The Mexico Major provided a massive shake-up to the SiegeGG Team Ranking. Powerful teams fell short of reaching their goals at the tournament, and several teams with strong Major performances soared up the rankings.
In addition to the normal top ten teams, we also have some interesting honorable mentions this time around. While none of them made it into the exclusive club, many APAC teams dramatically improved their standing after a strong showing by all three attending teams at the event.
Damwon Gaming showed the largest improvement of any team, jumping fifteen places from 29th to 14th in the world. Additionally, Invictus Gaming and CYCLOPS have each improved six places. The trio has buoyed the entire region with their performance, and we may be seeing a return to form for the top APAC teams, recalling the days when Nora-Rengo and Fnatic were perennial contenders.
Now, let's look at the ten teams with the strongest performances over the past six months.
10. Natus Vincere (-3)
Roster: Secretly Doki Saves Blurr Nathan
Natus Vincere fell to last in their Knights-less three-team group at the Mexico Major, dropping them a few places in the ranking. A first-place finish in EUL Stage 1 and a third-place finish in Stage 2 keep them in the top ten, but to maintain their place in the ranking NAVI need a strong Stage 3 and November Major.
9. TSM FTX (-6)
Roster: Geo Chala Achieved Beaulo Merc
The loss of Bryan "Merc" Wrzek for the Mexico Major due to a COVID-19 diagnosis doomed TSM to a group stage exit. Clearly, the loss of TSM's primary entry player hurt them dearly, as their performance drops them six spots in the rankings.
8. DarkZero Esports (+7)
Roster: BC Ecl9pse Hyper njr Panbazou
Out of all the North American teams at the Mexico Major, DarkZero impressed the most. A COVID-19 positive diagnosis for Paul "Hyper" Kontopanagiotis and Brandon "BC" Carr confined DZ to their hotel rooms, where they suffered a 0-2 quarterfinal loss to eventual Major champion Team oNe. DarkZero's impressive group stage can't be counted out, though: they finished first in a group most expected them to finish third or fourth in.
7. FURIA Esports (+6)
Roster: Highs Miracle Lenda R4re Fntzy
FURIA have been climbing the rankings for quite some time. This plucky squad led by LATAM coaching veteran Marlon "Twister" Mello has seen rapid improvement over the past few months, and their tournament performance has been nothing but impressive. A mere three rounds separated FURIA from beating BDS in a quarterfinal matchup at the Mexico Major, and with more time to gel as a team it won't be the last time we see this team in the playoff stage.
6. Spacestation Gaming (+4)
Roster: Bosco Hotancold ThinkingNade Rampy Fultz
Spacestation had an early exit from the Mexico Major by many standards, but still, soar upwards in the rankings thanks to a first-place finish in NAL Stage 2. The astronauts were bounced in the quarterfinals of the Mexico Major by eventual finalists Team Empire, but despite the somewhat disappointing result, Spacestation has a bright future ahead.
5. Team BDS (-)
Roster: RaFaLe BriD Renshiro Elemzje Shaiiko
BDS have been in the top five teams in the world for nearly a year now. The French superstars are almost a lock to make a deep playoff run in whatever tournament they play in, and were the best overall team in their region during 2020. They don't move in the rankings due to the semifinals loss and the fourth-place finish in EUL Stage 2.
4. Ninjas in Pyjamas (-3)
Roster: Psycho Kamikaze JULIO pino Muzi
NiP takes a bit of a tumble in the rankings due to a disastrous group stage of the Mexico Major. The reigning SI champs were taken out by a surging DWG KIA and G2 Esports twice apiece in the best-of-one group format, and didn't qualify for the playoffs. Fortunately, there's still time for NiP to right their ship heading into the final regional competitions of the year and the November Major.
3. Team oNe Esports (+3)
Roster: Levy KDS Alem4o Lagonis Neskin
The young Brazilian squad took the "Rainbow Six Siege" world by storm by winning the Mexico Major. Most importantly, Team oNe showed the world their depth; Karl "Alem4o" Zarth didn't do all the heavy lifting for this team in the playoffs. Juliano "Levy" dos Santos Benos was the MVP of the event, and Team oNe proved they can build off of their SI performance to become a true contender.
2. Team Empire (+2)
Roster: Dan ShepparD JoyStiCK Scyther Always
The Russian juggernaut fell short in the finals of the Mexico Major, but remain over their finals adversaries due to the strength of their other recent performances. Empire were first during EUL Stage 2, they finished seventh-eighth during SI 2021, and those performances are enough to elevate them to the second in the world slot.
1. Team Liquid (+1)
Roster: muringa NESKWGA psk1 xS3xyCake Paluh
Team Liquid didn't win the ultimate prize at the Mexico Major, but they still have a solid claim to the number one spot. A finals appearance at SI, a semifinals loss to Team oNe in Mexico, and a first-place finish in the Copa Elite Six Stage 1 cement them as the number one overall team. Luccas "Paluh" Molina is on an absolute tear, and legendary player André "nesk" Oliveira still appears to be in top form.
To read more about how the ranking is calculated, check out our blog post explaining the system.
To see the full list, check out the ranking page for the most recent update!