HLTV has recently updated their ranking system follow Astralis’ victory in the Berlin Major 2019. With that, many teams rose significantly in ranking while some teams fell behind.
Team Liquid
After 3 months solid on top with the maximum score, Team Liquid has dropped slightly in numbers. The #1 team in the world stay the same as they still displayed a decent performance in the New Legends Stage. In the Champions Stage, the North America powerhouse only lost to the eventual champion Astralis. One single loss could not take away the #1 position from Team Liquid. However, they will have to fight for it as Astralis is getting back to business.
With 6 trophies in a row, Team Liquid currently sits comfortably on top with 981 points. They are still the best in the world but now challenged by the Danish powerhouse Astralis. As of now, mental problems still seriously affect the team as they tend to choke in important matches like these. More important tournaments will come later and Liquid needs to fix their issues quickly.
Astralis
Astralis dominated the Berlin Major 2019 with convincing victories over 3 other candidates. The Danes have displayed stellar performance like what they did in their 2018 era. They crushed everyone 2-0 and hoisted the trophy convincingly. Astralis made it all look so easy. However, when you look more into it, the real contenders were just Team Liquid and NRG.
The Grand final was pretty one-sided as AVANGAR and Renegades knocked out both ENCE and Vitality, the two most probable anti-Astralis teams. Were things to go the other way, we could have seen a better grand final. Regardless, Astralis’ point in ranking surged to a whopping 712. They just need to prove themselves some more times to take the #1 away from Liquid.
NRG
The #2 North American squad was red-hot in the New Legends Stage where they managed to upset both Astralis and Liquid to go 3-0. They even defeated Natus Vincere handily 2-0 in the quarter-final by shutting down Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev totally.
However, just like Liquid, NRG fell short when facing the Berlin Major champion Astralis. Regardless, what they displayed in the Berlin Major 2019 was impressive and commendable. NRG earns the #3 position in the world as they solidify their standing with these victories.
Vitality and ENCE
The 2 surprise upsets in the Champions Stage was unthinkable. ENCE went 3-0 in the New Legends Stage but lost 0-2 to the dark horse Renegades. Vitality also
entered the Champions Stage with 3-1 but lost to AVANGAR. The two top 5 squads seemed to crumble before the pressure of the big stage. As a result, both Vitality and ENCE dropped to top 4 and 5 respectively.
Even worse, Vitality seems ready for a roster change as they have recently benched their CT-side IGL Nathan 'NBK-' Schmitt and going for either Richard 'shox' Papillon or Fabien 'kioShiMa' Fiey. This seems like a too hasty move from the French scene.
AVANGAR and Renegades – the dark horses
AVANGAR has put up great numbers in the New Legends Stage and the Champions Stage. The CIS squad has managed to upset both Team Liquid and G2 to secure the playoffs. Also, in the Champions Stage, Dauren “AdreN” Kystaubayev and co. have played so well to reach the grand finals. They have made a leap to #6.
Renegades is yet another story. The boys from Australia had a good start in 2019 when entered the Champion Stage of a major for the first time in IEM Katowice 2019. They jumped to #5 just after the event but never quite reached their peak after that.
Renegades entered the New Legends Stage as the old legends from IEM Katowice. However, it took a tremendous amount of effort from each individual to get Renegades through to the Champion Stage. They are also considered underdog in most matches. Their feats in the Berlin Major are impressive, eliminating big names like FaZe, G2, ENCE. Renegades currently stay at #11.
mousesports and CR4ZY
The 2 up and coming squads have displayed significant improvement in the New Legends Stage but fell short when facing big names like Liquid and Natus Vincere. mousesports has made their way back to the top after a major roster change earlier this year. The European mix is currently at top 8 on the leaderboard.
CR4ZY has shown their potential after taking one map off Astralis in the 5 overtimes map. Their Mirage was so good that they defeated both FaZe and Natus Vincere handily. If CR4ZY got other opponents than Astralis and Natus Vincere, perhaps they could have entered the Champions Stage.
FURIA, MIBR, and NiP
Among the most disappointing failures in this Major was FURIA. The young Brazilian roster made a splash earlier this year during the Astralis’ downfall. They fell short in the New Challengers Stage to unpredictable squads like CR4ZY, forZe, and Syman.
MIBR and NiP came to the New Legends Stage as old legends. MIBR has recently undergone a drastic roster change with the benching of their star player Marcelo 'coldzera' David. NiP played the Major with a stand-in and struggled desperately. MIBR went 1-3, defeating only NiP while the Ninjas went 0-3.
Overall, CS:GO is still among the most competitive Esports in the world. Big tournaments like Majors often see the rise and fall of most teams to determine who is worthy to become the best. There are more CS:GO tournament to come in this September. Stay tuned for more of the highest level of CS:GO competition.