The IEM Katowice 2019 Major just took place and thats it is time for another tier rankings. This time we see only our second ever double-rank-jump as well as some new faces popping into high-tiers and some fan favorites falling down the table.

Tier Rankings compiled by Jamie "PalmtopPitbull" Wert (@PalmtopPitbull on Twitter) and Grady Hooker (@GradyHooker on Twitter).

S-Tier Astralis A-Tier NaVi Liquid MIBR B-Tier FaZe NiP ENCE Renegades Vitality C-Tier mousesports NRG BIG HellRaisers Fnatic Ghost Cloud9 G2 AVANGAR D-Tier North compLexity OpTic TyLoo Vega Spirit Grayhound Furia Winstrike ViCi Valiance Enyvus

Reasons for Selected Teams (Movement or Roster Changes)

ENCE (Already in B): When we moved ENCE to B Tier after the Minors, people said it was premature. We feel the Major vindicated our decision. If they can repeat in Sao Paulo what they did in Katowice, we will more than likely move them to A Tier.

Renegades (+1): Renegades finally proved that an APAC Region team can make it to the Champions Stage with an impressive run through the Major.

Vitality (+2): Vitality performed very well at the Major, with only 1 loss to a non-Champions Stage team. They also played very close matches with NiP, Renegades, and NaVi. While they have some clear weaknesses they need to fix, they could be France's best hope moving forward.

mousesports (-1): We wanted to hold off on dropping them until we got more to go off of, but we felt that we could not wait any longer.

NRG (-1): NRG showed they are not at the level of the other B Tier teams by getting swept out of the Legends Stage.

G2 (+1): They beat Fnatic and TyLoo in the Challengers Stage. While they didn't do much more, we feel based off their play that they are stronger than the other D Tier teams and deserved to move up.

AVANGAR (+1): AVANGAR's losses at the Major came to Renegades, Liquid, NaVi, and ENCE, all Champions Stage teams. While they played Liquid close, and beat FaZe, NRG, and G2. They earned this spot.

Explanation of Tiers

S-Tier: Teams you expect to win every tournament they are in. They are the current kings of the Counter-Strike scene.

A-Tier: Teams that can be expected to easily beat teams in the tiers below, and may even upset an S-Tier team once in a while. Regularly makes the playoffs.

B-Tier: Teams that; Have shown recent potential or Former A-Tier teams with recent and extended periods of poor play.

C-Tier: Teams that; Have had decent showings at recent international LANs or Teams that may have dropped off recently, but have historically decent placements and can potentially make the playoffs.

D-Tier: Teams that have appeared at a few international LANs recently, likely via qualifiers, but have not shown skill consistently on the level of the other tiers. Rarely make playoffs if they ever have.

These rules are not exact, and they are not hard and fast. There are always exceptions. If there were not, it would become impossible to rank teams due to the nature of the game.