Canadians shine in Dust2.us' Team of the Month for July 2024

Dust2.us has returned once again with our Team of the Month for July 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 Challenger League Season 48 kick off while EWC 2024 and the BLAST Premier Fall Groups began their first few matches, with Liquid in particular ending July with a massive statement win over Virtus.pro with their new roster.

Starting with a look at the pro scene in July 2024, it is impossible to ignore Liquid's debut win with their new roster at the BLAST Premier Fall Groups against Virtus.pro. While it was only one series, the new Liquid looked fantastic with their new roster, with freshly minted IGL Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken and Keith "NAF" Markovic in particular putting on great showings with 1.35 and 1.31 ratings, respectively.

As the match against Virtus.pro happened on July 31st we have to stretch the rules a bit to include the remainder of the event, but I doubt anyone will mind as it allows us to talk about Liquid's triumphant wins over World #1 NAVI, with the team claiming two series once the smoke cleared. While many kudos can be given to both Justin "jks" Savage and Roland "ultimate" Tomkowiak for having strong debuts, when it came to pure output the Canadian duo led the charge during the event, with NAF putting up a 1.24 rating while Twistzz ended it with a 1.21 rating. Hopefully this is a sign of more great things to come, especially as Twistzz and NAF continue to be some of NA's best players in CS2.

Moving down into the ESL Challenger League level, another Canadian player has topped the list — Justin "FaNg" Coakley. While the rifler has struggled to maintain his peak throughout his career, the Party Astronauts player has had a fantastic season thus far, being the highest-rated player in the league with a 1.48 rating. While many of his matches were against some of the weaker squads in ECL, FaNg had a particularly fantastic map on July 30th against NRG, posting a 1.87 rating as he helped take down his former team 13-5 on Inferno. Overall, it has been great to see the 22-year-old return to form under the leadership of Ben "ben1337" Smith.

Next up on our list is none other than Nick "nitr0" Cannella, who has returned to the scene with a bang, proving that he is more than capable of crushing the youngsters in ECL. While his 1.22 rating is not the highest in the league during the month of July, it is still very impressive for an IGL. Additionally, as an IGL nitr0 has had a huge intangible impact on NRG, taking the squad from being an NA "also ran" to being an actual threat against NA's top squads. While this may not be his most prestigious role, nitr0 is doing great work in the NA scene at the moment.

In ESEA Advanced, MIGHT are currently one of the top squads in the league, and Ryan "Snakes" Amann is a large part of their success. At the end of July MIGHT boasted a 6-0 record with Snakes being the team's top fragger in three of those matches. Snakes is a "What if?" player that many people expected to do great things, and while he hasn't lived up to those expectations from years ago, the hope is always that one more dominant season at Advanced is enough practice for him to come back into ECL and be a force to be reckoned with.

As for our coach of the month, Party Astronauts' Luke "Viathan" Carstens deserves some plaudits for being a silent workhorse on the orgless. Despite the squad constantly having players poached, Viathan has worked closely with ben1337 to maintain PA's level. Considering he came into this team not desiring to be the head coach, Viathan can hold his head high for what he has accomplished within a team that has stayed relevant despite changing tides in the scene.

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

• Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken (Pro)

• Keith "NAF" Markovic (Pro)

• Justin "FaNg" Coakley (ECL)

• Nick "nitr0" Cannella (ECL)

• Ryan "Snakes" Amann (Advanced)

• Luke "Viathan" Carstens (Coach)