A Brazilian found his way onto the best North American team

Dust2.us Top 10: Liquid clinch the top spot, Torqued arrive

The Top 10 Power Ranking is in for February.

February has come to a close, with the second $250K+ event of the year in StarSeries i-League Season 4 concluding. This power ranking takes a look at true North American teams, not just ones residing in the region, so SK, Renegades, and OpTic don't get rated.

This month's ranking panel consisted of:

  • 3 Dust2.us Staff
  • 3 Personalities
  • 2 EPL Coaches
  • 1 EPL Player
  • 1 MDL Coach
  • 1 MDL Player

The post-Major shuffle has come to a close, with the new season of EPL starting up.  Over the last two months we saw two big teams in CLG and Misfits dissolving, but new strong teams have risen to take their places.

The full ranking can always be found at the Top 10 page on the site tool bar or at this link.

1. Liquid - 955 points (+55) / HLTV #6

Following the events of StarSeries i-League Season 4 as well as the first two days of IEM Katowice, Liquid have overtaken Cloud9 as the top dogs in North America. It was a close affair however, with only 1 panel member serving as the difference maker in the decision.

Since getting Keith "NAF" Markovic into the lineup, this team has been world class, taking down SK and Cloud9 to win cs_summit 2 as well as mousesports and FaZe at StarSeries. The Nick "nitr0" Cannella-led team has also secured a playoff spot at IEM Katowice, taking down Gambit and Cloud9 in Group A.

Here is their roster:

  • United States Nick "nitr0" Cannella
  • United States Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski
  • Canada Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken
  • Brazil Lucas "steel" Lopes
  • Canada Keith "NAF" Markovic
  • Brazil Wilton "zews" Prado (Coach)

2. United States Cloud9 -  946 points (-54) / HLTV #3

The Major champions only won their title just over a month ago, yet have already been overtaken by another team from their region. IEM Katowice will serve as an important decider for how Cloud9 will fare in the long run. StarSeries could be seen as the usual post-Major slump for Major winners, but a minor dip can not be allowed to persist forever.

They have by no means dropped off a cliff however, only having dropped series to Liquid, FaZe, SK, and mousesports since the Major, all of whom are top teams. If they wish to return to their title winning form though, they will need to be able to overcome at least a few of these names.

Here is C9's roster:

  • United States Tyler "Skadoodle" Latham
  • United States Jake "Stewie2K" Yip
  • United States Timothy "autimatic" Ta
  • United States Tarik "tarik" Celik
  • United States Will "RUSH" Wierzba
  • United States Soham "valens" Chowdhury (Coach)

3. United States NRG - 687 (+17) points / HLTV #24

The roster captained by Damian "daps" Steele has not seen much action this month, only playing in the StarSeries i-League Season 4 North American Qualifier, falling to a NAF-powered Renegades in the semifinals. Other than that, the team will have been practicing for the start of ESL Pro League with new member Ethan "nahtE" Arnold.

They've kept their spot in the rankings mostly due to the other teams closely below them being inactive too, but once EPL really kicks into gear, the real test for daps and new coach Ian "Immi" Harding will begin.

Here is NRG's lineup going into March:

  • United States Jacob "FugLy" Medina
  • United States Vincent "Brehze" Cayonte
  • Cvetelin "CeRq" Dimitrov
  • Canada Damian "daps" Steele
  • United States Ethan "nahtE" Arnold
  • Ian "Immi" Harding (Coach)

4. compLexity - 464 points (+81) / #44

Much like NRG above them, compLexity have been very inactive in the month of February, playing in the first open qualifier for the ECS Season 5 Challenger Cup, taking down Rise Nation and ownage (now Dignitas), as well as a few matches in EPL Season 7. They would have played in the ECS Closed Qualifier, but ended up getting invited directly to the Challenger Cup instead.

compLexity had already been on an upward trend with Alec "Slemmy" White, so it will be interesting to see where Pujan "FNS" Mehta can take them, especially with 1.6 veteran Ronald "Rambo" Kim on board as coach as well. They currently have a 3-3 record in EPL, with wins over Dignitas and Luminosity.

Here is compLexity's full roster:

  • Rory "dephh" Jackson
  • Canada Bradley "androidx23" Fodor
  • United States Jaccob "yay" Whiteaker
  • United States Peter "ptr" Gurney
  • Canada Pujan "FNS" Mehta
  • United States Ronald "Rambo" Kim (Coach)

5. United States Splyce - 416 points (+123) /  HLTV #41

Splyce are in the exact same position as compLexity, having played the ECS Season 5 Open Qualifier, this time beating Iceberg and Swole Patrol, and then getting invited to the Challenger Cup anyway. They also played a few ESL Pro League matches, taking down compLexity and Rogue for a 3-1 record.

With a 2-0 over coL already in EPL, this team is looking good going forward. With young AWPer Zack "XotiC" Elshani and veterans in Kory "SEMPHIS" Friesen and David "DAVEY" Stafford, this team has a lot of potential to climb even higher.

Here is Splyce's current roster:

  • United States Taylor "Drone" Johnson
  • Canada Kory "SEMPHIS" Friesen
  • United States Daniel "roca" Gustaferri
  • Canada David "DAVEY" Stafford
  • United States Zack "XotiC" Elshani
  • United States Zachary "Eley" Stauffer (Coach)

6. United States Rogue - 327 points (+85) / HLTV #48

Rogue retain their position in the heirarchy of North America, just below Splyce and compLexity, and have competed in the same events as most of the other teams have. During this month, Casper "cadiaN" Møller's men dropped Ronnie "ryx" Bylicki shortly after picking him up and acquired former FRENCH CANADIANS player Anthony "gMd" Guimond.

So far, Rogue took down Blackwoodproductions in the second ECS Season 5 Open Qualifier, and then took down Etherian in the Closed Qualifier to secure a spot in the Challenger Cup. They also took maps off of Ghost and Splyce for a 3-1 record in EPL — already close to topping their win total from last season.

Rogue's new roster is as follows:

  • United States Daniel "vice" Kim
  • United States Spencer "Hiko" Martin
  • Denmark Casper "cadiaN" Møller
  • United States Hunter "SicK" Mims
  • Canada Anthony "gMd" Guimond

7. United States Dignitas - 259 points (+76) / HLTV #64

The former SoaR squad, with Ryan "Snakes" Amann instead of Mitch "mitch" Semago, had turned many heads when they stormed MDL Season 26 and took the trophy over fan favorites Rise Nation, putting them into Season 7 of the ESL Pro League. However, due to age restrictions, the squad was forced to drop Snakes in favor of ex-Splyce member mitch.

The American team also picked up former Rogue in-game leader Josh "shinobi" Abastado as coach — though he has yet to be signed by the organization. In February, Dignitas played in the ECS Season 5 Closed Qualifier, where they fell to the South Africans of Bravado 1-2. They also lost to compLexity in EPL for a 0-2 record.

Here is Dignitas's complete roster:

  • United States Michael "Grim" Wince
  • United States Logan "Voltage" Long
  • United States Jack "xCeeD" Holiman
  • United States Matthew "mCe" Elmore
  • United States Mitch "mitch" Semago
  • United States Josh "shinobi" Abastado (Coach)

8. United States Torqued - 211 points (New) / HLTV #26

What used to be GX has gone under a large overhaul ever since Sam "DaZeD" Marine exited the roster and retired from play. With the also now retired Shawn "witmer" Taylor as in-game leader, the team qualified for the ESEA MDL Season 26 Global Challenge, but couldn't make it to Pro League after losing to Ghost and Rise Nation in relegation.

With Joshua "steel" Nissan and Kenneth "koosta" Suen entering the lineup and rebranding to Torqued, this team made their way to cs_summit 2. Here they made headlines as they took down Vega Squadron in a best of three to avoid going out in last place. They also won PreGame's launch tournament over Bravado.

Here is Torqued's lineup:

  • Canada Keven "AZK" Lariviere
  • United States Braxton "swag" Pierce
  • United States Matt "Pollo" Wilson
  • Canada Joshua "steel" Nissan
  • United States Kenneth "koosta" Suen
  • United States James "JamezIRL" Macaulay (Coach)

9. Canada Ghost - 184 points (+1) / HLTV #59

Despite gaining a point over the month, Ghost have actually dropped a spot in the ranking, falling below Dignitas. This can probably be attributed to their lack of officials, poor start to EPL, and new roster. After the departure of Phong "bee" Nguyen and ryx from the lineup, the team looked towards former FRENCH CANADIANs player Yassine "Subroza" Taoufik and former Endpoint player Tramaine "stan1ey" Stanley to fill in.

Their start to Season 7 of EPL did not go as the team would have hoped, dropping four maps to Renegades and Rogue for an 0-4 record. Perhaps it is a result of their new roster, but Ghost will need to step it up in the next month if they hope to advance in the rankings once again.

Here is Ghost's full lineup:

  • United States Sebastian "seb" Bucki
  • Canada Connor "CONNOR93" Glover
  • Canada Matthew "Wardell" Bowman
  • Canada Yassine "Subroza" Taoufik
  • Tramaine "stan1ey" Stanley
  • United States Michael "MAiNLiNE" Jaber (Coach)

10. United States Rise Nation - 123 points (+40) / HLTV #56

After the collapse of this team at the ESEA MDL Season 26 Global Challenge, the core opted to pick up Skyler "Relyks" Weaver and Michael "dapr" Gulino and try to rebuild. So far, the team has performed well, defeating BlackOut to qualify for the ECS Season 5 Closed Qualifier (despite then being invited to the Challenger Cup after) and sitting at an 8-3 record in MDL, only sustaining losses to GX, BlackOut, and Mask Off.

They still have a ways until they reach where they were with their old roster, and they will have an excellent chance to prove themselves against RONIN, who are currently at the top of the MDL leaderboard. Securing a win here and also performing well in the ECS Season 5 Challenger Cup will certainly help their chances of rising through the ranks.

Here is Rise Nations current lineup:

  • United States Brandon "Ace" Winn
  • Canada Kaleb "moose" Jayne
  • United States Will "dazzLe" Loafman
  • United States Michael "dapr" Gulino
  • United States Skyler "Relyks" Weaver
  • United States Jared "osorandom" Hartman (Coach)

The team from last month who did not appear this month is the now disbanded Misfits, as Hunter "SicK" Mims made his way to Rogue, Shahzeb "ShahZaM" Khan rejoined OpTic, and the Frenchmen returned to Europe. The only other teams to receive points this month were Mythic and Swole Patrol, but they did not make the cut.

The main events to impact rankings this coming month are the results of IEM Katowice, ESL Pro League, ESEA MDL, WESG World Finals, ECS Season 5 Challenger Cup, Mad City Chicago Open,  and EGLX 2018.

Also read

#1(With 2 replies)
March 1, 2018 06:03PM
rustyjames
Dust2 Birthday cake!
i know its the start of the month but why would you update the rankings when the event is still live?

did they get tournament points for katowice or just match points?
#2(With 0 replies)
March 1, 2018 07:01PM
DuckMoriarty
Dust2 Birthday cake!
iirc just match points. got to release it at the start of the month every time otherwise we ain't keeping to that good ol' schedule of ours
#3(With 0 replies)
March 1, 2018 07:29PM
tolkienfanatic
Dust2 Birthday cake!
Our system is different than HLTV's, there aren't really match or tournament points
#4(With 0 replies)
March 1, 2018 08:49PM
Strap
Swole patrol been robbed .
#5(With 0 replies)
March 1, 2018 10:20PM
WallehZz-4LO
not feeling it
c9 still top NA atm IEM will decide 100%
#6(With 1 replies)
March 2, 2018 08:44AM
MagicHelmetTV
Caster
Dust2 Birthday cake!
I think you accidentally add a zero to Rise Nation's rank.
#7(With 0 replies)
March 2, 2018 09:22AM
tolkienfanatic
Dust2 Birthday cake!
Mitch plz
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