The SiegeGG Ranking is back!
Last year, due to the global pandemic, we paused our world ranking releases since the lack of international competitions made it impossible to judge how each region's teams would stack up against one another.
We continued to update rankings regionally, but were saving the global ranking for when an international LAN could finally happen.
With the conclusion of the Six Invitational, that time has come! We will resume updating the world ranking with each event and season that happens, so that fans can see who really is the best of the best.
If you want a refresher on how the system works, check out our blog post containing useful information on our methods. You can also check out the full ranking to see the teams outside the ten best in the world.
Now, the Top 10!
10. Natus Vincere
Roster: Secretly Doki Saves Blurr Nathan
New-look Na'Vi has impressed enough to sneak into the Top 10 despite not qualifying to the Six Invitational; the only team on this list to do so.
In their most recent EUL season, they shot to the top of the standings with 20 points. They were tied only with longtime regional powerhouse BDS Esport, but possessed the tiebreaker after a tight overtime win against the French squad.
The star duo of Doki and Blurr led the team to a sharp improvement compared to middling performances in the 2020 season and the team looks to take a top spot in Europe once again in order to earn a place at the August Major.
9. DarkZero Esports
Roster: Ecl9pse Skys Mint Hyper njr
Note: The retirements of Skys and Mint are not accounted for as of this rating release (which is calculated immediately following SI), but will count in the following ranking update due before the start of Stage 2.
DarkZero Esports was thought to be a favourite heading into the Six Invitational, but delivered what can only be called a disappointing performance.
Its pre-Invitational roster change of removing veteran support player Hotancold in favor of more firepower with njr has been a failure. Tied for the lowest placing of any non-APAC team in the tournament, DZ has some serious rebuilding to do when it returns to NAL play, especially off the back of a 6th-place finish in Stage 1.
8. Team Empire
Roster: Dan ShepparD JoyStiCK Scyther Always
Team Empire is a whole different roster on LAN.
After winning the November EU mini-major last year, hopes were high that the old Empire of 2019 had returned, but it was not to be. The team floundered in Stage 1 of the 2021 European League, finishing in ninth place; only ahead of Team Secret. Many counted them out of the upcoming Six Invitational and called for roster changes.
After reaching the LAN environment of the Six Invitational, everything changed. The team rocketed to an 8-1 record in Group A, with its only loss an overtime 6-8 defeat to DarkZero, earning themselves the first seed in the group.
The playoffs were a mixed bag for Empire, with a clear defeat at the hands of Oxygen Esports followed by an absolute drubbing of up-and-coming Team oNe, culminating in a loss to eventual-finalists Team Liquid.
Overall, the Invitational was an over-performance by Team Empire (at least relative to expectations) and the team can hopefully continue its form into another season of the EUL, though it is clear that its players are more comfortable in a LAN environment than online.
7. BDS Esport
Roster: RaFaLe BriD Renshiro Elemzje Shaiiko
There was no greater disappointment at the Six Invitational than BDS.
Thought by many to be the overall favorites going into the tournament (including a plurality of our own Caster Predictions, 84% predicted BDS to reach the grand final and 40% to win it all), the team performed up to expectations through the group stage, only dropping one game to a revitalized Team Empire.
In the playoffs, previously hidden cracks began to show. The team lost a narrow three-map thriller to their first-round opponent of Ninjas in Pyjamas, which can be excused on account of the fact that the Brazilian squad would go on to lift the hammer.
However, their next matches left many EU fans questioning who their best hopes are for standing up to the new LATAM powerhouses. A map dropped in a scare against FURIA preceded a 1-2 loss to TSM that ended the French favorites' run with a 7th-8th placing; far lower than anyone would have predicted before the tournament.
6. FaZe Clan
(Photo credit: FaZe Clan.)
Roster: cameram4n Astro Bullet1 Cyber soulz1
The new FaZe roster (formerly MIBR prior to the Brazilian team shuffle) has not quite lived up to the 'Brazilian Superteam' hype that its formation came with, but has still proven that it can compete with the best, both locally and internationally.
The team was Brazil's top team through Stage 1 of the BR6, but suffered an upset loss to Team oNe in the first round of the Copa Elite Six playoffs, exiting from the tournament before all of the other Brazilian powerhouses.
At the Invitational, they performed well, with a strong group showing placing them into the upper bracket where they kicked off with a 2-1 win over eventual fourth-place TSM. However, they could only follow it up with back-to-back losses to grand finalists and regional rivals Ninjas in Pyjamas and Team Liquid.
Overall, FaZe was an important piece of the LATAM domination that was on display at SI, but will need to show more to overcome their Brazilian brethren.
5. Oxygen Esports
Roster: LaXInG VertcL FoxA Yoggah Kyno
Has Oxygen finally broken through to claim their spot among the titans of North American Siege? For a long time, the core has sat behind TSM, Spacestation, and DarkZero as that trio traded places at the top of North America while OxG (formerly Team Reciprocity) sat in a respectable but perpetual fourth place.
Things seemed to change when the team added new young talent in Yoggah and Kyno, whose impact was immediately felt in the NAL, where the team stormed to a league-topping finish after Stage 1.
Questions still remained, as some would argue that it was simply a down season for the traditional powerhouses, that the natural order would be restored at the Invitational and in upcoming seasons.
However, at the Invitational, the team showed both flashiness as well as resilience. The former came in the form of 7-0 drubbings of Parabellum and MKERS and the latter was on display after a elimination scare in the group stage was turned into an Upper Bracket spot.
Eventually, a 2-0 win over Team Empire would see the team secure a top-six finish, but the glass ceiling has not been totally shattered. Elimination at the hands of regional rivals TSM shows there is work to be done, but the future looks bright for this Oxygen roster.
4. MIBR
Roster: reduct Faallz LuKid FelipoX Rappz
MIBR (formerly Team oNe before the Brazilian team shuffle) has only continued to impress. One of the only teams of young talent to break into the top of a Brazilian region currently dominated by legendary rosters, the team of relative youngsters has proven that it can compete with the best of the best.
A third-place finish in the BR6 followed by a grand final appearance at the Copa Elite Six seemed to be great finishes for the team. However, they were topped by an unexpected third-place finish at the Six Invitational, including an upset win over Team Liquid in the Upper Bracket.
If they can stay together and keep their form, this team of young stars can be a force in Brazil for years to come.
3. TSM
Roster: geoo Chala Achieved Beaulo Merc
TSM has cemented itself as the best team in North America and, indeed, as the best team in the world outside of Brazil. Winners of both the November regional mini-major and the US Division Finals, the team looked dominant in NA but was thrown for a bit of a loop after a chaotic NAL Stage 1 put them in fifth place.
Despite their struggles, TSM was able to deliver on the biggest stage. They were able to top a tough group that featured top-three finishers Ninjas in Pyjamas and MIBR, as well as regional rivals Oxygen.
In the playoffs, they scored quality wins over BDS and OxG, before finally falling 1-2 to a red-hot Team Liquid. While fourth place is a slight decline compared to the third place that TSM earned at SI last year, the team can still take comfort that it is one of the very best teams in the entire world.
2. Team Liquid
Roster: muringa NESKWGA psk1 xS3xycake Paluh
Finally, Liquid was able to deliver at a major. For years the squad has been dominant in Brazil, and showed flashes of its immense potential on LAN, with wins at the Season 7 Pro League Finals and OGA PIT Minor, but was never able to put it together on the biggest stage, with multiple heartbreaking group stage exits and no finish higher than top-eight at a Major.
This time, everything fell into place. The team (once again) was thought one of the favorites, as the team was the most consistent top team in Brazilian regional play, occasionally being bested by regional rivals, but winning most competitions or otherwise coming in a narrow second place.
Liquid performed adequately in the group stage, earning itself a spot in the Upper Bracket. They were poised to make a deep run, with their opening opponent being MIBR, who they had recently beaten in the grand final of the Copa Elite Six just weeks prior.
Disaster struck, with an 0-2 loss that looked like the old Team Liquid was coming back, the team that just wasn't able to deliver at majors. But, when the stakes were highest, Liquid went on a lower bracket run of epic proportions, beating out Parabellum, Team Empire, FaZe Clan, TSM, and MIBR, en-route to a Grand Final match against the Ninjas in Pyjamas.
Down 0-2 in the Grand Final, the Brazilian squad showed extreme fortitude to not cave and win back-to-back maps to bring the series to a fifth-map decider. In the end, it was just not enough and Liquid fell short of immortality.
Still, if Paluh and Nesk can keep their form as two top-five players in the world, anything is possible for Liquid in 2021.
1. Ninjas in Pyjamas
Roster: Psycho Kamikaze JULIO pino Muzi
At long last for the Ninjas, at long last for the nation of Brazil, we have a new set of world champions.
After heartbreak in 2020, where SSG clawed back and defeated the explosive NiP squad, the team was able to return to the SI Grand Final and this time lift the hammer despite the best efforts of a transcendent Team Liquid.
Many doubted their chances after a somewhat lackluster performance throughout the 2020 season; an SI-finalist hangover some would argue. When it counted most, NiP were back in high gear and firing on all cylinders.
They are the first Brazilian team to win a World Championship and now the tough process begins of defending their world title in a region that has proven to be an absolute juggernaut.
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!