Lake makes Dust2.us' Team of the Month for May 2024 for the first time

Dust2.us has returned once again with our Team of the Month for May to highlight some of the best players currently active in the NA scene. 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 ESL Pro League Season 19 conclude, IEM Dallas 2024 and the CCT Global Finals Season 1 conclude, and ESL Challenger Season 47 reach playoffs so as always there is a lot to talk about.

For the pro scene, Liquid's Canadian duo of Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken and Keith "NAF" Markovic were the obvious choices for our pro players of the month. While Liquid as a whole has been something of a mess, one can easily point to Twistzz and NAF and say they are doing a fantastic job within Liquid.

With the Casper "cadiaN" Møller experiment not working out and Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis floundering on this roster, Twistzz and NAF have played a leading role in any wins Liquid were able to find this month. In line with that, the duo ended the month with 1.21 and 1.14 ratings over 33 maps, respectively, against top 30 teams. Additionally, with Twistzz taking over more and more IGL duties the future may see the team built around Twistzz and NAF with good reason.

At the ESL Challenger League level, Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa is such an obvious pick as the best player on the best ECL team. malbsMd has continued to show that he is comfortable playing at every level and that ECL in particular is his playground. In this playground malbsMd posted a 1.40 rating over 14 maps while his team looks set to take ECL S47 outright.

The other player we highlighted is less known, however he has done great things this month in ECL. Carpe Diem's Mason "Lake" Sanderson led the charge for his team to claim a spot in playoffs despite a rough start to the season. While Carpe Diem exited playoffs after a round one loss to LAG, Lake can feel great after posting a 1.46 rating over twelve maps — the highest rating in ECL in May.

Moving down into ESEA Advanced, Eduardo "dumau" Wolkmer makes another appearance as Legacy are the undisputed best team in the division. There's not really much new to say here except that the 20-year-old Brazilian rifler has been chewing up ESEA Advanced and the team are almost certain to win the division.

Finally, Eric "adreN" Hoag is our coach of the month for his continued work with Nouns. While the addition of William "RUSH" Wierzba definitely played a role in Nouns' recent uptick in form, the fresh perspective adreN brings to this team cannot be understated. While NA has many amazing coaches, outside of Wilton "Zews" Prado adreN is the most accomplished and that experience is surely rubbing off on Nouns.

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

• Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken (Pro)

• Keith "NAF" Markovic (Pro)

• Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa (ECL)

• Mason "Lake" Sanderson (ECL)

• Eduardo "dumau" Wolkmer (Advanced)

• Eric "adreN" Hoag (Coach)