Esports Championship Series Season 6 has arrived and following a 1st-place finish at the Major, all eyes will be on the play of Astralis.
While once again establishing themselves as the most dominant Counter Strike team in recent memory, Astralis have, at times, looked vulnerable, especially when opponents can get them to the likes of Mirage.
dev1ce remains one of the best players in the league, with gla1ve being the anomaly of the world as a tactical in-game leader who is also able to consistently provide quality frag numbers for his team.
The CS scene keeps waiting for Astralis to have an inevitable dip in their play and with this prolonged regular season and the roster changes of some top teams, perhaps it will occur in the coming weeks.
Change at FaZe
FaZe Clan have announced that NiKo will be swapping roles and claiming the in-game leader mantle. Rumours had swirled for some time of a possible roster move for FaZe should they struggle at the FACEIT London Major and after falling down 0-2 in the Swiss System, they made the swap to having star player NiKo in-game lead.
This is not the first time for NiKo at the helm, as he did in-game lead for a time during his stint with mousesports. The question has become whether or not karrigan will be sticking around, and if so, what kind of impact can he have in the game in terms of a more supportive role.
This squad is still completely stacked in terms of talent, although FaZe have perhaps the most intrigue of any team moving forward due to their recent changes.
Upheaval at Fnatic
Fnatic have undergone roster upheaval, with flusha and draken being removed from the team. In place of draken on a permanent basis is twist, with ScreaM standing-in for flusha having already done so at ESL One: New York.
This is a major shake-up to the former Swedish powerhouse as they look to fix a myriad of issues that have plagued their squad for months. twist coming in is an interesting prospect as he has long been seen as a talented player who lacked the drive and/or motivation to be at the top of the league.
The player to watch following these roster moves however is KRIMZ, someone who despite all the behind-the-scenes issues has been a top player throughout the course of the year. Fnatic need to make sure that no matter what happens in other positions KRIMZ is still able to be on a similar level.
mousesports stand firm
With victory at ESL One: New York, mousesports have been given a temporary reprieve on any roster moves. A team rumoured, perhaps longer than any other squad, to be contemplating change, mousesports were able to make a shocking title finish in New York, with every player having their moment.
While suNny remains the standout player, each individual member was given the freedom within the team to have an impact, with mousesports having a stark contrast to the controlled style of Team Liquid in the final.
If line-up changes were on the horizon they have been stunted for the immediate future, with the team looking to build on their first major success story in quite some time.
The issue with this team since the addition of Snax has been that young star ropz has lost his consistency at the top. If ropz can return to a starring role, mousesports are a massive threat moving forward.
However, while it’s easy to talk up the contenders, the bottom line is an easy one. Until they get knocked off the top of the heap, Astralis remain the best team in the world and the gold standard to which all the other teams will aspire.
