Team Ranking: October 2016

October was a busy month for top flight teams and for those competing in the rat race for upward mobility, with two premier tournaments in the form of EPICENTER: Moscow and the ESL Pro League Season 4 Finals in São Paulo, which gave the top tier plenty to fight for, while there were smaller tournaments like ESWC 2016 and WESG's Europe and CIS offline qualifier.

Back in August the off-season saw Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev move to Natus Vincere, Aleksi "⁠allu⁠" Jalli make the jump to FaZe, with perhaps the biggest move being a three player swap between fnatic and GODSENT. During September, teams tested out their new lineups at events like the SL i-League StarSeries Season 2 finals and ESL One New York, while other teams like Astralis and Envy gave their rosters one last go after the halt.

Now, another wave of changes happened as teams keep fine-tuning their lineups ahead of the much anticipated ELEAGUE Major in Atlanta, GA. Some of the most notable transfers of late have been Freddy "⁠KRIMZ⁠" Johansson and Jonas "⁠Lekr0⁠" Olofsson returning to their former teams, Astralis bringing on Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander and his Legend status—then prompting FaZe to pick-up the IGL they much needed in the form of Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen—, Christian "⁠loWel⁠" Garcia Antoran being brought on in lieu of Tomáš "⁠oskar⁠" Šťastný on MOUZ' roster, and Envy adding Christophe "⁠SIXER⁠" Xia for Timothée "⁠DEVIL⁠" Démolon.

There has been a period of uncertainty the past few months, which has been furthered by the off-season changes, and is currently in what seems like an interminable journey to the next Major. This month has seen it continue with both premier tournaments having been won by different teams and making it now seven in a row with a different champion, which means this is the most even it has ever been at the top of our ranking, with six teams over 600 points there is no clear #1 team.

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 November 1st, 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 September 2016.

Top 30 Team Ranking Powered by EGB.com

Rank	Team	Achievements	Form	LANs	Total points	+/-
1.	SK	500	150	277	927	-
2.	Virtus.pro	440	135	291	866	-
3.	Dignitas	292	200	300	792	+4
4.	Natus Vincere	331	73	296	700	-1
5.	Cloud9	236	154	242	632	-
6.	Ninjas in Pyjamas	251	122	240	613	-2
7.	G2	223	80	155	458	+1
8.	MOUZ	111	104	139	354	+8
9.	Envy	133	123	91	347	-
10.	Liquid	159	48	119	326	-4
11.	fnatic	170	88	31	289	+6
12.	OpTic	73	101	86	260	-
13.	FaZe	50	110	48	208	+2
14.	Immortals	61	83	41	185	-1
15.	Astralis	110	49	22	181	-5
16.	FlipSid3	60	35	33	128	+2
17.	TYLOO	31	60	26	117	+3
18.	HellRaisers	31	48	36	115	+5
19.	HEROIC	44	33	32	109	-5
20.	VG.CyberZen	18	62	22	102	+1
21.	Renegades	19	52	16	87	+3
22.	ALTERNATE aTTaX	17	42	21	80	+6
23.	Gambit	35	28	14	77	-1
24.	Kinguin	15	42	17	74	+13
25.	GODSENT	28	37	7	72	-14
26.	Epsilon	17	39	12	68	+6
27.	LDLC	10	26	25	61	New
28.	NRG	8	45	6	59	-3
29.	Platinium	7	29	19	55	New
30.	Space Soldiers	12	20	21	53	+1

*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 October.

1. SK

Player	Age	Rating
Marcelo "⁠coldzera⁠" David	22	1.23
Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo	25	1.12
Lincoln "⁠fnx⁠" Lau	26	1.05
Fernando "⁠fer⁠" Alvarenga	25	1.04
Epitacio "⁠TACO⁠" de Melo	21	0.99

This month marks half a year since SK took the first place on the ranking in May. While it is true they gave it up momentarily at the end of the month, a second place in São Paulo got them back on the cusp. The cusp, however, is more of a plateau than a peak as there is not one team that can currently detach itself from the pack.

The Brazilian team started the way they left off last month after ESL One New York, with a 3 - 4 place finish at EPICENTER: Moscow, where they lost to Virtus.pro in the semifinals, partially causing the momentary loss of first place. Their second event this month had a bitter aftertaste as they couldn’t take the final on home soil, but a second place finish isn't to be snubbed.

While mired in rumors about the team’s future, which were dispelled by TACO at EPICENTER: Moscow, SK still managed to have their achivements maxed out and good LAN results with nothing less than semi-final finishes. SK are also leading ECS Season 2 North America, with 21 points.

2. Virtus.pro

Player	Age	Rating
Janusz "⁠Snax⁠" Pogorzelski	23	1.07
Paweł "⁠byali⁠" Bieliński	22	1.04
Wiktor "⁠TaZ⁠" Wojtas	30	0.99
Filip "⁠NEO⁠" Kubski	29	0.97
Jarosław "⁠pashaBiceps⁠" Jarząbkowski	28	0.96

Virtus.pro were the interim leaders of the ranking for two weeks, but are now back at number two on our monthly ranking update. A third place at WESG is not a bad result per se, but not winning it against a field of theoretically weaker opponents certainly did not help their case. Also against them is not having won any premier tournament since ELEAGUE, much like SK since Cologne.

Another smudge on Virtus.pro’s record was not attending ESL’s Season 4 Pro League Finals, as they did not qualify for them. While online matches don’t carry much weight on their own, they can eventually lead to a good offline team missing a big final, reopening the age-old question of the relevance and necessity of online leagues with such packed schedules.

At EPICENTER: Moscow the Poles made it all the way to the grand final losing only to Dignitas, a team that was in top shape at the event. Their second place finish in Moscow assured Virtus.pro kept their recent LAN performances and achievements columns in good shape. Just a stone’s throw away from SK, and a likely contender to the coveted #1 spot, Virtus.pro will have to fight their biggest fight: become consistent.

3. dignitas

Player	Age	Rating
Kristian "⁠k0nfig⁠" Wienecke	19	1.16
Emil "⁠Magisk⁠" Reif	18	1.15
René "⁠cajunb⁠" Borg	26	1.12
Ruben "⁠RUBINO⁠" Villarroel	22	0.96
Mathias "⁠MSL⁠" Lauridsen	21	0.88

The Danish squad of Dignitas have been climbing what has seemed an insurmountable mountain for a long time, way back since they broke into the Top 10 at the beginning of the year, a line they have crossed back-and-forth. Their first big win was overcoming Astralis and HEROIC in the fight for Danish supremacy, but as of today it seems they’re miles ahead.

Their month started out with a big win at WESG 2016 Europe & CIS Regional Finals over Dmitry "⁠hooch⁠" Bogdanov’s .russia mix, although it must be noted due to the tournament's restrictions they played with Philip "⁠aizy⁠" Aistrup standing-in for RUBINO. While not the biggest tournament to win, it was still enough to help boost the team’s form and recent LAN columns, which are both currently maxed out after their biggest feat to date—winning EPICENTER: Moscow.

k0nfig and Magisk have put the team over the top, but being the new kids on the block they’ll have to keep grinding to get their achievements up to par in the fight for first place. The Danes missed out on their first chance by bombing out of the ESL Pro League Season 4 Finals in 9 - 10 place. Now is the to see if they belong at the top.

4. Null element Natus Vincere

Player	Age	Rating
Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev	19	1.15
Ladislav "⁠GuardiaN⁠" Kovács	25	1.03
Egor "⁠flamie⁠" Vasilyev	19	0.97
Ioann "⁠Edward⁠" Sukhariev	28	0.92
Denis "⁠seized⁠" Kostin	22	0.85

Natus Vincere won the last event of the month in September, ESL One NY, and could have flown out the gate this month. In a similar situation to Virtus.pro as far as online play goes, the CIS team failed to qualify for ESL’s Pro League finals in Brazil, which no doubt affected the team negatively.

When it comes to LAN, however, Natus Vincere made it to the semifinals at EPICENTER: Moscow. They were unable to lift the trophy a second time in a row—something apparently nobody can do these days—, and made it to the semifinals thanks to round difference, but a third place finish is a third place finish and enough for them to hold on to fourth place.

With Liquid, G2, and Astralis being the three teams confirmed in their group 6 team group (two of which will come from the iBP Masters the week before) at IEM Oakland, it is highly likely Natus Vincere will make at least one deep run in the near future. The real question is: how deep?

5. Cloud9

Player	Age	Rating
Timothy "⁠autimatic⁠" Ta	20	1.15
Jake "⁠Stewie2K⁠" Yip	18	1.13
Mike "⁠shroud⁠" Grzesiek	22	1.11
Tyler "⁠Skadoodle⁠" Latham	23	1.05
Jordan "⁠n0thing⁠" Gilbert	26	1.05

The North American team have been the second big underdog story this month after Dignitas won at EPICENTER, an event Cloud9 had no means of attending, by winning their biggest event to date and the biggest event a North American team has won in the history of CS:GO, the ESL Pro League Season 4.

The team has been showing good form for the past few months both online and offline (currently second only to Dignitas), which allowed Cloud9 to reclaim the fifth spot on the ranking it had lost after the bump in the road that was being eliminated from ELEAGUE by FaZe.

With Stewie2K established and the rise of autimatic, the number one North American team will have iBP Masters too look forward to, as that is their ticket to IEM Oakland, an event they will have to attend if they want to keep playing in the big leagues.

6. NiP

Player	Age	Rating
Christopher "⁠GeT_RiGhT⁠" Alesund	26	1.12
Richard "⁠Xizt⁠" Landström	25	1.06
Patrik "⁠f0rest⁠" Lindberg	28	1.05
Adam "⁠friberg⁠" Friberg	25	1.02
Mikail "⁠Maikelele⁠" Bill	25	0.99

The biggest upset this month for the Ninjas came from being on the wrong side of a four-way tie at EPICENTER: Moscow, where they were eliminated despite trading maps with all of their opponents, which puts a huge asterisk next to their group exit at the Russian event.

A third place finish for Ninjas in Pyjamas at the Pro League finals after losing to SK in three maps keeps the Swedes ahead of G2 and within arms reach of the Top 5. Additionally, since it has now been two months with Maikelele playing for Ninjas in Pyjamas in Jacob "⁠pyth⁠" Mourujärvi's stead, we have decided to rank the lineup with him in the team until it reverts back to its official state.

7. G2

Player	Age	Rating
Richard "⁠shox⁠" Papillon	24	1.10
Adil "⁠ScreaM⁠" Benrlitom	22	1.07
Alexandre "⁠bodyy⁠" Pianaro	19	0.97
Cédric "⁠RpK⁠" Guipouy	27	0.95
Edouard "⁠SmithZz⁠" Dubourdeaux	27	0.88

It has been a slow month for G2, who have only played at EPICENTER: Moscow, where they traded maps with Ninjas in Pyjamas, Natus Vincere, and Dignitas. Their first map out of the groups, though, was a 16 – 0 loss on Train to SK. G2 recovered on Dust2 but finally fell on Cobblestone for a not spectacular 5 – 6 place finish.

G2’s form is amongst the poorest in the Top 10, and while they have shown they can flip the switch and exceed expectations, reaching finals and even winning tournaments, in their current form they are unable to be consistently good.

8. mousesports

Player	Age	Rating
Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač	19	1.17
Christian "⁠loWel⁠" Garcia Antoran	19	1.10
Chris "⁠chrisJ⁠" de Jong	26	1.06
Timo "⁠Spiidi⁠" Richter	21	0.98
Denis "⁠denis⁠" Howell	22	0.90

At the beginning of the month oskar was benched in MOUZ, and it seemed the European team would go through some turmoil. In an unexpected move, they signed loWel, who ended up being a crucial asset this month and helped boost the team to a group win at ELEAGUE over Immortals and Cloud9.

With chrisJ showing he can still handle the AWP and loWel sharing the fragging burden with NiKo, MOUZ managed to also win their group at ESL Pro League in Brazil. Despite failing to make it to the final after losing to the eventual champions, Cloud9, mouz made enough of a dent to end up with a spot in the Top 10 and making the biggest leap out of all the ranked teams.

9. EnVyUs

Player	Age	Rating
Kenny "⁠kennyS⁠" Schrub	21	1.18
Dan "⁠apEX⁠" Madesclaire	23	1.06
Vincent "⁠Happy⁠" Schopenhauer	24	1.03
Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt	22	1.00
Christophe "⁠SIXER⁠" Xia	25	0.90

Envy stopped the bleeding and got themselves back into the Top 10, which they now managed to maintain. Swapping the youngster DEVIL with oldschooler SIXER could give the team renewed energies. So far, hoever, Envy ended in not-so-impressive 5 – 8 and 5 – 6 places at WESG and Pro League respectively, very far from where they used to hang back in the day.

Whether the change pans out remains to be seen, but as it stands Envy are the team with the poorest recent LAN rating in the Top 10. Northern Arena will be a good place for the team to recuperate, but another bad result could just be adding salt to the wound.

10. Liquid

Player	Age	Rating
Jonathan "⁠EliGE⁠" Jablonowski	19	1.05
Josh "⁠jdm64⁠" Marzano	26	1.02
Nick "⁠nitr0⁠" Cannella	21	1.01
Jacob "⁠Pimp⁠" Winneche	21	1.01
Spencer "⁠Hiko⁠" Martin	26	0.95

The post-s1mple depression seems to be deeper than many expected, and it looks like Luis “peacemaker” Tadeu’s departure isn’t making things easier. Hiko’s team currently sits with the poorest form out of all the Top 10 teams by a fair margin.

Being eliminated in groups in Brazil after losses to OpTic, MOUZ, and Envy, and currently sitting in fifth place on the ECS Season 2 standings puts Liquid on the brink of falling out of the Top 10.

11. fnatic

Player	Age	Rating
Dennis "⁠dennis⁠" Edman	25	1.12
Simon "⁠twist⁠" Eliasson	21	1.10
Freddy "⁠KRIMZ⁠" Johansson	22	1.04
Olof "⁠olofmeister⁠" Kajbjer	24	1.03
John "⁠wenton⁠" Eriksson	23	0.92

fnatic only played EPICENTER: Moscow this month, where they ended 5 – 6, and skipped the Pro League finals amidst roster changes. KRIMZ has now returned to rejoin LGB and fnatic teammates olofmeister and dennis. With him, his points, Legend status, and a boost on the ranking come back. But will they ever play the same again?

12. OpTic

Player	Age	Rating
Oscar "⁠mixwell⁠" Cañellas	21	1.12
William "⁠RUSH⁠" Wierzba	22	1.04
Peter "⁠stanislaw⁠" Jarguz	22	1.04
Tarik "⁠tarik⁠" Celik	20	1.03
Keith "⁠NAF⁠" Markovic	18	1.03

OpTic is currently a mixed bag, in which good play and bad play coexist, but the team has become stagnant. Scraping by the skin of their teeth out of the groups in Pro League will not suffice, and the team in green will have to show up in Montreal or alarm bells will start ringing.

13. FaZe

Player	Age	Rating
Aleksi "⁠allu⁠" Jalli	24	1.09
Håvard "⁠rain⁠" Nygaard	22	1.07
Joakim "⁠jkaem⁠" Myrbostad	22	1.02
Philip "⁠aizy⁠" Aistrup	20	1.00
Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen	26	0.94

FaZe got a revamp in the form of karrigan. The change paid dividends immediately as the team made it through their ELEAGUE group over the hot team of the moment, Cloud9, but a group stage exit at the Pro League finals has investors worried as it remains to be seen if FaZe’s new in-game leader can direct all that firepower in the right direction. The iBP Masters and—perhaps—IEM Oakland will be good measuring points.

14. Immortals

Player	Age	Rating
Henrique "⁠HEN1⁠" Teles	21	1.21
Ricardo "⁠boltz⁠" Prass	19	1.15
João "⁠felps⁠" Vasconcellos	19	1.13
Lucas "⁠LUCAS1⁠" Teles	21	1.04
Wilton "⁠zews⁠" Prado	28	0.89

Immortals, the second home crowd favorites last weekend in São Paulo didn’t fare as well as SK, falling out in the group stages. The second Brazilian team is getting out of a slow period, but they could pick it back up by qualifying for IEM Oakland at the iBP Masters.

15. Astralis

Player	Age	Rating
Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz	21	1.15
Markus "⁠Kjaerbye⁠" Kjærbye	18	1.10
Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen	23	1.08
Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander	21	1.01
Andreas "⁠Xyp9x⁠" Højsleth	21	0.98

Astralis was knocked out of the WESG CIS & Europe Finals by GODSENT for a 9 – 12 finish, their only matches of the month except two maps lost to G2 and two maps traded with MOUZ online. Caught in a death spiral, Astralis are going to need to reset mentally with gla1ve’s signing if they want to start reclaiming lost ground.

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

As November develops chances are teams will keep looking for the best way to grease their machines ahead of both the Main Qualifier and the ELEAGUE Major itself, which will take place in Atlanta on January 22 – 29. The upcoming month will feature events like iBP Masters, IEM Oakland, and DreamHack Winter 2016, as well as a battleground for new and old contenders alike at the European and CIS Minors.

Lucas Aznar Miles can be found on twitter @LucasHLTV.