FURIA leads the Dust2 Power Ranking for May

Teams were quite active this April, with events like the IEM Dallas qualifier, BLAST Premier Spring Showdown, and PGL Antwerp RMR headlining the busy month. There was a variety of storylines that started and were solved, but throughout the thirty days, Brazil remained consistent in its dominant ways over their American opposition.

To provide a transparent summary of the ranking process, here is a breakdown of the Dust2 Ranking process:

Our team rankings are chosen based on a series of measurements where each team is allocated points dependent on where they rank compared to their peers. This point-based system puts all domestic and international results, HLTV ranking, the tier of play, and coaches polling into consideration. While we include the HLTV rankings to some degree, there is more weight that is given to the select number of coaches within the scene that are ranking the teams due to their accurate ability in judging play outside of the regional matches.

#1 FURIA (arT, yuurih, KSCERATO, saffee, drop)

The current kings of the Americas kicked off their month looking impressive even in defeat. After besting Astralis 2-1 in the EPL S15 quarter-final, they were pitted against a surging FaZe in the semis. Although they lost 0-2, FURIA went out swinging, forcing overtime before their elimination and eventual 3-4th placing.

FaZe would be the only loss suffered during the month for FURIA. After elimination, they went on a tear in the PGL Antwerp Americas RMR and BLAST Premier Spring Showdown, eviscerating domestic competition in both events. They only allowed ten rounds on one of the six maps played inside the RMR and less than five rounds on three maps. After easily claiming the sole Legend’s slot, they marched on to the Spring Showdown, earning a spot in the final match against paiN to round out their month.

May Events: PGL Major Antwerp 2022, IEM Dallas

#2 Liquid (EliGE, NAF, oSee, nitr0, shox)

North America’s best looked rough in form to start and end the month, but looked solid during the bulk of the competition. After a rather impressive 2-0 victory over Heroic in the first round of the EPL S15 playoffs, Liquid was eliminated by NIP in a tight quarter-final BO3.

The woes seeped into the opening match of the PGL Antwerp RMR, getting bested by 00Nation on Dust2. That loss would be the wake-up call for the Liquid lineup, as they pivoted into a six-map win-streak that spanned across the RMR and the IEM Dallas qualifier. Liquid was stunned by paiN to end their month of competition, losing to the underdogs in overtime on map three inside the BLAST Spring Showdown. With the Major looming, this loss will be on the mind of many spectators as we all wonder what version of Liquid will enter the biggest event this year.

May Events: PGL Major Antwerp 2022 Challengers Stage, IEM Dallas

#3 Complexity (JT, floppy, FaNg, Grim, junior)

NA’s stars of tomorrow were active in competition this month, engaging in BO3s against the region's and world’s best teams in April. Despite an unfortunate placing at EPL S15, they garnered valuable experience against the likes of Astralis and NAVI. When looking at their domestic results, it is clear the young squad is learning from their international shortcomings. After wins over the likes of fellow top domestic teams like Evil Geniuses and GODSENT, there is no doubt about the team’s strength inside the region.

Although they fell short against MIBR to end the month at the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown, Complexity has done well to set themselves up for a successful May. They earned a place inside the PGL Major Antwerp Challengers Stage, as well as an invite to IEM Dallas. Like many teams, Complexity is looking at May to be the month they make massive strides in performance and momentum.

May Events: PGL Major Antwerp 2022 Challengers Stage, IEM Dallas

#4 MIBR (chelo, exit, WOOD7, Tuurtle, JOTA)

MIBR made the absolute most of its opportunities during the month of April. They kicked off the month by finalizing their undefeated season inside of ECL Season 40 with a 2-1 finals victory over Carpe Diem, earning an invite to EPL S16 Conference. They carried that performance into the RMR, only losing to No.1 ranked FURIA before earning the first Challengers spot in the RMR.

After earning a spot at Antwerp, they fell just short in the rematch with Imperial, missing out on IEM Dallas. With an opportunity to end the month strong at BLAST, they defeated fellow top-ranked team Complexity in the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown. With paiN standing in the way of a finals rematch against FURIA, they looked poised to take the match. It did not go the way of MIBR, as they were stonewalled 0-2 against their domestic opposition to miss out on the BLAST Premier Spring Finals. Despite the slow finish, MIBR performed when it mattered most, at the RMR.

May Events: ECL S41, PGL Major Antwerp 2022 Challengers Stage

#5 GODSENT (TACO, latto, b4rtiN, dumau, HEN1)

Although they were not as active as their higher-ranked peers, GODSENT was fairly strong in the appearances we did get from the squad. Before being eliminated in the IEM Dallas qualifier, they took BO3 victories over domestic competitors ATK, Party Astronauts, and Evil Geniuses. They proved to everyone that their win over Evil Geniuses was not a fluke, after beating them in almost identical fashion in their rematch at the BLAST Spring Showdown.

Although GODSENT failed to qualify for both IEM Dallas and BLAST Premier Spring Final, their only lost series on the month was to top-ranked teams Complexity and FURIA. As the team continues to grow together, only dropping matches to the region’s best is certainly something they can hang their hat on.

May Events: ECL S41

#6 Evil Geniuses (Brehze, CeRq, Stewie2k, autimatic, RUSH)

There is perhaps not a single team in all of professional Counter-Strike with more questions left to answer than Evil Geniuses. After bottoming out of EPL S15, things were looking suspect at best for the lineup ahead of the PGL RMRs. Although they reached the very end of the event, they failed to qualify for the Major, something that was not expected but demanded of the lineup.

To cap off the forgettable month, the Geniuses failed to qualify for both IEM Dallas and BLAST Premier Spring Finals after losing back-to-back series to GODSENT. Things look abysmal for the EG roster, and with no scheduled activity in May, it is tough to gauge when or if the lineup can find its footing before it's too late.

May Events: None

#7 Imperial (FalleN, fnx, fer, boltz, VINI)

Imperial was middle of the pack in activity on the month, only participating in two of the major events throughout the month. However, they made the most of each appearance, going two-for-two in qualification attempts. Their journey through the Americas RMR was relatively smooth, only dropping one match to a surging MIBR squad before qualifying for the Major over Party Astronauts.

After earning their place in the Challengers Stage, they took a ten-day break before it was time for the IEM Dallas qualifiers, where they took the sole South American qualifier spot over 9z and MIBR to book their flight to Dallas. With an important month coming up, the former Major winners can etch themselves in history once more at Dallas and Antwerp.

May Events: PGL Major Antwerp 2022 Challengers Stage, IEM Dallas

#8 paiN (PKL, NEKIZ, hardzao, biguzera, nython)

paiN was among the most active teams inside of the Americas region, with appearances inside of six different events or leagues over the month. Their month started off cold with back-to-back losses to MIBR and Carpe Diem inside of ECL S40. They rebounded just days later in the Ace NA Masters to earn the sole invite to the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown. Their surging momentum carried into the RMR, where they clawed back from a 1-2 start to face 9z in a BO3 for the final Challenger’s spot, falling just short in an intense two-maps.

Despite not qualifying, paiN had something to build off of ahead of the IEM Dallas open qualifiers. Unfortunately for them, it did not come to fruition, falling to Gaimin Gladiators and missing the closed qualifiers. With BLAST left on the calendar, paiN made the most out of the opportunity, upsetting Liquid in the opening BO3 and compounding that into a BO3 win over MIBR. After ending the month hot, paiN carried that into May with an upset win over FURIA in the Spring Showdown finals.

May Events: ECL S41

#9 Party Astronauts (ben1337, djay, PwnAlone, Jonji, viz)

The fan-favorite Partynauts didn’t see a notable official until the second week of the month, when they competed in Romania at the Americas RMR. Despite fighting tooth and nail with their opposition, the opening round loss set them back further than they could overcome. Failing to best Imperial and Evil Geniuses saw their exit from the RMR and Major contention as a whole.

After missing Antwerp, booking an invite to IEM Dallas was the next best thing for the Astronauts. Unfortunately for the orgless hopefuls, they couldn’t get through Evil Geniuses or GODSENT and saw an exit from the IEM Dallas qualifier as well. After failing to make either big event, the Party Astronauts will look to quickly move away from the results and build on their potential successes in May.

May Events: ECL S41

#10 9z (max, dgt, Luken, rox, dav1d)

A four-map skid to end the month cannot overshadow what 9z was able to accomplish when it mattered most inside the month of April. Although we only saw them in two events this month, no team had a more memorable appearance than them. After falling 0-2 to start the Americas RMR, 9z went on a historic run, taking out five straight opponents inside of elimination BO3s, including EG and paiN, to go from nearing exit to claiming a Challengers spot.

Although they failed to qualify for IEM Dallas, 9z did carry their surging momentum nearly all the way through the event. They carried their five-match win streak into the event and ripped off five more victories, capping their streak to ten straight before dropping two BO3s to MIBR and Imperial to close the month. Regardless of how it ended, 9z have set themselves up for a month the South American hopefuls will likely never forget.

May Events: PGL Major Antwerp 2022 Challengers Stage