The Counter-Strike Esports scene has always been dominated by one team or the other. The lack of a dominant team in the current scene makes it one of the most volatile and yet, exciting periods in Counter-Strike. We have several teams at the top, but these teams have not shown consistency in their results.

The CS GO Majors are defining periods in CS GO history which see the formation and evolution of so-called ‘eras’. Teams’ performance and strength can change depending on the roster changes or just a lack of form. For the purposes of this article, we will only consider the International tournaments ( with a prize pool greater than $100,000) after the Eleague Boston Major.

In the four months since the Eleague Boston Major, we have seen five such events take place. Each event has a prize pool greater than $100,000 on LAN. They are perfect examples of a team’s form and performance.

The winner’s shuffle

We have seen five different LAN tournaments since the previous Major. Each tournament is held in a different country, a different audience and has its own significance. But as we can see from the final standings, the teams at the top have seen a constant shuffle.

StarSeries I League Season 4

1- Mousesports

2- Na’Vi

3- Liquid

4- Faze Clan

The StarSeries I league Season 4 was the first big tournament the ELeague Boston Major. After losing the Major in a very close series to CLoud9, we expected Faze to dominate this tournament. However, they were unable to move past Na’Vi in the semifinals. The Eleague Boston Major finalists only managed a 3-4th position finish at the tournament. While this was definitely a surprise, the bigger surprise was Na’Vi.

The CIS team managed to defeat both Astralis and Faze Clan to reach the finals. Eventually, they were unable to defeat Mousesports in the finals, following a spirited S1mple performance. S1mple’s ability to outperform the rest of the team cannot be exemplified more by the following scoreboard image against Mousesports.

He was the only player on the Na’Vi squad to have a positive KDA rating. And he had a +37 KDA score, despite his fellow teammates barely coming even. The huge disparity in the scores definitely shows a crucial problem for the Na’Vi squad. The Godlike performance on part of the world’s best player is definitely impossible to maintain throughout his career. There will be periods of time when S1mple does not perform at his best, and that is when Na’Vi’s weaknesses will be laid bare for all to see.

IEM Katowice 2018

Fnatic Faze Clan Astralis Liquid

IEM Katowice 2018 is one of the grandest and most prestigious esports events. The LAN event which houses different esports titles sees the Counter-Strike tournament as one of the main events. The tournament was held from 27th February till the 3rd of March 2018 had a Bo1 Round 1 matches. However, following the first match of the tournament, every other match was a BO3 series. Astralis and Liquid topped Group A while Fnatic and Faze Clan came out on top of Group B.

Faze Clan managed to defeat Astralis 2-0 in the semifinals and proceeded to the finals. On the other hand, Fnatic easily overcame Team Liquid. Both the semifinals were relatively one-sided affairs with neither losing team posing a real threat. Despite the Astralis IGL, Glaive stepping up for the team, the rest of the team was not able to put up a strong performance.

The finals, however, were quite different and exciting. We are seeing a lot more of BO5 finals in CS GO tournaments and when the series goes the distance, it reiterates the excitement of 5 map series. Fnatic won the series 3-2 after a splendid performance by Flusha. The Swedish star seemed on a high similar to his 2015 levels. Fnatic was able to win 2 maps off Overtime finishes. The team was rumored to be bringing in Xizt for Golden into the roster. But this win at IEM Katowice which followed a win at WESG convinced Fnatic to stay with Golden.

Fnatic’s victory at IEM Katowice was definitely a surprise to everyone. No one expected them to reach the finals, much less win the trophy. It is a one-off victory which was proved by their lack of success post-IEM Katowice.

Dreamhack Masters Marseilles

Dreamhack Marseilles saw the start of a direct confrontation between Astralis and Faze Clan. The $250,000 tournament used the GSL format and saw Astralis and Faze Clan against each other in the quarterfinals. The entire Faze roster had a poor performance in this tournament. While supporters might say the absence of Olofmeister ( and the addition of Xizt) was a determining factor, none of the players in the team performed. Faze Clan has some of the best players in the world and it is really surprising to see that none of them were able to put up a positive KDA in their match against Astralis.

The Danes, however, were filled with confidence. They got two of their best maps in Mirage and Nuke. Faze allowing Nuke into the Map pool was definitely a huge surprise as the team has always shown its dislike for the map. Instead, they banned Overpass, a map they feel is definitely a strong suit for Astralis. They were decimated on both the maps ( Nuke and Mirage) and the final score shows that it was a one-sided affair.

It’s easy to blame the poor performance on Olofmeister absence. But Faze Clan was not even close to winning the match against Astralis. This was just the first of their several match-ups against Astralis, a rivalry which would see a few more matchups in the next tournaments.

IEM Sydney 2018

The CS GO scene moved to IEM Sydney for the next big event. The crowds down under were definitely the showcase of the tournament as we saw the enthusiasm as well as the extremely close matches at the event.

Faze Clan Astralis Mousesports Tyloo

The event started off with several surprises and quite a few roster changes preceding the tournament. Most significantly, SK Gaming had Stewie2k on their roster and was looking forth to becoming one of the menacing and strong teams in the scene once more. It was also a tournament where many felt NRG esports could achieve a lot. The flurry of new teams, new rosters at this tournament resulted in several upset matches throughout.

SK Gaming lost to Tyloo and subsequently Grayhound in the Group stages. Their elimination so early in the tournament was a huge surprise. But Faze Clan was not too hot in the Groups either. They lost to Renegades the local Australian team, much to the delight and surprise of their fans. Their subsequent match in the lower bracket saw them barely winning against Grayhound. These results definitely put the feeling of another disappointing Faze Clan performance at IEM Sydney.

The playoffs, however, were a totally different matter. Faze looked much stronger and coordinated amongst themselves. No one expected Faze to deliver and surprisingly they did. Their grand final win against Astralis on the big stage was a redeeming factor for the team. Xizt really stepped up in this tournament, but so did the others in the team. Faze were able to wipe Astralis 3-0 and claim their first victory of 2018. For a team that has constantly been near the top of the scene, obtaining their first trophy of the year only in May 2018 is a big surprise. After losing to Astralis in the Playoffs at Dreamhack Marseilles, this was sweet revenge for Faze Clan.

ESL Pro League Dallas

The end of the ESL Pro League season saw the top teams attend the LAN event in Dallas. The culmination of several months of online matches for a big share of the $750,000 prize pool saw Astralis take home the trophy with relative ease.

Astralis Liquid Natus Vincere Faze Clan

The ESL Pro League was probably the first tournament where there was total uncertainty on who could be the winner of the tournament. Many had Faze and Astralis as their favorites, but no one could say for certain. The two teams have been trading victories since quite a few events. Sadly for viewers and for the tournament, the two teams’ paths crossed in the semifinals itself. The repeat of the IEM Sydney 2018 Finals was expected to be very close and go the distance of three maps.

But Astralis were simply the better team by a mile on this particular day. The final score for the series read 2-0 ( 16-3,16-6). The matches were extremely one-sided with Guardian definitely having a very poor performance. While it’s not uncommon for CS GO players to have bad days, it just seemed as if the entire Faze Clan was not performing at all.

Glaive is proving to be one of the best performing IGL’s in the scene. With consistent performances and often topping the charts for the team, he is invaluable to the success of the team. His performance in the match against Faze Clan was crucial to the final score.

Increased competition is good for the scene

So we finally come to the question, Which team is the best team? There is no fixed answer to this question. Remember we take our sample size only from LAN events mentioned above. Faze and Astralis are obviously the two top contenders for the title. But their inconsistency in securing top finishes as well as the constant tug of war for the title matches makes them very volatile. Astralis is looking extremely strong, especially in light of Faze’s inconsistent performances so far on LAN. We are on the verge of seeing an Astralis era, it has been a long time coming. However, unless they win the Major it will be difficult to call this an Astralis era.

The second tier of teams includes Liquid and Na’Vi. Team Liquid has seen a roster change and it looks extremely strong on paper. But they still have a long way to go in terms of establishing their synergy and chemistry. Na’Vi is a team which depends heavily on S1mple putting on Godlikes performances. There are still instances when the team can win despite S1mple not winning, but these are rare and unexpected.

Over the next few months, there are very few events where we will see all the top teams in attendance. Faze and Astralis will be seen together next at the ECS Lan Finals in Wembley. But the open nature of the CS GO circuit is good for the fans and the competition alike.