ECL talent goes back-to-back in Dust2.us' TOTM for November

At the beginning of each month, Dust2.us 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.us’ 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 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 this month’s list is FURIA’s Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato, a player that hit a career form in the biggest event of his career, the IEM Rio Major. After ending the Challenger Stage strong, he carried the momentum against the likes of BIG, NAVI, and Heroic in front of his home crowd. When the dust settled, it was KSCERATO who ended with the second-highest rating at the Major with a 1.33, ending all ten maps with a positive K/D and rating.

Taking a seat in the TOTM for a region-leading fifth time is Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken who showed consistent form despite the team's shaky showings on the month. He ended both the Rio Major and the BLAST Premier Fall Finals with a 1.13 rating, marking a month of consistency to end an already historic year for Twistzz.

Going back to back for the Villainous squad inside ECL is AWPer Alvin “Alvin” Bui, who was outright dominant for his team last month. Over the thirteen maps in ECL last month, Alvin averaged 23.3 frags and only ended one map below a 1.00 rating. His peak performance of the month came against Nouns, ending the three-map loss with an 85-60 K/D, 88 ADR, and 1.30 rating in the series.

Joining his teammate on the list is Canada’s Brody “BeaKie” Kelly, who is also having an impressive time inside ECL. Although not as consistent as his teammate Alvin, the Villainous rifler hit 30+ frag highs multiple times on the month. Together, the two talents have proven to be quite the impactful arsenal for Villainous.

Joining the list as an ADV representative for the first time is Eros’ Darius “PNDLM” Bandali who served as a powerhouse of impact for his team en route to an undefeated 9-0 month. His biggest performance of the month came against Davenport University, where he and two-time TOTM recipient William “spek” Smith went blow-for-blow over 30-rounds. It was PNDLM who got the best of the exchange with 32 frags, 110 ADR, and a server-high 13.44 RWS.

Earning his third coaching honors inside the TOTM is ATK’s Daniel “sprayxd” Kogan. Although not as active as in prior months, he helped his team to an 8-2 map record with wins over fellow top performing domestic teams on the month, MIBR and oNe. Beyond that, he already had his team properly prepared for an official on the newly active Anubis, another sign of the coach's sharpness.

Dust2’s Team of the Month for November is:

• Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato

• Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken

• Alvin “Alvin” Bui

• Brody “BeaKie” Kelly

• Darius “PNDLM” Bandali

• Daniel “sprayxd” Kogan (Coach)

TOTM all-time leaders:

• Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken: 5

• Keith “NAF” Markovic: 4

• Rodrigo “biguzera” Bittencourt: 3

• Alvin “Alvin” Bui: 2

• Eduardo “dumau” Wolkmer: 2

• Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato: 2

• William “spek” Smith: 2

• Michael “Swisher” Schmid: 2

• Damian “daps” Steele (Coach): 3

• Daniel “sprayxd” Kogan (Coach): 3