Today marks the relaunch of my CS:GO World Rankings. When I originally launched the concept in 2014 there were no other attempts at a global ranking, regularly updated, of the world’s top teams. Other rankings have since risen up which have taken a similar approach, so I have rethought some of the surrounding concepts and designed a new approach. On the one hand, the ranking retains it’s numerical system, going from one down to 10, and on the other it simultaneously addresses the context of how strong a team is outside of the number attached to the name.

My rankings run over an exact three month span, extending back three months prior to the date they are published, and encapsulating all offline results within that time span. This allows for a sense of how good a team is to be established after they have had time to accomplish multiple placings, but without unduly letting teams who were fantastic many months ago hang on to top rankings when the game and time has moved on.

As well as placings, the value of which is determined by the prestige of the tournament and the quality of the opposition in attendance, the opponents a team beats counts to their ranking. Teams who defeat Top 10 opponents, with the higher ranked teams more valuable scalps to claim, help determine their overall ranking and break ties with other teams who have similar kinds of placings. Likewise, victories in Best-of-3 (Bo3) series are of more value than Bo1 results over teams of a similar level. Unlike past editions of my rankings, I will also list the victories teams have had over ranked opponents.

When a team changes players then past results are counted at a proportionally lower value, based on how many remaining players were present at that time.

The key approach which changes the nature of these rankings is the addition of a tier-based system as well, taking cues from the “class” vernacular of the StarCraft: Brood War community of the 2000s and recent rankings by Esports Kingdom. S class are the elite teams, who can be expected to win tournaments. A class are the teams below them, good and capable of competing with them but not expected to be the favourite at tournaments featuring all the teams. B class are the teams below both of the previous tiers, solid sides and capable of being ranked but not top teams.

The importance of this change is that it prevents situations where the scene, perhaps due to roster moves or a lull in form, has few elite sides and so a team finds themselves ranked fifth who likely will never win a big tournament. In other eras, perhaps even the fourth and fifth ranked teams are championship material. The class system will signify as much.

19th April – 19th July 2018

Tournaments impacting the ranking (due to teams ranked attending)

Apr 18 – 22 Dreamhack Masters Marseille

Apr 24 – 26 Qi Invitational

May 01 – 06 IEM XIII Sydney

May 11 – 13 ESEA Season 27: Global Challenge

May 15 – 20 EPL S7 Finals

May 19 – 21 DreamHack Open Tours

May 23 – 24 Adrenaline Cyber League

May 28 – Jun 03 Starladder S5

Jun 01 – 03 DreamHack Open Austin

Jun 08 – 10 ECS S5 Finals

Jun 09 – 10 Moche XL Esports

Jun 13 – 17 ESL One Belo Horizonte

Jun 14 – 18 CS:GO Asia Championships

Jun 16 – 18 DreamHack Open Summer

Jul 03 – 08 ESL One Cologne

Jul 07 – 11 Americas Minor Championship – London

Jul 10 – 13 CIS Minor Championship – London

Jul 12 – 14 DreamHack Open Valencia

S Class – Elite Teams

Credit: Jennika Ojala and Dreamhack

1. Astralis [device, dupreeh, Magisk, Xyp9x and gla1ve]

Recent form:

Dreamhack Masters Marseille (1st)

IEM XIII Sydney (2nd)

EPL S7 Finals (1st)

ECS S5 Finals (1st)

ESL One Cologne (3rd-4th)

Ranked wins:

Bo5: TL (EPL S7)

Bo3: TL (DH Marseille), FaZe (DH Marseille), FNC (DH Marseille), Na`Vi (DH Marseille), mouz (IEM Sydney), FNC (IEM Sydney), mouz (IEM Sydney), SK (EPL S7), TL (EPL S7), FaZe (EPL S7), FaZe (ECS S5), TL (ECS S5), C9 (ESL Cologne)

Bo1: C9 (ECS S5), TL (ECS S5), Na`Vi (ESL Cologne)

Astralis’ dominance is undeniable and puts them far atop the rankings in all regards. They’ve won three significant offline tournaments, made the final of another and placed top four at a fifth. Even other teams with multiple event victories cannot boast the same level of prestige and quality of competition in attendance. The Danes have not only won those tournaments and placed so highly, but have very rarely ever been beaten or even given up maps at the events they’ve attended. As such, the list of ranked victims they have slain is outrageous, seeing them beat every single top team in the world and often with repeated frequency.

The teams below Astralis have impressive resumes in their own rights, but Astralis has every box checked and such strong form over the last two months that it will require both failure on their part and fabulous runs from their peers to see them toppled from their throne atop these rankings. It may not be the ‘Age of Astralis’ yet, but the possibility looms.

Credit: Starladder

2. Natus Vincere [s1mple, electronic, flamie, Edward and Zeus]

Recent form:

Dreamhack Masters Marseille (2nd)

EPL S7 Finals (3rd-4th)

StarSeries S5 (1st)

CS:GO Asia Championships (1st)

ESL One Cologne (1st)

Ranked wins:

Bo3: FNC (DH Marseille), mouz (DH Marseille), FaZe (EPL S7), SK (SLTV S5), mouz (SLTV S5), C9 (ESL Cologne), FNC (ESL Cologne), Astralis (ESL Cologne)

Bo1: mouz (SLTV S5)

Na`Vi’s collection of the ESL One Cologne title not only continued a now three tournament streak of trophy lifts but added the much needed high prestige win, with all the top competition in attendance, that they needed, the others being light in one regard or another. Earlier this year Na`Vi would have been an ideal example of the value of my new tier system adaptation for the rankings, as they had strong placings and some big wins, but they did not legitimately look like an S tier team and were essentially being boosted by a god of the game.

Now, Na`Vi are both a dangerous threat to Astralis in a direct match-up, as they highlighted in Germany, and for the top spot over the coming months. A glance at their Bo3 victories shows them slaying numerous top teams from tournament to tournament. Na`Vi are finally an elite team again, a statement it was hard to envision making again at times after s1mple’s arrival back in 2016.

Credit: Helena Kristiansson and ESL

3. FaZe Clan [NiKo, GuardiaN, rain, cromen and karrigan]

Recent form:

Dreamhack Masters Marseille (5th-8th) [Xizt]

IEM XIII Sydney (1st) [Xizt]

EPL S7 Finals (3rd-4th) [Xizt]

ECS S5 Finals (2nd)

ESL One Belo Horizonte (1st)

ESL One Cologne (3rd-4th)

Ranked wins:

Bo5: Ast (IEM Sydney), mouz (ESL BH)

Bo3: C9 (IEM Sydney), FNC (IEM Sydney), mouz (EPL S7), SK (EPL S7), TL (ESL BH), MiBR (ESL Cologne), FNC (ESL Cologne)

Bo1: C9 (EPL S7)

FaZe Clan’s accomplishments are even more startling when one considers each of their five top four finishes listed here was using a stand-in and even saw them swapping stand-ins too! Massive credit goes to karrigan’s uncanny ability to integrate players rapidly and get working form out of them to win games in the immediate short-term.

Victory at IEM Sydney was a big win for FaZe, especially coming over Astralis, and their form has been strong at all the other top tournaments they have attended. The Belo Horizonte trophy carries less weight, due to having no Astralis or Na`Vi in attendance and mouz being limited by using a stand-in in place of their star AWPer.

To clarify a detail regarding the line-up listed, it is worth noting that until olofmeister plays another offline game for them that the team ranked here is the most recent line-up fielded by the squad, hence cromen is still listed, despite having departed from the line-up now. FaZe has a highly impressive set of opponents beaten, especially with a Bo5 series win over Astralis.

Of course, all results with Xizt have 20% of their impact reduced when weighing up FaZe’s position in the rankings. As such, that will become a problem once the olof line-up resumes play, as FaZe’s strong tournament placing resume will immediately take a hit and put them further from Astralis and Na`Vi and closer to the A tier teams, unless the super-team is able to immediately score top placings.

A Class – Top teams, but not championship favourites

Credit: Starladder

4. Team Liquid [NAF, EliGE, Twistzz, TACO and nitr0]

Recent form:

Dreamhack Masters Marseille (9th-12th)

EPL S7 Finals (2nd)

StarSeries S5 (5th-8th)

ECS S5 Finals (2nd)

ESL One Belo Horizonte (3rd-4th)

ESL One Cologne (13th-16th)

Ranked wins:

Bo3: mouz (EPL S7), Na`Vi (EPL S7), FNC (ECS S5)

Bo1: Ast (DH Marseille), Ast (EPL S7), SK (SLTV S5), FNC (ECS S5), FaZe (ESL BH)

North America’s pride stand as a great example of my tier system in action. Their runs at the EPL and ECS finals showed they can compete with the best teams in the world, but they have no secured titles and those events marked the high water mark for the same team which has shown us a weaker face with placings like 9th-12th at Marseille and last place at ESL One Cologne. While top four at ESL One Belo Horizonte might look like a solid placing, it’s worth nothing Team Liquid was the highest ranked team with a complete line-up in attendance, with both teams in the final using stand-ins, yet failed to even play in the final.

Liquid’s rankings are respectable, at times even strong, and their list of victories is good, though far below the three teams ranked above them. For now, the North Americans seem to have failed the test to become an S tier side, instead sliding back to become the best of the A tier. Their ranked wins show that while they have had some nice results, much of their strong runs has been built off the empty calories of beating unranked teams. Gatekeeper status fits Liquid and they will be tested even then as their EPL S7 Finals placing comes off the books.

Credit: Starladder

5. mousesports [oskar, suNny, ropz, Snax and chrisJ]

Recent form:

Dreamhack Masters Marseille (5th-8th) [STYKO]

IEM XIII Sydney (3rd-4th) [STYKO]

EPL S7 Finals (5th-6th) [STYKO]

StarSeries S5 (3rd-4th) [STYKO]

ESL One Belo Horizonte (2nd) [n0thing]

ESL One Cologne (9th-12th)

Ranked wins:

Bo3: SK (DH Marseille), Na`Vi (SLTV S5), NiP (SLTV S5), TL (ESL BH)

Bo1: NiP (DH Marseille), Ast (IEM Sydney), Na`Vi (SLTV S5), FaZe (ESL BH)

Back when they won StarSeries S4, in narrow fashion admittedly, mouz looked poised to make a run at the world number one ranking, with FaZe stuttering at the finish line, SK falling apart and Astralis yet to assert themselves as the dominant force. Sadly, that moment actually marked the end of mouz’s time as an S tier side. As each event came and went they slid down to a lower level of placing and won less big matches against the top ranked sides. Their only victory elite victories still standing as a group stage Bo3 win over Na`Vi, who repaid them in the more important semi-final rematch at the same tournament, and taking a map from Astralis in Sydney.

Compounding their slide towards merely being a good team has been their roster move, bringing in Snax for STYKO. What were solid play-off finishes become less important and mouz find themselves legitimately on the outskirts of becoming a B tier side in the coming months. The talent is there, but have their fall on mirage and disappearing supremacy on nuke been the omens of their time as a place-holder S tier team coming to an end?

B Class – Ranked but not top teams

Credit: MiBR

6. Made in Brazil [coldzera, fer, Stewie, Boltz and FalleN]

Recent form:

Dreamhack Masters Marseille (9th-12th)

IEM XIII Sydney (13th-16th)

EPL S7 Finals (5th-6th)

Adrenaline Cyber League (1st)

StarSeries S5 (5th-8th)

Moche XL Esports (1st)

ESL One Belo Horizonte (3rd-4th)

ESL One Cologne (7th-8th)

Ranked wins:

Bo3: GMB (Adren), TL (SLTV S5), North (ESL Cologne)

Bo1: NiP (EPL S7), Na`Vi (SLTV S5)

The former SK Gaming have been a team tortured by the potential of recognisable names but a lack of top placings. Once upon a time it was a given this team would be in each and every play-off and with a chance to lift the trophy. Over this three month span they have won only meaningless trophies, in the context of S tier play, and on numerous occasions have been eliminated either prior to the play-offs or early on in bracket play.

It’s a testament to the veteran qualities and experience of the team that they have still put some ranked wins on the board, but even those are of a lesser nature and not seeing them beating elite teams, beyond taking a map from Na`Vi at Starladder. It is a sign of the times that MiBR are not even included as an A Class team, instead marking the beginning of the B Class bracket. Getting back into contention is a more significant goal right now than imagining they will win trophies outright.

The addition of tarik doesn’t hurt too much, with so few top placings with boltz, so there is much to be gained in the coming months if the Brazilian squad can battle the A and S Class teams again.

Credit: Adela Sznajder and Dreamhack

7. FNATIC [KRiMZ, JW, flusha, draken and Xizt]

Recent form:

Dreamhack Masters Marseille (3rd-4th) [Golden, lekr0]

IEM XIII Sydney (5th-6th) [Golden, lekr0]

ECS S5 Finals (5th-6th) [Golden]

ESL One Cologne (5th-6th)

Ranked wins:

Bo3: NiP (DH Marseille), C9 (ECS S5)

Bo1: Na`Vi (DH Marseille), North (ESL Cologne), FaZe (ESL Cologne)

The black and orange were another team, along with mouz and Team Liquid, who occupied place-holder status months ago, marked by their epic victory in Katowice and big payday at WeSG. With those events now dropped off the books, FNATIC find themselves in a precarious position. While their run of form, with four straight play-off appearances, edges them out over a team like BIG, whose most immediate result has been more impressive, flusha and the gang see their first two placings at a diminished 60% value, thanks to roster changes, and ECS at 80%.

Their ranked victories are few and fairly meagre, but they have enough all around to keep them in a respectable seventh place, though with the potential to drop quickly in the coming editions of the rankings.

Credit: ESL

8. BIG [tabseN, nex, smooya, tiziaN and gob b]

Recent form:

Qi Invitational (7th-8th)

ESEA S27 Global Challenge (1st)

ESL Belo Horizonte (5th-6th)

ESL One Cologne (2nd)

Ranked wins:

Bo3: MiBR (ESL Cologne), FaZe (ESL Cologne)

Bo1: TL (ESL Cologne), Na`Vi (ESL Cologne)

The German crowd and fans of underdog runs were enamoured with BIG’s charge to the finals in Cologne, defeating FaZe and taking on Na`Vi in the final, but that was the only truly notable finish on their resume. As such, one has to weigh up how a single strong placing contrasts with less impressive but more consistent finishes, such as those FNATIC has shown. This is where having ranked wins to consider also helps, so it tells us something about the nature of the tournament, which featured numerous upsets at all levels, and the quality of opponents BIG faced that they didn’t rack up many ranked wins.

Beating FaZe, albeit with a stand-in, is no joke, but MiBR have been a soft scalp for a while and even that was a very close series. BIG have broken into the rankings, a feat one would not have anticipated prior to the Cologne, and has a big placing which is good for a few months now, but more is needed if they imagine they can clamber up as high as becoming an A Class team.

Credit: Adela Sznajder and Dreamhack

9. North [valde, Kjaerbye, mixwell, aizy and MSL]

Recent form:

Dreamhack Open Tours (1st) [mertz]

StarSeries S5 (3rd-4th) [mertz]

Dreamhack Open Summer (3rd-4th) [mertz]

ESL One Cologne (9th-12th) [mertz]

Dreamhack Open Valencia (1st)

Ranked wins:

Bo3: GMB (DH Tours), TL (ESL Cologne)

Bo1: mouz (SLTV S5), MiBR (ESL Cologne)

North were the punchline of a cruel joke when they failed to make any impact earlier this year, while Kjaerbye’s former team established themselves as the best team in world Counter-Strike. The last few months have been far kinder, seeing MSL’s squad rack up a solid run of form at tier two events, winning two Dreamhack titles, and even making a semi-finals appearance at StarSeries S5.

Obviously the level of competition North has faced at Dreamhack tournaments has not been ranked opposition or any S Class sides, but their placings have put them at the leading front of what is traditionally referred to as “tier 2” in the scene and now bursting into the top 10. Along the way they have opportunistically been able to score some notable victories on teams with name value but fading, most emphatically their 2:0 series win over Team Liquid at ESL One Cologne. Their decision to take mixwell to Valencia puts them in a strange spot, since it makes their previous placings less valuable and yet they may yet return mertz to the line-up nonetheless.

North, at least with mertz in the line-up, don’t look capable of deep runs right now and have relied on being a team with a good IGL capable of grinding out close wins and three map series, particularly over unranked sides, but their resume is enough to earn them a ranked spot again and now they look for a big tournament finish to propell them up and past some of the more shaky opposition ahead.

Credit: Starladder

10. NRG [CeRq, nahtE, Brehze, FugLy and daps]

Recent form:

IEM XIII Sydney (9th-12th)

EPL S7 Finals (9th-12th)

StarSeries S5 (2nd)

ECS S5 Finals (3rd-4th)

Americas Minor (4th)

Ranked wins:

Bo3: TL (SLTV S5)

Bo1: FaZe (ECS S5)

NRG’s raw placings show the potential many raved about online. After overcoming initial offline jitters they went all the way to the final at StarSeries and then secured a top four finish at ECS. Both come with some unflattering context, though. StarSeries had them defeating only Team Liquid in terms of ranked opposition and ECS was the result of winning two Bo1 games, though one being over a FaZe side with a stand-in. That NRG has no other ranked wins to show for themselves, no more top finishes and have most recently failed to make the major showcases where the squad sit right now. Some potential, not always on display, and with a lot to do still to be considered a side with a name to fear.

These rankings will be produced on a more regular schedule than the previous. On months with multiple events, there will likely be more than one edition, ensuring teams get their time in the sun for their top finishes and the teams fading fast shuffle off before they become easy scalps to claim.