Greetings to everyone, regardless of the time of day! It’s time to summarize the season in CS2. The first full season in CS2 brought us many bright emotions and unforgettable sensations. Let’s also note the large number of unexpected winners in the tournaments. Before the season started, we didn’t seriously consider Team Spirit as potential winners of every tournament, but now we understand that the dragons have firmly established themselves in Tier-1 CS and are ready to deliver results here and now. Before this season started, I personally expected victories from Vitality, however, this team didn’t win a single trophy this season. This season has once again demonstrated the strength of international rosters and the importance of teamwork. Let’s delve deeper into this season. Welcome to the CS2 season review by BC.game!
Top 10 HLTV Teams Summary
Let’s review the top teams from HLTV and consider who has performed well and why these teams are at the top. We observe that nearly all European teams in the Top-10 are international. The exception is the Danish team Astralis, which occupies the 8th place in the rankings. Overall, there is a trend that European teams are aiming to create a multinational lineup.
In the HLTV top rankings, there are only 3 teams with mononational lineups, however, 2 of the organizations are from Russia. Traditionally, Russia has many skilled players, who have secured the 1st and 7th places in the Top-10.
Team Spirit
Before this season started, this organization in the world of CS attracted little attention, but at the IEM Katowice 2024 tournament, we witnessed the power of this team. It seemed that the team would win a large number of tournaments throughout the season, however, in the end, they only secured two — IEM Katowice 2024 and BLAST Premier Spring Final 2024.
It seemed to me that the team experiences a certain stage fright. In closed arenas, these players dominated everyone, but once on stage, there’s a noticeable lack of confidence within the team. For further growth, it’s essential to work closely with a psychologist. Perhaps the fear of the stage will fade over time, but what the team currently lacks is psychology. I also note that the gameplay revolves around the star player Donk, which is not too favorable. If Danil is not performing, then the team is likely to lose.
Vitality
I personally expected more. The team didn’t win a single trophy this season. In 2023, the team won many trophies, and it seemed to me that this year should have been a continuation of the previous one. Apparently, zonic and Magisk were very important to the team, and their replacements have not been successful. In my opinion, the team needs some changes. Perhaps it might be worth looking for a replacement for meziii or apEX. Mezii had a lackluster season and we often saw how difficult it was for him to play. It seems that apEX is running out of ideas. Opponents often read Vitality’s gameplay and are prepared for their actions.
MOUZ
Another surprise in the HLTV top rankings. After frozen’s transfer to Faze, many had written off the Mice, but Brolan quickly integrated into the young team and began to have roughly the same impact as frozen did before. Their victories at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024 and ESL Pro League Season 19 only prove this. I think there’s no reason for the Mice to change anything. They are only in the Top-3 because they did not qualify for the BLAST Premier Spring Final 2024. If MOUZ maintains their lineup, this team will become a very formidable opponent for any other.
Faze
An incredible first half of the season. 8 finals in a row. An amazing run, but in the second half of the season, we saw that Faze had significantly run out of steam. The management has been trying to maximize player performance for years, likely due to financial problems within the organization. New investors arrived and were horrified. It turned out that the team was systematically in deficit and essentially existed only because of investors. New investors are trying to change the situation by having the team participate in as many tournaments as possible. This is what caused the team’s decline. Apparently, the only thing that can be improved in this organization is the players’ salaries. Then, traveling to every possible tournament would not be necessary.
Natus Vincere
Incredible success. Winning the PGL Copenhagen Major 2024 was like a fairy tale for this team. What didn’t they call them before the playoffs? Low-tier team, noobs, bots, etc. Everyone predicted their elimination in the semifinals, but it didn’t happen. Thanks to the incredible work of the coach and the team, which they did during the break between the Elimination Stage and the playoffs, allowed the team to win the most prestigious tournament of the season. No one can say that NAVI won undeservedly. And 13-3 on the third map of the final against Faze showed how well Natus Vincere can personally prepare against their opponents. NaVi certainly ruined my PickEm and lost me a lot of bets on CS2, but it was still a fairy tale.
After the Major, there was a downturn. It seemed to me that the players got a bit carried away, but a reality check at ESL Pro League Season 19 and IEM Dallas 2024 sobered them up. The last tournament for the yellow-blue-violet-pink-black team ended on a high note. Second place at BLAST Premier Spring Final 2024 is a decent end to the season.
I want to highlight the team’s structure, which allows them to win without a clear star player. In fact, the team’s results depend on the players themselves, who can switch roles in the middle of a tournament. This kind of switch happened between iM and Jl at that very victorious Major.
I believe the team can still gain momentum and win tournaments. They just need a bit more time.
G2
To me, this is purely a joke team. It’s completely unclear what’s happening in the management of the organization. Initially, they kicked out jks and brought in nexa to replace him. It was completely unclear why nexa was better. Back then, it was rumored that this was one of Niko’s demands for his new contract. Now, nexa has been kicked out or he left on his own. It’s complicated, but the fact remains. After six months, G2 are essentially left without a player.
M0NESY was a bright ray of hope in the entire nightmare called G2. He often won matches on his own and largely thanks to him, G2 won their only trophy at IEM Dallas 2024.
After him, in my view, the most impactful on the team was nexa, who is no longer with the team. He was a stable rifler in principle. I wouldn’t say that the player stood out in a negative way.
Now let’s talk about those because of whom G2 loses a large number of matches. These are NiKo and huNter-. These players hold positions where they need to kill, and while NiKo sometimes recalls the old days and shows some performances, huNter- loses almost all important duels. Statistically, these players seem decent, but from their positions, they need to kill much more and more often for the team to start winning trophies.
In my opinion, NiKo and huNter- should be kicked from the team. Perhaps this is already underway, and the kick of nexa is just the beginning.
Virtus.pro
I get the impression that everything is fine with the team, they just reached their ceiling and simply cannot play better. Perhaps the transition of electroNic will refresh the team and give them some new ideas, but in my opinion, for better results, it might be a good idea to try assembling a younger roster. Perhaps it’s worth kicking FL1T and fame and simply finding younger players to replace them. And I think it might also be worth kicking Jame. He often pulls the blanket towards himself, which sometimes becomes a problem.
In the new team, electroNic needs to forget about his intentions to be a captain. To put it mildly, he was not successful in that role before.
Astralis
Again, they changed a player in the roster during the season. It seems that this has become a routine practice for them. For now, the team looks unpolished. We’ll need to see what happens with the team next season.
Complexity
At the start of the season, Complexity made an impression that the team could contend for trophies. However, after the first three tournaments, it became clear that nothing had really changed within the team. They are the only representatives from North America in the Top-10. So, it seems that the issues lie not just with the team but with the entire region. I think the high ping for players from Europe played a role here. Possibly, because of this, Complexity simply can’t practice with European teams and they lack the experience needed to compete for trophies.
Heroic
Absolutely unstable team. However, the final roster was formed quite recently. They might make some noise in the new season, but they are more likely dark horses rather than favorites.
Season’s Failure
Here I’ll note… No, not Cloud9, although they are also good. Here I’ll note Team Liquid. The roster included Twistzz, YEKINDAR, and cadiaN. Before the season started, I expected them to contend for serious trophies, but a failure at the RMR tournament showed that wasn’t the case. The organization has already kicked out cadiaN. We’ll see whose head will roll next. In my opinion, the team needs an AWP and a captain. Remember, with YEKINDAR as captain, the team also didn’t perform very well.
It’s also worth mentioning Cloud9, who, over the last year and a half to two years, have spent a lot of money on transfers but have achieved nothing. And Falcons, who assembled a lineup of stars, but in the end, the stars used them as a lever to secure more lucrative contracts from their organizations.
Season Opening
I won’t beat around the bush. Like many others, I did not expect such results from Team Spirit. They have been consistently playing well. As I mentioned before, I would recommend working with a psychologist. Once they overcome stage fright, they will start performing better.
My dream team this season
Rifler (star player)
The first star player I would pick is Donk. He’s a solid player who can make an impact right here and now. Over time, he will gain more experience and play even better.
Rifler (star player)
I’ll take frozen. He’s a good young player and he still has room to grow. I think he has huge potential.
Rifler (support)
This one is a bit more complicated. I would choose zont1x. He’s not exactly a standard support, but he often plays this role. He is also very young and will become even stronger in the future.
Captain (support)
Here I will choose a player from NaVi. My pick would be AleksiB. He was the one who led the team to victory at the Major. In many ways, it was he who built the structure that allowed NaVi to win at the Major. He will bring experience and prudence to my team.
AWP
I think that w0nderful is the best sniper of the season. No, not m0NESY and not ZywOo. W0nderful plays excellently within the NaVi structure and hits those crucial 9 out of 10 shots. Yes, he doesn’t make some of the incredible flicks like m0NESY does, but he makes important frags across the map. He hardly ever misses at close range, and in the realities of modern CS, that’s much more important than flicks.
Coach
Andriy assembled this team and breathed life into it. B1ad3 managed to rebuild the team in just one year. Now, NaVi do not play from the star player. They play more as a team, and it seems that they don’t even need a star player. All thanks to B1ad3.
Bench
Here I would like to describe players who impressed me, but impressed me less than the main players:
- Sh1ro
- Brollan
- Siuhy
- jL
Each of these players is slightly inferior to those I listed earlier but would fit perfectly into my team.
Conclusions
This was not an ordinary season. We saw many new faces on the pro scene who performed well. I think the next season will be a bit more predictable, but just as spectacular.
I hope you enjoyed this article from the crypto casino BC Game and personally from me. Wishing everyone a great mood!
