As per HLTV’s weekly rankings released every Monday, Fnatic restored their place as the best CSGO team in the world after a hiatus of more than 4 years. Their recent run of form in the past 2 months, coupled with a string of poor results for NAVI, meant that they dethroned the IEM Katowice 2020 champions after 2 months.
The latest boost in their rankings comes after an impressive win at the ESL Pro League Season 11 Europe, where the Swedes topped a stacked Stage 2 having lost only once in their five matches, which gave them a direct entry into the Grand Finale that culminated into an epic 5 game thriller which was settled in Mirage with a scoreline of 16-12. They have also only lost thrice in the last 13 Best of 3 Encounters, that has seen them soar from 6th in March to the top of the standings in just over a month.
What is even more impressive is that this same team was once labelled “washed out” and “out of ideas” when they hit their worst form last September, having been relegated to 28th in the overall standings. Despite the widespread criticism, they have continued to stick with their core 3 of KRIMZ, JW and flusha, and by adding one of the biggest teenage talents in brollan, who at 17 already has an HLTV rating of 1.12, it was only a matter of time before they got to their best. Admittedly, though, even the loyalists did not expect such a surge to become #1.
On the other hand, things haven’t been the smoothest for Astralis and Navi. The former, after losing to Fnatic yesterday at ESL One Road To Rio Open, slipped to 3rd, their lowest since last September. Navi also is not having a great time either, after a subpar performance in the Pro League after experiencing the highs of Katowice. They begin their Road To Rio in the CIS region against Espada on May 1.
For Fnatic, though, they could not have peaked at a better time. They will aim to recreate their magic against Dignitas as they have their sights set to win this event and take home a major chunk of the $115,000 prize pool.
