Team ranking: July 2023

A myriad of changes plays out among the top 30 in this month's team ranking after the conclusion of IEM Cologne.

Heroic stay on top despite their quarter-final exit in Cologne

July marked Counter-Strike's return to Big-Event action following the summer break as the circuit entered IEM Cologne. G2 were victorious in front of the German crowd, lifting their first title since IEM Katowice in February. Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač and company have looked strong at the start of the season as one of the few teams that didn't make roster changes in the summer break, losing just three maps on their way to the Cologne title.

Before the flagship ESL event, a handful of recently reshaped squads made their debuts during the BLAST Fall Groups hosted in Denmark. While this tournament is commonly seen as a warm-up act preceding the full-fledged season kick-off, it nevertheless unveiled intriguing glimpses into the capabilities of these overhauled rosters as they emerged from the summer break.

For new readers or those in need of a refresher, here's a summary of how the HLTV World Ranking by 1xBet works:

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 two months, and performance in recent events in the last 3 months.

Each team is required to have a three-man core in order to retain their points. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, online results, which previously had a minimal effect, now carry more weight as they are also included in the 'Achievements' and 'Recent Events' sub-categories.

Below is the current top 30 table as of Monday, August 7, which goes more in-depth into how the points are distributed — or you can check our special page, where you will be able to find the latest, weekly version of our ranking. You can see the lineup for each team by hovering over their name in the table.

Counter-Strike World ranking on August 7th, 2023

RANK

TEAM

ACHV

FORM

LAN

TOTAL
POINTS

+/-

1.

HEROIC

500

187

268

955

-

2.

Vitality

433

159

300

892

-

3.

G2

445

146

175

766

+1

4.

ENCE

312

200

157

669

+1

5.

FaZe

278

131

103

512

-2

6.

Astralis

181

131

94

406

+12

7.

GamerLegion

112

85

114

311

-

8.

Cloud9

149

58

81

288

-2

9.

Natus Vincere

71

104

71

246

NEW TEAM

10.

MOUZ

85

91

48

224

+2

11.

Ninjas in Pyjamas

96

67

53

216

+2

12.

Liquid

87

57

42

186

-3

13.

Apeks

76

54

55

185

-5

14.

fnatic

60

86

35

181

+1

15.

Monte

83

32

49

164

-4

16.

Virtus.pro

60

62

25

147

-6

17.

Imperial

37

60

35

132

+2

18.

9INE

49

48

27

124

+2

19.

FURIA

42

31

34

107

-3

20.

Complexity

39

30

14

83

+2

21.

9z

16

51

16

83

+2

22.

The MongolZ

24

37

18

79

+8

23.

OG

18

42

13

73

NEW TEAM

24.

Into the Breach

31

15

24

70

-10

25.

SAW

14

42

6

62

+2

26.

ECSTATIC

8

39

10

57

-

27.

Bad News Eagles

29

14

14

57

-6

28.

BIG

9

39

5

53

+27

29.

Aurora

8

36

5

49

+3

30.

Grayhound

16

20

10

46

-5

G2's IEM Cologne win returns them to the top 3

G2's return to the upper echelons of CS:GO's competition was nothing short of sensational. The BLAST Fall Groups served as a valuable warm-up, allowing Rasmus "⁠HooXi⁠" Nielsen and his team to get up to speed. While they missed out on the Fall Final qualification, their strategic groundwork bore fruit at IEM Cologne, where they delivered a fantastic performance. G2 dominated their group, dispatching Astralis, FaZe, and Vitality and earning themselves a direct ticket to the semi-finals.

They shifted into an even higher gear when they entered the LANXESS. The European combine once again overpowered Astralis, this time in a flawless 2-0 victory, before getting the better of ENCE in the grand final to claim the IEM Cologne trophy.

G2 return to the top three after their IEM Cologne victory

G2's victory vaulted them back into the top three ranks, as they overtook FaZe and significantly narrowed the gap to second-placed Vitality. Their points deficit to the reigning Major champions, which stood at a formidable 400 points just last month, now stands at slightly over 100. The IEM Cologne champions are also closing in on HEROIC as the battle for supremacy intensifies.

Astralis return to top 10 for first time since October 2022

After a lackluster 2022, Astralis found themselves slipping out of the top 10 rankings, and a series of roster changes further compounded their woes. Their peak in 2023 was marked at No. 13 in March, with a lineup that still featured cornerstone players Andreas "⁠Xyp9x⁠" Højsleth and Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander. However, their ranking began a gradual decline soon after. The substitution of Xyp9x with Alexander "⁠Altekz⁠" Givskov failed to reverse their fortunes, prompting the team to embark on another reconstruction during the summer break.

The Danish team, now under the in-game leadership of Benjamin "⁠blameF⁠" Bremer, added Johannes "⁠b0RUP⁠" Borup and long-time target Victor "⁠Staehr⁠" Staehr. They started steadily, defeating Complexity and Liquid to qualify for the Fall Final, but their breakout came at IEM Cologne. The Danes beat Ninjas in Pyjamas, MOUZ, and Natus Vincere to complete a lower-bracket run after losing their opener to eventual winners G2.

They then made their on-stage debut and beat domestic rivals HEROIC to put up a claim of becoming the best team in Denmark, but fell against G2 again in the semi-final. Their next outing will come at ESL Pro League S18, where they should be expected to challenge for a deep playoff run once again.

NAVI's international roster enters top 10

Natus Vincere exited the rankings last month following the biggest overhaul to their CS:GO roster in the organization's history, as they transitioned to an international roster led by Aleksi "⁠Aleksib⁠" Virolainen. Thanks to their spots at both BLAST Fall Groups and IEM Cologne, the squad shot up the rankings immediately after its inception and now finds itself inside the top 10.

NAVI have shot up the rankings

Although Natus Vincere encountered certain challenges and hiccups during this period of transition, their performances yielded commendable results, amassing a solid number of ranking points. Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev and company qualified for the Fall Final after defeating Astralis, G2, and BIG, and they also showed encouraging signs at IEM Cologne, where they secured a 7-8th finish.

A busy schedule awaits them in the next month, as they are set to attend Gamers8 and fly to Malta for ESL Pro League S18, where they have been placed in Group C alongside the likes of FaZe and Apeks. Given their calendar, the European squad might find themselves even higher next month.

TheMongolz near top 20 as three new teams enter top 30

The MongolZ continue to reign supreme in Asia, currently standing 26 places ahead of their closest regional challenger in 5yclone. The Mongolian side peaked at No. 18 in the world rankings under the IHC moniker after their IEM Katowice performance earlier in the year, but have since gone through a plethora of changes and tumbled down the rankings as a result.

TheMongolz are just four places away from their peak

The new-look The MongolZ have gained eight places since last month, as they started the season well by eliminating FURIA from the IEM Cologne Play-In, and now find themselves at No. 22.

OG and BIG have also entered the top 30 in this month's ranking after their off-season roster changes meant they exited the list altogether. Both squads have returned near the bottom of the top 30, with BIG's spot at ESL Pro League S18 set to boost their ranking even more if the German squad are to perform well in Malta.

Other notable changes:

FaZe drop from No. 3 to No. 5
Liquid and Apeks drop out of the top 10
Into the Breach drop 10 places to No. 24
Aurora enter top 30