Uncertainty reigns in Dust2.us' July 2024 Power Rankings

In June, M80 was the undisputed champion at home by winning ESL Challenger League Season 47 while Complexity finally claimed their first LAN trophy with their current roster by winning ESL Challenger Jönköping 2024. However, with June also marking the start of the summer player break, those narratives have been pushed aside as multiple teams have begun the process of shuffling their rosters to prepare for the second half of the year.

When Dust2.us sent out the poll to our panel at the beginning of July, Liquid, M80, Wildcard, LAG, Mythic, Carpe Diem, BOSS, and Homyno, among many other smaller teams were or still are in the process of finalizing their rosters, creating an environment of uncertainty about what the future may hold in the NA scene.

As always, we assembled a panel of players, coaches, analysts, journalists, and talent to give their opinion on the state of the scene, with 21 responding to our call to arms. Let's see what they think below in the midst of the summer player break.

#1 Complexity (JT, floppy, Grim, hallzerk, EliGE | Coach: T.c, JamezIRL) (—) 992 pts

There is no surprises here as Complexity finally won their first LAN in a number of years at ESL Challenger Jönköping 2024, besting Falcons in the finals after stumbling so many times before. Additionally, as Complexity are exceedingly unlikely to make any changes in the near future, it is no wonder 19/21 members of the panel ranked them in first place as a sign of how reliable Complexity have been at keeping Liquid relevant on the world stage. There's nothing more to really say here other than that we are excited to see what Complexity will be able to accomplish after the player break.

June Events: YaLLa Compass 2024, ESL Challenger Jönköping 2024

#2 M80 (Swisher, reck, slaxz-, s1n | Coach: dephh) (+1) 858 pts

M80 this month had to finally say goodbye to Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa as the Guatemalan powerhouse as snatched up by G2 in a massive vote of confidence for one of NA's most-beloved players. It goes without saying that losing malbsMd will hurt M80 profoundly, but the panel still gave the team a bump up to second place for winning ESL Challenger League Season 47. Additionally, with the other four pieces on M80 being as strong as they are, along with rumors of Mason "Lake" Sanderson being called up to join the team, things may not be as bad as a first appraisal of M80's future may suggest.

June Events: ESL Challenger League Season 47

#3 Liquid (NAF, YEKINDAR, skullz, Twistzz) (-1) 758 pts

Liquid are once again back to square one heading into July, with the squad removing Casper "cadiaN" Møller and Wilton "zews" Prado, while Felipe "skullz" Medeiros is almost certainly out of the door. Considering Liquid did not play a single map this month, their position in the ranking solely rests on the prestige of their remaining players and their decent past results. No one knows what the future holds for Liquid, and with rumors of some questionable additions to the team being on the horizon, this is a truly concerning time to be a Liquid fan.

June Events: None

#4 Nouns (nosraC, cJ, junior, Jeorge, RUSH | Coach: adreN) (—) 498 pts

Nouns once again had a decent month toiling away in the background of the NA scene. With the team managing a third-place finish in ECL S47 and a second-place finish in CCT Season 2 North American Series #, they are a safe pick in any NA domestic event to go far. However, with losses to Legacy and Wildcard this month and many teams ranked below them completely retooling their roster, Nouns will have to be on guard to not become complacent lest they run the risk of being leapfrogged in the second half of the year.

June Events: ESL Challenger League Season 47, CCT Season 2 North American Series #1

#5 Legacy (latto, dumau, NEKIZ, b4rtiN, saadzin | Coach: chucky) (+3) 436 pts

Legacy continue to impress as they have leapt three positions to climb up to fifth place in North America. The Brazilian squad utterly clobbered their opposition in ESEA Advanced Season 49, as expected, while as winning CCT Season 2 North American Series #1 in a fairly comprehensive fashion over Nouns. With the team finally out of ESEA Advanced purgatory, it will be exciting to see what Eduardo "dumau" Wolkmer and Guilherme "saadzin" Pacheco will be able to accomplish when fighting proper NA opposition.

June Events: Thunderpick World Championship 2024: North American Series #2, CCT Season 2 North American Series #1

#6 Wildcard (stanislaw, JBa, Sonic) (-1) 402 pts

Wildcard finished ECL S47 in second place just behind M80 before promptly blowing up their roster in pursuit of Swedish duo Love "phzy" Smidebrant and Tim "susp" Ångström. While the team also recently parting ways with their coach, João "horvy" Horvath, the squad is pretty much back to square one when the second half of 2024 kicks off for NA on July 15th. With that in mind, there's a lot of promise for this roster but also a lot of risk as Wildcard's previous core were already considered a top NA domestic team.

June Events: ESL Challenger League Season 47, CCT Season 2 North American Series #1, Thunderpick World Championship 2024: North American Series #2

#7 Party Astronauts (ben1337, cxzi, WolfY, Infinite, FaNg | Coach: Viathan) (-1) 374 pts

Party Astronauts had a decent month at home with a fourth-place finish in ECL S47 and a second-place finish at the Thunderpick World Championship 2024: North American Series #2, which is great to see one month into Justin "FaNg" Coakley's tenure on the team. What is less great to see is that PA once again failed to find any wins at an international LAN, this time at ESL Challenger Jönköping 2024. While they can be forgiven as The MongolZ and Falcons are undoubtedly tough customers, the hope is for them one day to do some damage abroad and get some recognition, especially as their hunt for an org is growing a bit long in the tooth.

June Events: ESL Challenger League Season 47, ESL Challenger Jönköping 2024, Thunderpick World Championship 2024: North American Series #2

#8 NRG (oSee, Brehze, HexT, autimatic, nitr0 | Coach: daps) (-1) 329 pts

At the beginning of June, NRG made the news for bringing Nicholas "nitr0" Cannella back into the NA fold while changing their IGL for a third time in eight months. While it is unknown if nitr0 can hang in CS2 anymore after his second retirement, there are some positives as at least NRG are doing something after spinning their wheels for some time. Despite Colby "Walco" Walsh being a well-regarded leader, it must be said that NRG were somewhat irrelevant compared to the likes of Nouns, Wildcard, and even PA, which is really sad to see considering the pedigree of their players. With the team being eliminated in 7th-8th place at ECL S47 and losing to Wildcard once and PA twice, something had to give if NRG want to be a relevant contender in NA.

June Events: ESL Challenger League Season 47, Thunderpick World Championship 2024: North American Series #2

#9 Elevate (snav, dare, shane, Peeping, dea) (+1) 256 pts

Elevate had a decent month with a Bo1 win over Nouns while also making top six at ECL S46. But, their inability to consistently challenge teams ranked then them is concerning if Elevate has ambitions to rise higher than they currently are in the NA landscape. With excellent players like Derek "dare" Brown and Deni "dea" Ediev, they do have the potential to do better but something may have to give first in the leadership or tactics department even if it eventually means breaking up the timbermen core that these players have relied on for so long.

June Events: ESL Challenger League Season 47, CCT Season 2 North American Series #1, Thunderpick World Championship 2024: North American Series #2

#10 BOSS (Cryptic, freshie, d4rty, Pluto) (-1) 120 pts

BOSS only played three series this month so it is inherently difficult to judge them against their peers but at the same time losses to Mythic and Elevate are not promising for a team that has struggled to stay alive amidst the challenges of being an orgless team in NA. With Josh "PwnAlone" Pigue just recently announcing his retirement, that is another serious blow for BOSS as they will now need to find a coach and an AWPer as they prepare for next season. Overall, the panel still seems to respect this team above the likes of Carpe Diem, LAG, and Mythic, but the future entirely depends on the team's ability to find results in ECL S48 and future qualifiers.

June Events: ESL Challenger League Season 47, CCT Season 2 North American Series #1