Twistzz continues to reign in Dust2’s Team of the Month for July

At the beginning of each month, Dust2 commemorates the best players inside the North American Counter-Strike scene by awarding five domestic talents over the three major competitive layers as members of Dust2’s Team of the Month.

This monthly award is handed out to the most impressive tier-one professional North American talents, as well as the best players inside of the second tier, most notably teams competing in ESL Challenger’s League. Lastly, to highlight the next best upcoming talent inside of the scene, at least one spot is given to the best player in ESEA Advanced over the month.

The aim of this award is not only to continue to spread the good word of some of the best players in the scene today but also to give a platform of discovery to rising talents who may dominate the servers of tomorrow. As a part of the mission to improve our coverage within the scene, monthly recognition of the best players across the region comes as a natural step in growth.

In our efforts to continue highlighting the performances of the region’s best talents, it is only right that the coaches receive the proper spotlight. Accompanying the five players chosen for the Team of the Month will also be the Coach of the Month, to ensure the mind behind the talent gets its deserved recognition.

Starting off the list for the third straight month is Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken, who was once again an x-factor for his team to claim another first place prize and lift another trophy. This time the superstar rifler got it done for his team inside the Cathedral of Counter-Strike in a BO5 to close the season out in style. Through the thirteen maps played for Twistzz, he ended eleven of them with a positive rating and even closed the event tied with teammate Håvard “rain” Nygaard for the highest rating amongst his teammates with a 1.16 rating. Once again, Twistzz has proven himself to be the top dog inside of NA CS.

Shockingly making his debut on the list is Liquid star Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski. The temporary injection of Latvian stand-in Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis gave the Liquid frontman a new lease on life after months of team stagnation. Liquid secured themselves a playoff spot at Cologne, and the performance of EliGE was a major catalyst. His 1.25 rating over thirteen maps played placed him tied with Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev for the third highest rating in the event.

Also making his TOTM debut is oNe’s Matheus “pesadelo” Panisset who was the major catalyst for the team’s success inside the ESL Challenger Melbourne open qualifiers, as well as during ECL Relegation. His 1.13 rating and 1.20 impact was key for his team to earn a place in the Melbourne closed qualifiers, but his Relegation numbers are what really stick out. He closed four of the five maps with a 1.30 rating or higher, finishing the event at an eye-popping 1.48 rating to lead his team right back to ECL.

Joining the list of debutants by the thinnest of margins is timbermen star Wyatt “snav” Phillippi who earned his first honors on the list ever so slightly ahead of his also impressive teammate Derek “dare” Brown. Although they both shined, snav made his presence known when his team needed it most inside the trenches of ECL Relegation and Fragadelphia. He closed Relegation tied for fifth in rating with a 1.25 alongside teammate Shane “shane” Dressler to earn their place in ECL S42. To end the month, snav took his services to Fragadelphia for mix-team LGG with an identical 1.25 rating over eight maps to place second at the LAN.

Rounding out the lineup is Electrify Steel’s Umar “Umar” Qaiser. The 21-year-old was dominant for his team while representing Take Flyte at Fragadelphia 17: Philadelphia earlier in July. Umar stood tall for his team over the seven maps, finishing out with a 1.30 rating, 1.27 K/D ratio, and an otherworldly 1.57 impact rating. Although he finished second in rating at the event, Umar was no doubt the most impactful player for his team in pursuit of first place at LAN.

Liquid coach Damian “daps” Steele earns July’s coach of the month honors for his immediate impact as a tactician for the team. In his first appearance as coach for the team, they were able to successfully take out the likes of 00Nation, Cloud9, and FURIA before earning their first playoff berth of the year. In their first event together, the daps-led Liquid showed much promise, giving the fans much to look forward to as the team continues to grow.

Dust2’s Team of the Month for July is:

• Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken

• Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski

• Matheus “pesadelo” Panisset

• Umar “Umar” Qaiser

• Wyatt “snav” Phillippi

• Damian “daps” Steele (Coach)