It’s official — Natus Vincere won IEM Cologne 2021 and they now sit no. 1 on the ESL World Rankings.
ESL revealed its updated Counter-Strike: Global Offensive World Rankings after IEM Cologne concluded on July 18. Na’Vi had been in second place for the World Rankings behind Gambit Esports, who climbed to the top after several finals appearances in tournaments. Despite losing to Na’Vi at the StarLadder CIS tournament, Gambit still held sole possession of first place.
Gambit, who had been on the rise in CS:GO, failed to overcome fifth/sixth place at IEM Cologne 2021. They finished behind the likes of Virtus Pro, Astralis, FaZe Clan, G2 Esports and Na’Vi. This caused them to lose their no. 1 spot in ESL’s World Rankings. However, they still have room to gain on Na’Vi, who are only 42 points ahead of them. In third place, G2 Esports is considerably further behind. They are almost 600 points behind Gambit.
FaZe Clan and Astralis break top 10 for ESL’s World Rankings
Na’Vi wasn’t the only team to climb the ranks after IEM Cologne. Both FaZe Clan and Astralis earned their spots in the top 10 after finishing top four at the tournament. Before IEM Cologne, Astralis had been in 13th place. This was after having mixed performances at tournaments in 2021. Like Astralis, FaZe Clan also had mixed results at tournaments but was able to exceed expectations during Cologne. Previously, they were ranked 18th overall on ESL’s World Rankings.
A big change in this week's update to the ESL World Ranking! 😮@natusvincere surge past @GambitEsports to #1 after winning #IEM Cologne! 🆙
Semi-final finishes from @AstralisCS and @FaZeClan sees them at #5 and #8 now! 👀
Check out the full ranking! ⤵️https://t.co/7IACJOaAWH pic.twitter.com/Il8vSPrbGJ
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) July 19, 2021
With the semifinal finishes from both teams and a first-place finish from Na’Vi, the ESL World Rankings shifted dramatically. Many new faces showed themselves in the top 10 in the world. All three teams will have another chance to prove themselves during BLAST Premier Fall 2021.
The tournament begins in Sept. and will be held offline, as IEM Cologne was. Ultimately, whoever can make another incredible run at BLAST could climb the World Rankings further.
