Liquid Top 3, check HLTV

Without playing a single game of official Counter-Strike since the last rankings update on the 29th of August, Liquid have found themselves ranked as the 3rd best team in the world according to HLTV. In the newest round of rankings, Liquid have leapfrogged the iconic Danes in Astralis, who have fallen to number 5, with Twistzz and FaZe taking back the crown of number 1 from NAVI by just three points. This is the first time Liquid have been in the top 3 ranked teams in the world since February 24, 2020, with the addition of Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis as still technically a stand-in giving a much-needed shot in the arm to the team.

Elsewhere for North American teams, Complexity have fallen out of the top 30 after a one-week stay. In the same way as Liquid, Ricky "floppy" Kemery and co. have not competed since the last round of rankings (unless you count whatever that Norwegian invitational thing, which I am not and neither is HLTV). However, teams such as Endpoint and Entropiq were launched into the top 30 after their performances at ESL Pro League Season 16 and ESL Challenger Melbourne respectively.

The final NA team worth noting in this round of ranking updates is Evil Genuises main lineup. The squad which is led by Sanjar "neaLaN" İshakov handled business in the second open qualifier for the IEM Rio RMR, booking their spot in Stockholm following wins over the likes of oNe, BHOP and ATK. This necessary qualification to the RMR secured the team a significant boost in the rankings, launching themselves from number 49 to just outside the top 30 at number 36.

Each of the three teams will have to wait a bit longer before they can re-enter the server to attempt to improve their ranking position. Complexity's campaign at ESL Pro League will commence on September 14th, while Evil Genuises and Liquid will compete in Group D starting on the 21st of September.