This inconsistency has led to the creation of the Intel Grand Slam, a massive $1,000,000 prize for any team who can win four of ten top tier events organized by ESL or DreamHack. The best part is that any team has a chance at it. Teams can qualify for the big ticket CS:GO events by winning their own local tournaments, going through the Minors, and making an appearance on the big stage with the Counter-Strike legends.
2019 was a turbulent year for CS:GO. Plenty of teams have had their time in the spotlight. Both new and old faces alike have been able to rise to the occasion and win large events. As such, the rankings have had the most top 5 variety in years.
With so many titles going to different teams, it can be hard to track who really are the favorites at any point. Despite this, there have definitely been some stand-out teams who look like the top dogs in the scene.
Best Performers in 2019
Astralis came into 2019 as the best team in the world. They won the IEM Katowice Major, the first big tournament of the year. However, the Danish squad went through a massive drought after that. From March to August, they didn’t win a single top tier event. Taking their place at the rank one spot was North America’s Team Liquid.
In one of the most dominant streaks in recent history, Liquid won every single S-Tier event they attended. The North Americans held the top spot in the scene all through summer. They even took home the Intel Grand Slam after winning ESL One Cologne in July. At the StarLadder Berlin Major, Liquid were a favorite to win it all. When they bowed out in quarterfinals to Astralis, it sent ripples throughout CS:GO. Astralis went on to win their record-breaking fourth major, sweeping the year out of nowhere.
After that, North America’s hope fell further, not winning a single big event for the rest of the year. Instead, the NRG Esports turned Evil Geniuses squad rose up to take their place. Alongside them, Fnatic underwent a major resurgence after some roster swaps.
During the Autumn months, the new in-game leaders of Peter “stanislaw” Jarguz for EG and Maikil “Golden” Selim for Fnatic led their teams up the rankings. EG took wins at IEM New York and StarSeries and i-League, while Fnatic won DreamHack Malmo.