DreamHack’s conclusion and a one-week break from OGN’s APEX allow for some time to establish a proper hierarchy of teams. Unfortunately, the splintered competition across North America, South Korea, and Europe means that an accurate set of rankings is almost impossible to set up. Regardless, these standings will attempt to create a list of the current best teams in the world, and are both accomplishment-based and predictive.

Recent placings and current form are both factored into the equation, with a bias towards LAN results rather than online play. Outside of DreamHack and APEX, numerous online tournaments were taken into account, such as the Alienware Monthly Melees and Summit.

You can find the previous edition of the rankings here.

1. Team EnVyUs (chipshajen, InternetHulk, Mickie, HarryHook, Taimou, cocco) [+3]

Photo credit: @kensi131

This position is likely contentious given numerous factors leading up to Team EnVyUs’s current situation. For one, this team isn’t even supposed to exist—Talespin’s departure led to the addition of Mickie, who ended up fixing the hole that the roster previously had. For all the criticism Taimou has received for his recent play, Mickie has been praised enormously. His D.Va finds opportunities like no other, and we’ve seen 3Ks coming out of him where most people would not be able to make such plays. HarryHook’s transition to hitscan DPS has gone over well in a metagame where Soldier: 76 is almost a necessity, and wins over Rogue and Kongdoo Uncia certainly make EnVyUs look very strong.

Luck plays an important role in EnVyUs’s finding themselves thrust back on top of the scene; without Mickie, a last-minute substitution, EnVyUs might not even have advanced past the quarterfinals of APEX. The recent change in the metagame seems to have disrupted two of the previous top teams—Rogue and Lunatic-Hai—to the point where they seem to require much more time to adapt.

The manner in which EnVyUs pulls out its victories must also be addressed; 3–2s are certainly not “convincing” in any fashion, but Team EnVyUs definitely does understand how to play in this metagame. Should Taimou find his previous form in time for the finals of APEX, EnVyUs might be on their way to finally winning their first LAN and cementing their legacy. Their opponent looks far easier than the past two, but that is no reason to take Afreeca lightly. Meanwhile, EnVyUs also have the opportunity to become the first western team to win an OGN tournament.

2. Misfits (SoOn, Zebbosai, skipjack, Nevix, Hidan, COOLLER) [-]

Photo credit: DreamHack

For all intents and purposes, this Misfits team is a completely different one from the time of the Overwatch Open. ryb performed incredibly well at the Overwatch Open, and Kryw looked to be one of the best Zarya players in the world—however, their departures seem to mean less than they should. These Misfits operate under completely different circumstances, with new addition COOLLER shotcalling from Lucio, but they still manage to perform when it matters.

What’s most interesting about Misfits is their ability to bend the metagame seemingly at will. They pioneered the Ana/Mei/Reaper strategy that dominated the Overwatch Open, and instead of succumbing to the hype of triple-tank, they instead ran compositions with 3 DPS heroes. Nevix might be underrated, but he’s quietly performing like one of the best DPS players in the world. SoOn serves as a flashy counterpart, dashing hyper-aggressively around the map and finding plays with his Tracer.

Some might argue Misfits should be higher on the list, while other might find #2 to be too high. Misfits played notably weaker competition at DreamHack Winter, but they still managed to win out; their online results this past month did not inspire confidence, though. With LANs being favored in terms of significance, Misfits’s performances at both the Overwatch Open and DreamHack leave little to be desired, and it’s not the team’s fault that OGN did not extend an invite to APEX. Meanwhile, the online results can be excused under the excuse of acclimating to a brand new roster. Misfits can claim the top spot in the world if they continue their winning ways.

3. Kongdoo Uncia (lucid, Bubbly, Panker, Fatal, birdring, DNCE) [NEW]

Photo credit: @kensi131

What was supposed to be Kongdoo’s “B-team” ended up looking like one of the strongest rosters in the world. Uncia actually did not look particularly strong going into the competition, losing to BK Stars during the group stage of the tournament, but their 3–0 against Lunatic-Hai showed an impressively fast improvement. birdring managed to outperform Taimou in the series against Team EnVyUs, and DNCE put on a remarkable performance throughout the entire tournament, but unfortunately the team was unable to stop Mickie and HarryHook when it mattered. Still, a 2–3 loss to what might just be the best team in the world is nothing to be ashamed of.

Looking forward, Kongdoo Uncia has the opportunity to improve their reputation in Korea through future tournaments. Rogue and NRG both claimed that KDU might be the best team in the tournament, with both predicting the team to take the entirety of APEX—of course, we now know that will not be the case. Regardless, Korea will certainly have more competition soon enough, and Kongdoo Uncia will finally be able to prove their worth.

4. Rogue (aKm, uNKOE, winz, Re1nforce, KnOxXx, TviQ) [-3]

Photo credit: ESL

Make no mistake, Rogue was the best team in the world during the Ana/Reaper metagame. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t get off to a very good start in their debut on the latest patch, and they look nowhere near as dominant as they once were. Admittedly, losing three spots for one lost series seems like a steep price to pay, especially when the series was rather close, but Rogue does have some weaknesses they must patch up before they can reclaim their top spot.

Rogue’s match against EnVyUs looked particularly bad given that they had more time to prepare than their opponents. Their attempts to run double projectile DPS heroes and failure to run D.Va were punishing, but should winz pick up D.Va and the DPS duo find comfort on Soldier: 76 and Roadhog in time for other tournaments, Rogue may very well be able to reclaim their spot. Of course, they could always pull a Misfits and try and counter the metagame, but that doesn’t seem to be Rogue’s style.

5. Lunatic-Hai (tobi, dean, Leetaejun, Ryujehong, EscA, Miro) [-2]

Photo credit: TGBUS

After a period of contending for the spot of best in the world, Lunatic-Hai’s demise comes at an unfortunate time. Admittedly, the team fell under the same circumstances as Rogue, but their 0–3 loss to Kongdoo Uncia is rather disappointing. EscA clearly needed more help in doing damage, but he was left out to dry as birdring picked apart the team in the quarterfinals.

With Winston shoved out of the metagame, Miro has to make good on his promise to become the best overall tank player—D.Va is too important to pass up in this current metagame. It seems that most of Lunatic-Hai’s strengths did not transition with the patch, but given the position they were in before, some time off for practice might be exactly what Lunatic-Hai needed to regain their previous spot. However, the loss to Kongdoo Uncia means that they will not be able to contend for the title of first APEX champion.

6. Fnatic (custa, Stoop, Vonethil, Hafficool, buds, coolmatt69) [-1]

Photo credit: Fnatic

Fnatic’s refusal to play online leaves few data points to use for judgement; however, they’ve performed well at every single event they’ve attended. Fnatic again proved that they are the second best team in North America by surpassing Cloud9, FaZe, and compLexity in the DreamHack Winter Qualifiers. While the loss of iddqd meant that the team would have a different identity during the actual event, Fnatic still performed quite well, taking 2nd place in a very close match against Misfits.

The team’s play against Ninjas in Pyjamas in particular was very good. NiP went into the series favored by most, but Fnatic clutched out Volskaya Industries, and the team played better as a six-man unit—an impressive performance by a new roster. Hafficool’s D.Va and coolmatt69’s return to DPS were both solid performances, but the team might find problems when heroes like Genji return to the metagame. Spreading DPS duties out to three players might work with a triple-tank metagame, but it likely will not be as successful in the future. At that time, Hafficool will need to demonstrate his worth on projectile heroes; for now, the team looks very solid.

7. Ninjas in Pyjamas (kynnel, hymzi, Fragi, Zuppehw, mafu, zappis) [-1]

Photo credit: DreamHack

DreamHack was supposed to be NiP’s final test in which they’d prove themselves as a contender for world’s best; instead, their performance only raised more questions. The Ninjas dominated online performances all month long, taking home five tournament victories without dropping a single series, but a single loss to Fnatic at DreamHack was enough to bring back concerns of their performance on LAN. The strange thing about NiP’s performance was that their play didn’t look particularly bad; instead, Fnatic seemed to bring out an incredible performance to topple the online giants.

Individually, all the players on NiP are incredibly strong, and I honestly do wish I could place the team higher in the rankings. There’s a certain appeal to NiP’s refusal to switch their tactics regardless of the metagame—the team is lucky in that triple tank seems to be the preferred strategy for this patch in particular. However, until the Ninjas demonstrate that they can transition their incredible online performances to a LAN environment, they won’t be able to surpass the 5th-7th range.

8. Afreeca Freecs Blue (ArHaN, Dayfly, J1N, yesman, adam, Recry) [NEW]

Photo credit: GosuGamers

While Afreeca Freecs Blue might find themselves in the finals of OGN APEX, they certainly do not look like they belong in the spot. Their matches have consistently been sloppy, and an 0–3 loss to Rogue during the group stage of the tournament is their only showing against “world-class” competition. Their series against BK Stars was riddled with errors, and a 3–2 victory against REUNITED is not particularly promising given REUNITED’s struggles with a new roster.

Credit must still be given where due—the Freecs are still taking home victories where it matters. ArHaN and Recry actually are a formidable duo and have been playing fairly well. Unfortunately, this tournament still serves as a reminder that placements should not always be taken at face value. The ending of the semifinals was a good summary of the series; if you missed it, watch it here.

9. Cloud9 (Surefour, Adam, KyKy, Mendokusaii, ryb, Roolf) [-]

Not pictured: Mendokusaii, ryb, Roolf // Photo credit: Turner Sports

Cloud9’s pickups are definitely steps in the right direction, and they’ve been particularly good playing against North American competition online. The problem with ranking them highly is that North America has demonstrably been weak outside of the highest level, and Cloud9 has a history of failing to perform at LAN events over the past few months. Given that Fnatic, EnVyUs, and compLexity do not play online often, Cloud9’s only top-tier competition came in the form of FaZe, a team affected by ping issues due to both DPS players living in Europe.

Regardless, Cloud9’s consistent top finishes at regional tournaments is at least reassuring. ryb proved his mettle at the Overwatch Open and brings the same level of play to this roster, while Mendokusaii forms one of the best DPS duos in the world alongside Surefour. The two have a unique ability to play every single DPS hero and are not limited by class. Cloud9 needs to perform well at MLG to prove that they belong higher in the power rankings; another slip-up at a LAN event will only provide more doubt regarding the team’s future.

10. FaZe (ShaDowBurn, FCTFCTN, zombs, Forsak3n, TwoEasy, Rawkus) [-3]

Photo credit: Turner Sports

While FaZe might not have played at any LAN tournaments—they were denied the opportunity by compLexity in the DreamHack Winter Qualifiers—they have taken part in as many tournaments as possible. Unfortunately, the team cannot have consistent results online, as half the players live in Europe. FaZe still looks to be within the top two teams that actively play in North American tournaments, alongside Cloud9, but their true strength will not be apparent until they play at MLG.

FaZe defeated Misfits twice in the European Alienware Monthly Melee, surprising most viewers. While the Misfits roster was new, it is the same roster that went on to win DreamHack Winter only a week later. Plagued with emergency substitutions and poor bracket seeding throughout November, FaZe did finish fairly low at several tournaments, but the context around those matches is forgiving in terms of their standing. Should FaZe wish to advance in the rankings, they’ll have to prove their worth at LAN events.

Honorable mention: compLexity

compLexity is incredibly difficult to rank due to their lack of online performances. They beat out a new Cloud9 roster and a ping-weakened FaZe squad for a spot at DreamHack, but were unable to do much at the actual LAN event, falling to the eventual champions in the semifinals. With minimal data points, FaZe and Cloud9’s consistent placings give both teams a slight edge over compLexity. Regardless, it does seem as though all three teams could beat each other on any given day.