CS:GO has become one of the longest standing Esports out there. Coming out in late 2012, the game inherited a large number of fans from CS 1.6. Since then, CS:GO has been consistent among the top Esports. With large fanbase came competitions, then the crowd would follow up. Many big Esports organization quickly realized the potential of this FPS title and decided to invest in the game to build their own squads or teams.
CS:GO has witnessed many ups and downs in the game. Teams that were once invincible were later replaced by upcoming teams. Rivalries that were once cheered for would then be taken over by another clash between the two better teams. That is competitive Esports. That is how new rivalries are formed. Here we provide you with some of the greatest rivalries in the world of CS:GO.
5) NiP – VeryGames
In the early stage of CS:GO in 2012 and 2013, most pros from CS 1.6 were still skeptical about the new game. They were hesitant to make the move to CS:GO. However, Ninjas in Pyjamas were the first ones to adapt to the changes. They formed one of the most dominant squads in history to reign supreme in the game. NiP was so strong in the game that they managed to create an 87-0 winning streak on LAN. The Ninjas were so invincible at the time that CS:GO seemed so boring to watch. However, there was one team that tried to challenge NiP during their prime. VeryGames consisted of legendary French names: Richard "shox" Papillon, Edouard "SmithZz" Dubourdeaux, Nathan "NBK-" Schmitt. The lineup would later change to the name Titan.
VeryGames were playing really well at the time to beat everyone and proceeded to most grand finals. There, they met the inevitable grand finalist – NiP – 5 times. The two teams played against each other more than 20 maps in the first two years of CS:GO. This is one of the earliest rivalries in the history of CS:GO. However, NiP seemed like the kryptonite to the Frenchmen as they managed to win almost all the times. VeryGames could only pull off 5 maps and one LAN final against the Swedes giant. Though minor, this rivalry represents the early rivalry in the game and deserves a spot in the list.
4) Fnatic – Astralis/TSM
Staying on the top level of CS:GO during the time around 2014 2015, fnatic has proved themselves well against many top teams at the time. However, during their prime performance, one of the thorns in the Swedes’ side was TSM/Astralis. The two teams played against each other throughout 150 maps. Though the competition was not too significant due to the fact that fnatic had bigger rival to beat at the time, this rivalry would be among the best. As both sides sought the glory in most big tournaments, the clash between the Swedish giant and the Danish titan was inevitable.
During their time, fnatic seemed to win more matches. However, when it comes to titles winning matches, TSM/Astralis did better when winning 3 out of 4 matches in the grand finals against fnatic. Astralis also managed to win 3 Majors with the same cores while the only player in fnatic to win 3 was Robin "flusha" Rönnquist.
3) Astralis/TSM – Natus Vincere
Astralis and Natus Vincere were consistently among the top contenders in CS:GO. However, there was no real era of these 2 teams fighting against each other. These two teams often make deep runs into big tournaments and met up eventually.
Astralis and Na`Vi have faced each other in more than 80 maps including the Grand Final of FACEIT Major 2018. However, with a dominant performance and their long-lasting era, Astralis currently holds a better record.
2) Astralis – Team Liquid
This is arguably one of the most iconic rivalries in the history of CS:GO. Team Liquid has been among the top contenders since the addition of Russel Van “Twistzz” Dulken in 2017. The team consists mostly of aim stars that are ridiculous in any duel fights against any team. In 2018, they boasted the highest firepower in the world, rivaled only by FaZe. However, team Liquid only climbed high in the ranking after the addition of Keith “NAF” Markovic in February 2018. The team went on to beat most opponent except their archrival, Astralis. Under the supreme reign of Astralis, Team Liquid seemed to crumble before the “finalist curse” where they could not win a single tournament.
Throughout the year of 2018, the most frequent scenario would be Team Liquid versus Astralis in the grand final. Astralis in their prime performance would go on to dominate the North Americans. The Danish giant managed to win every single grand final against Team Liquid in 2018. Astralis currently hold a 40-15 record against Team Liquid. However, the table has turned. With the addition of Jacky "Stewie2K" Yip in later 2018, Team Liquid seemed to have finally fixed their problems. Earlier in 2019, Team Liquid has finally defeated Astralis in the grand final of iBUYPOWER Master IV.
Though Team Liquid fell off in the IEM Katowice Major 2019, they eventually came back stronger than ever. During a long time of inactivity for Astralis, Team Liquid worked up their busy schedules to win 2 S-tier tournaments. They carried on the good performance to win 5 S-tier tournaments in a row, becoming the world’s new #1 CS:GO team over Astralis. They also managed to defeat Astralis in a Bo3 to eliminate them in the ESL Pro League Season 9 – Finals.
1) fnatic – NiP
This is it, this is the best rivalry in the world of CS:GO. the rivalry between fnatic and NiP is like the EL Classico in soccer. The two Swedish giants both had their own eras and their prime performance. During their peak times, they faced each other a lot in most grand finals. The two Swedish giants played over 100 maps against each other since the start of the game. 6 grand finals saw fnatic and NiP contending for the championship including 3 Major finals. fnatic got the better result and won 2.
fnatic only won 9 more maps than NiP and the scorelines are often close. The two teams dedicated themselves for some of the best CS:GO matches, especially the most memorable match in the Quarter-final of IEM Sydney this year. They displayed some of the most thrilling Counter-Strike to the world.
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