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

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:

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

2. 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:

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

3. 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:

• Jacob "FugLy" Medina
• Vincent "Brehze" Cayonte
• Cvetelin "CeRq" Dimitrov
• Damian "daps" Steele
• 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
• Bradley "androidx23" Fodor
• Jaccob "yay" Whiteaker
• Peter "ptr" Gurney
• Pujan "FNS" Mehta
• Ronald "Rambo" Kim (Coach)

5. 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:

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

6. 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:

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

7. 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:

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

8. 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:

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

9. 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:

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

10. 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:

• Brandon "Ace" Winn
• Kaleb "moose" Jayne
• Will "dazzLe" Loafman
• Michael "dapr" Gulino
• Skyler "Relyks" Weaver
• 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.