LAN stars top Dust2.us' Team of the Month for March 2024

Dust2.us is back with our Team of the Month for March to give kudos to some of the best players the NA scene has to offer. 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.

With the PGL Copenhagen Major, its accompanying RMR, Fragadelphia CS/DO, and ESL Challenger League Season 47 all running this month, there was a ton of NA CS to watch and take into account, so let's get into it.

Starting with pro players, as North America only sent one squad to the Major this was somewhat of a foregone conclusion. However, that isn't intended to diminish the great performances Håkon "hallzerk" Fjærli and Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski put on at Copenhagen, with the duo getting the tip of the hat from Dust2.us.

For hallzerk especially, as someone who has struggled with consistency, seeing him post a team-best 1.11 rating is great to see, and it seems he has firmly made the transition to Counter-Strike 2. As for EliGE, he continues to be a pillar of the team, posting a 1.05 rating at the Major while also demonstrating at multiple times that he has the highest ceiling of any player on the team at the moment.

Moving down to ECL, as the league has finally started in earnest, our natural choices are Josh "JBa" Barutt and Carson "nosraC" O'Reilly. JBa has continued to be an absolute gem of a pickup for Wildcard, as the 19-year-old rifler posted an impressive 1.36 rating over eight maps this month. JBa has continued to prove himself as one of the most exciting rifling prospects in NA, and he's definitely someone you should keep an eye on.

nosraC, meanwhile, posted a stellar 1.34 rating over eight maps this month. With nosraC also doing double duty as Nouns' IGL the performance is especially impressive as we would traditionally expect IGLs to be a bit more muted on the server. His ability to do both while running over the competition is a testament to nosraC's level of experience in ESL Challenger League at this point.

At the Advanced level, Chinese sensation Qihao "C4LLM3SU3" Su gets more praise after an inspired showing at Fragadelphia CS/DO. While the Chinese expat did not win the LAN alongside his Mongolian compatriots, his own performance was spectacular, with C4LLM3SU3 ending the weekend with a 1.57 rating over eight maps. This showing in fact, along with other recent performances, was enough to get him the nod to join Wildcard on trial so this may be the last time we see him as an Advanced player as he takes a step up in his career.

Finally, Tommy "Axed" Ryan has earned many kudos for his work as the coach of BOSS. At the RMR, BOSS were in excellent form and really took the fight to teams with far more resources than the orgless squad. In his role as coach, Axed is also the emotional and professional core of the squad and overall has been a strong steward of a team that has had to deal with many circumstances outside of their control in their short time in the scene.

Dust2.us’ Team of the Month for March 2024 is:

• Håkon "hallzerk" Fjærli (Pro)

• Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski (Pro)

• Josh "JBa" Barutt (ECL)

• Carson "nosraC" O'Reilly (ECL)

• Qihao "C4LLM3SU3" Su (Advanced)

• Tommy "Axed" Ryan (Coach)