Complexity show up in Dust2.us' Team of the Month for September 2023

After a short hiatus, Dust2.us' Team of the Month is back for the month of September to highlight North America's best and brightest across the three tiers of competitive play. As always, Dust2.us' list consists of two professional-level players, two players from ESL Challenger League, and one standout name from ESEA Advanced. Additionally, the list includes the most impactful coach regardless of tier.

This month saw two Complexity players enter the TOTM as NA's heroes finally hit the ground running with an excellent performance at ESL Pro League Season 18. During their time in Malta, Complexity notably took down Cloud9 and played a close series against G2 before ultimately being taken down by Monte in playoffs. Key to those efforts were excellent performances by Ricky "floppy" Kemery and Michael "Grim" Wince, who ended the event with 1.14 and 1.09 ratings, respectively. Outside of pure rating, floppy's crowning achievement this month came against Cloud9 where the rifler managed to post a 100.9 ADR against the Russian superteam, while Grim had key moments of impact, going positive in duels against four out of five Cloud9 players.

Down at the ECL level, Paytyn "junior" Johnson and Matthew "Cryptic" Whitmore both had great months with their respective teams. junior boasted a 1.42 rating over five maps following wins against kariESPORTS and Bad News Bears. Despite struggling at ESL Pro league Season 18, looking at junior as an ECL-level talent, its clear he's an undisputed force against domestic competition. Meanwhile, Wildcard's IGL, Cryptic, managed to keep the strats flowing while posting a 1.37 rating in wins over FLUFFY AIMERS, kariESPORTS, and Bad News Bears. While his teammates all posted similar rating, the fact that Cryptic can frag while calling for his squad is an achievement that cannot be overlooked.

At the Advanced level, Forsaken's Josh "JBa" Barutt has had a great time in Advanced playoffs thus far. The 19-year-old has been an integral piece of Forsaken's run. Despite lacking the experience of his teammates, JBa has been able to hang on the server when facing down top NA teams like Nouns and Wildcard in the ACE North America Masters Fall, where he ended the event with a 1.14 rating over seven maps. Likewise, in Advanced playoffs, JBa has posting insane number, being the topfragger for Forsaken on four out of the six maps they have played. At that lower level of competition, it is clear he is in his element and able to be a menace on the server.

Finally, Dust2.us' coach of the month is none other than Tiaan "T.c" Coertzen, with the South African presiding over a renaissance of form for Complexity at EPL S18 this month. After a poor showing at IEM Cologne 2023, it is clear T.c has worked with his squad and put in a ton of work as Complexity looked like a renewed squad at EPL S18, with their long-time leader playing no small role as he continues his successful collaboration with James "JamezIRL" Macaulay.

Dust2.us’ Team of the Month for September is:

• Ricky "floppy" Kemery

• Michael "Grim" Wince

• Paytyn "junior" Johnson

• Matthew "Cryptic" Whitmore

• Josh "JBa" Barutt

• Tiaan "T.c" Coertzen (Coach)