We have updated our Global Team Ranking—powered by EGB.com—for November 2016.

As has become customary, November has been another busy month for the best teams in the world with tournaments taking place online and offline relentlessly. The two biggest events this month happened on North American soil: IEM Oakland and the ending of ELEAGUE Season 2. The points for the latter, which took place over the league's five weeks, will be tallied in this update with the exception of the form column which was updated as the tournament developed.

Some of the lower ranking teams, as well as higher ranked teams who braved the schedule, also had their chance to climb the ranks with tournaments such as Northern Arena and DreamHack ZOWIE Open Winter.

With the main Major qualifier kicking-off in less than two weeks and the Major itself looming on the horizon, teams are starting to buckle down in anticipation. The only major roster change has been SK parting ways with Lincoln "⁠fnx⁠" Lau, taking away the player's points from SK in the ranking. Standing-in for him at this weekend’s ECS Season 2 Finals will be the old school Portuguese player Ricardo "⁠fox⁠" Pacheco.



SK and NiP looking at the #1 spot

This month has seen what is known as the uncertainty or parity era crystalize. The level of competition between all of the top teams and even some of the lower placed teams has made it incredibly hard for analysts and fans alike to predetermine outcomes, and in many instances upsets have become the norm. With only eight out of 16 teams attending the qualifier being able to earn places at the next Major, it looks like the end of December will be one filled with thrills.

Keeping in tune with last month, we once again have six teams with over 600 points on the top. On the other hand, the most notable change from last month is at the helm of the ranking, as the new number one team on this update only has 881 points compared to last month’s 927, and the teams at the top of the table now have shorter distances between each other.

To summarize the ranking for new readers:

Our team ranking is based on teams' achievements over the past year (with severe decay in points throughout each month), recent form over the last 2 months, and performance at offline events in the last 3 months. Each team is required to have a three-man core in order to retain their points and online results are included but have minimal effect (only affecting 'Form') at the top of the table and mainly serve to put new teams on the map.

We will always have a special page where you will be able to find the latest, weekly version of our ranking.

Here is the current top 30 table as of December 5th, 2016, which goes more in-depth into the way points are distributed. You can see the lineup for each team by hovering over their name in the table.

Please note that the +/- gain on this table differs from our weekly rankings page, and is in relation to the ranking update of October 2016.

Top 30 Team Ranking Powered by EGB.com

Rank Team Achievements Form LANs Total points +/- 1. NiP 412 169 300 881 +5 2. SK 500 187 141 828 -1 3. Virtus.pro 445 88 208 741 -1 4. Astralis 332 160 218 710 +11 5. Dignitas 325 123 197 645 -2 6. OpTic 317 135 173 625 +6 7. Cloud9 271 144 153 568 -2 8. FaZe 228 200 135 563 +5 9. Natus Vincere 312 57 165 534 -5 10. G2 259 109 113 481 -3 11. mousesports 159 78 85 322 -3 12. Immortals 111 131 58 300 +2 13. Envy 132 98 64 294 -4 14. Liquid 160 46 66 272 -4 15. Gambit 84 111 43 238 +8 16. fnatic 129 65 22 216 -5 17. GODSENT 65 76 43 184 +8 18. Heroic 70 62 37 169 +1 19. Renegades 53 80 29 162 +2 20. FlipSid3 62 33 26 121 -4 21. TYLOO 38 62 21 121 -4 22. Kinguin 37 56 23 116 +2 23. HellRaisers 41 44 28 113 -5 24. Epsilon 23 51 20 94 +2 25. VG.CyberZen 17 52 14 83 -5 26. LDLC 13 40 13 66 +1 27. Vexed 6 36 10 52 +2 28. Space Soldiers 15 29 5 49 +2 29. ALTERNATE aTTaX 11 33 4 48 -7 30. TSM 21 25 1 47 +5





*Hover over each team name for the full lineup.

We will now discuss the top fifteen teams in the ranking and examine whether or not their fortunes rose or fell in the month of November.

1. NiP

For the first time in over half a year, since April, we have a new number one as SK ceded their spot after losing fnx’s share of points. This also translates into a very weak #1 with only 881 points. However, NiP can make claims of their own having been the only team to win two premier events in recent times, at SL i-League StarSeries Season 2 and more importantly for our ranking at IEM Oakland this month. It is worth noting NiP are the only team maxing out on recent LAN points.



f0rest: MVP collector

While the other big event this month, ELEAGUE’s playoffs, was a bit of a disappointment—going out in the quarterfinals—it was against a revamped Astralis that made it all the way to the championship game.

With the legendary duo of GeT_RiGhT and f0rest getting back in form—the latter being the first to win two MVP titles—the Ninjas have made their mark at the top of the table obtaining the spot at the cusp despite having played most of the season with Mikail "⁠Maikelele⁠" Bill as a stand-in and just recuperating pyth from injury. Another first will be the fact that the number one ranked team will have to qualify for a Major, which furthers the notion of parity amongst the top teams.

2. SK

The Brazilian squad, despite being mired by fnx’s departure, have been so far a top 3-4 team at every tournament they play. Despite not winning anything since their last Major, this month they have taken a 3-4 at ELEAGUE and second place at IEM Oakland only behind the Swedes of NiP, who usurped their throne.



SK's consistency hurt by fnx's departure this month

Such a strong string of results, even with no victories, gives SK a maxed out achievement column, with 500 points, the only team in the ranking to have that. Furthermore, they are also the team with the highest form, with 186.5 points.

The decision to include fox into the team has been a bit of a conundrum as the team already boasts one of the best if not the best AWPer and secondary AWPer combination. The Tuga has been lauded as a team player, though, and while glock dropping memes may be flying around a good teammate may be just what SK need at the moment.

3. Virtus.pro

Virtus.pro dropped one spot in our rankings since last month, not a huge change, in large part due to the fact that the points have been so spread throughout the field. The only LAN result for the Poles this month has been a 5-8 at ELEAGUE, which while nothing to call home about, is still making it to the playoffs as the first in their group in one of the biggest tournaments of late.

The Polish team has bucked the trend of oversaturated schedules by doing something not many teams have been considering which is pulling out of big tournaments, including most recently IEM Oakland. It remains to be seen, however, if this trend will improve the team as a quarterfinal exit at ELEAGUE is all we have to go with for now and if this competitive solecism could come back to haunt the team.

The Poles are now going to miss ECS Season 2 and are already qualified for the Major, so strong showings when they reappear in January will be necessary for them to keep their good achievements and recent LANs numbers and hold on at the top of the rankings.

4. Astralis

Astralis have made a massive eleven spot leap after culminating a great month on and offline making the ELEAGUE finals and nudging themselves back into the top 5 in our global monthly ranking since they were last seen in fourth place in May. Astralis aren’t topping any of the charts, but hold solid numbers across the board including a 218 in recent LANs, the second highest.

A semifinal run at IEM Oakland where the Danes lost to the number one in the world team at the time, SK, and a second place at ELEAGUE beating teams like NiP and SK gives a shining newfangled Astralis renewed credibility. Furthermore, Astralis won the online portion of ECS which they ended with a 10 map winning streak.



gla1ve leading the MAGA charge

The ECS finals this weekend will be a perfect chance for Astralis to solidify their comeback into the top ranks, and with a spot secured at the next Major the Danes won’t have to worry about the Major qualifier the following week. If Astralis can pull off a good finish in Anaheim they’ll have the merriest of Christmases ahead of the Major.

5. dignitas

It seemed for a while Dignitas had established themselves as the Danish team of reference, but now they find themselves behind Astralis once again. Last month’s win at EPICENTER: Moscow propelled Dignitas into the spotlight, but a 7-8 bombing out at DreamHack ZOWIE Open Winter and a 5-8 finish at ELEAGUE this month put their feet back on the ground.

While the Danes were possibly the biggest disappointment in Jönköping where they fell to Kinguin and FlipSid3, ELEAGUE is a different story as they made it first place out of groups and an unlucky three map loss (16-14 in the decider) to SK which could have gone either way ended Dignitas's options early on.

ECS will be a good chance for Dignitas to bounce back. While Magisk had to fly back home for school engagements, Valdemar "⁠valde⁠" Bjørn Vangså should be able to at least hold up in the firepower department despite a more than possible loss in teamplay.

6. OpTic

Possibly the biggest surprise to come out of this month’s competition has been OpTic winning ELEAGUE Season 2. While they had made an incursion into the top 10 on November 9, in 9th place, OpTic have solidified their top 10 standing winning a $1,000,000+ tournament in a solid team effort. While their strength of schedule in the playoffs wasn’t the greatest, lifting the trophy over Astralis gave them due credit.



Expected

Despite a disappointing DreamHack ZOWIE Open Winter, where they bombed out last next to Dignitas, winning Northern Arena over G2 helped put them over the edge as the last team in the over 600 club, with 625 points. They now have a golden opportunity to get into the top 5 if they can keep their momentum going into ECS.

7. Cloud9

Before OpTic’s ELEAGUE win Cloud9 were by far and large considered the best North American team hovering in and around the top 5 for the past few months. Stewie2K and company had a great start to the season culminating in a win at ESL Pro League, but since then have been faltering on the big stages with a 7-8 place finish at IEM Oakland despite a good showing at the qualifier, the iBP Masters, and falling in 5-6 place at DreamHack Winter.

Not having made it out of groups at ELEAGUE was also a big blow, so a solid showing at ECS will be crucial for Cloud9 to maintain their place in the ranks and stay in the fight with OpTic for best team in North America.

8. FaZe

FaZe are another team that made a big leap from last month to now, breaking the top 10 barrier for the first time after a top 4 finish at IEM Oakland, which they qualified for with another top 4 finish at iBP Masters. The karrigan move seemed to solve a lot of issues, as ELEAGUE was the first time FaZe made it out of groups and they were then able to make it to a semifinal once again. These results have given FaZe a perfect score on the form column.



karrigan making life after Astralis work

Having been a team closer to 15 than 10 for the last few months, if FaZe can keep these results up they have a shot at solidifying their spot in the top ranks, but they still have a long way to go before the year ends as ECS this weekend and the Major qualifier next weekend will be key for the European team.

9. Natus Vincere

Natus Vincere blasted into the top 3 after s1mple joined the team a few months back. However, a lot has changed for the CIS team and they are now slowly gliding down the rankings. Na`Vi hit their peak form early in the season with at big win in New York and a top 4 finish in Moscow, but have been harmed by poor online play which has caused them to miss events. More recently and à propos to this ranking update, bombing out of groups at ELEAGUE and IEM Oakland has sped things up to a plummet.

Dropping out of ECS will also harm the CIS team, as they will be unable to earn any more points before the end of the year and with an already poor form column, Na`Vi can’t afford to have their achievements and recent LAN numbers fall, which they will.

10. G2

Rounding out the top 10 are G2. The French team that was able to make it into the top last season has had a rough time since the break. With the exception of a second place finish at Northern Arena, they bombed out of groups at ELEAGUE and finished 5-6 at IEM Oakland.



G2 will look to bounce back for the Major's offline qualifier

While G2 have a hefty 100+ point lead over the next team in line, mousesports, that gap could soon be closed as the 12th and 13th ranked teams, Immortals and Envy, will be at ECS while G2 will be watching from home.

11. mousesports

It seemed as if the European team were on an upward path after loWel’s signing, making it out of their groups for ELEAGUE without a problem and taking a semifinal finish at ESL Pro League. Reality started to settle in, though, as an 11-12 place finish at IEM Oakland with five straight losses and a 2-0 defeat to OpTic in the ELEAGUE playoffs has put mousesports in a tight spot. Not having made it to ECS, mousesports will have a lot of work to do this week ahead of an incredibly stacked Major qualifier where they will have to play against several teams ranked higher than them for a spot in Atlanta.

12. Immortals



Immortals have proved a consistent top 15 team

Immortals have been a solid top 15 team for several months, hovering right outside the top 10. They have lately dominated smaller North American events without much weight in the ranking, but being present and playing tournaments like IEM Oakland where they finished 5-6 keeps the team around the outskirts of the ten best teams. They also made it to the ECS finals, where they will keep fighting to get their recent LANs numbers higher as only Gambit is worse than them in the top 15.

13. EnVyUs

For a while it seemed Envy were making a comeback in the ranks breaking into the top 10 last month, but bombing out of ELEAGUE and losing to G2 at Northern Arena put a stick in their spokes. The French side will now have a chance to redeem themselves and earn some points at the ECS Season 2 finals in Anaheim. If they can place well they could find themselves back in contention around the top 10.

14. Liquid

Liquid have been going nowhere very quickly. With 5-6 and 7-8 placings at Northern Arena and IEM Oakland respectively, and missing ELEAGUE completely, Liquid keep taking punches. Liquid will also miss ECS giving them ample time to try and figure out how to revert the situation before the Major in January.

15. Gambit

Closing out our top 15 are Gambit, the unlikely winners of DreamHack Winter ahead of teams like Dignitas and OpTic and the winners of the not so relevant Predator Masters Season 3. The now Kazakh team hasn’t been ranked higher than 20 since September 19 when they were holding on to those points from becoming Legends. Moving forward they will have to prove they can keep up these results against stiffer opposition in Atlanta if they want to keep moving up in the rankings.



Will Gambit be able to bring their game to better teams come January?

December will close out an incredibly busy year the with ECS Season 2 Finals taking place in Anaheim next weekend followed by the main qualifier for January’s ELEAGUE Major in Atlanta, where the most prestigious event in counter strike will return after a six month hiatus.

You can also see which teams round up the Top 20 over at our dedicated team ranking page.