calm under pressure. Despite Gen.G finishing 10th in PUBG Global Championships, they are consistently finishing in the top 3 in domestic competitions. This is thanks mostly to Inonix and his game sense. At their most recent competition Battlegrounds Smash Cup Season 6, he won Team MVP and overall finished 1st which is a big achievement. After some big performances in the last few months, there is potential for 2022 to be his most successful year to date.

Na “Inonix” Hee-joo

7. TeaBone

An experienced British talent Luke “TeaBone” Crafer is certainly up there in terms of experience, and in the conversation when it comes to the top 10. He has been a part of the PUBG scene since 2017 and can bring immense value to his current Heroic squad. He is a wildcard entry on this list, but after two consecutive 2nd place finishes, including one at the most recent PUBG Global Championship, we are excited to see if they can go one step further. The next tournament for TeaBone and Heroic is the European PUBG continental Series. This will be an incredible opportunity to establish Heroic as a major European threat.

Luke “Teabone” Crafer

8. Batulins

Sasha “BatulinS” Batulin had previously impressed at Virtus Pro and became a staple name for the organisation. Despite being loaned out with other members, he can be largely congratulated for Northern Light’s recent success. In G-Loot Season 5 and PSL Spring Showdown 2022, he has led the team in attaining 1st place finishes. With how dominating he and his team has been, surely there is more success down the pipeline for this exemplary competitor.

Aleksandr “BatulinS” Batulin | IG: batulins

9. D1gg3r1

One surprise this year could come from FaZe Clans newest addition Daniel “D1gg3r1” Luusua. Despite the lack of tournament wins with Ence, he consistently turned up and provided a solid base for his former squad to play on. His communications had been pivotal for Ence, as they became a squad who consistently finished in the top 10 at events, which did include a strong 6th place finish at G-LOOT Season 5. Undoubtedly, now that he is amongst S-tier players such as Aitzy, Fexx and Gustav, the sky is the limit for this hidden gem. There is plenty of expectation on the new signing, but he has the potential to bring glory to the European giants.

Daniel “D1gg3r1” Luusua

10. Snakers

Finally, Jake “Snakers” Winant sneaks his way onto our list with his highly effective rifling skills. His insane ability to frag out for his team is what qualifies him amongst the best PUBG players in 2022. Despite himself, Kickstart, Relo, and Flud forming into Eunited, they are a real threat in North America. With recent success at the ESL PUBG Masters, Eunited could be the dark horse of the year that shock a lot of people. They are certainly an exciting team and one to get hyped about.

Jake “Snakers” Winant

Quick List

PlayerCurrent Team

ZpYan14AM

NourinzDaytrade Gaming

TGLTNSoniqs

AixleftPetrichor Road

xmplNatus Vincere

KickstartLuminosity Gaming

BatulinSTwisted Minds

PioGen.G

InonixDanawa Esports

UbahNatus Vincere

With all four regions possessing so much talent that excel in many ways, domestic competitions will make for an exciting watch. Additionally, when international tournaments come around, all teams including those with players on this list will provide blockbuster entertainment. It is certainly a year not to be missed. Listed below are competitions currently underway along with some only days away.

Make sure to keep tuned in, as this is a year you do not want to miss. To stay up to date with all things PUBG, keep an eye on our PUBG News section.