ESTNN Esports Logo

HLTV Rankings Top 30: Exploring The Biggest Gains and Drops

| Tags: | Author
HLTV Rankings Top 30: Exploring The Biggest Gains and Drops

We have examined the teams that have shown the most improvement and experienced the most significant setbacks in the latest edition of the HLTV Rankings. 

August was a busy month for competitive Counter-Strike. It saw the first CSGO iteration of the Gamers8 tournament and the start of the much-awaited ESL Pro League Season 18. 

With a flurry of matches and intense competition, the HLTV rankings leaderboard witnessed some remarkable changes. In this analysis, we'll shine a spotlight on the teams that have made significant strides forward and those that have experienced substantial declines in the latest update of the HLTV rankings.

HLTV Rankings: Biggest Gains 

Here are the teams that have experienced the most progress within the HLTV rankings top 30. 

Movistar Riders (+16)

  • Last Position: 43
  • Current Position: 27

After the loss of Alvaro “SunPayus” Garcia to ENCE, Movistar Riders encountered difficulties in maintaining their momentum, resulting in their fall outside the top 30 rankings. Their resilience shone through, however, as they swiftly mounted a comeback during ESL Pro League Season 18. Their impressive performance in the tournament not only helped them regain lost ground but also secured enough points to position themselves just within the top 30 once again.

Team Spirit (+13)

  • Last Position: 20
  • Current Position: 33

Spirit turned to their talent pipeline once again as they bolstered the primary roster with academy recruits. The recently assembled lineup embarked on their competitive journey in various online tournaments, including Pinnacle Cup V and CCT 2023 Online Finals 2, where they notably secured a second-place finish. Transitioning to LAN play, Spirit participated in the PARI Dunav Party in Belgrade, where they claimed the championship title.

MORE FROM ESTNN
Matchmaking and Premier Mode Evolve in the Latest CS2 Update

HLTV Rankings Top 30: Exploring The Biggest Gains and Drops

Credit: StarLadder

1Win (+6)

  • Last Position: 25
  • Current Position: 31

1Win did not let their shoulder drop after their failed Paris Major qualification campaign. The Russian unit had a quiet summer, but they have been improving steadily on the server. Over the past three months, Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhaylov and company have won 11 of their 14 BO3 encounters and lifted the BetBoom Playlist Freedom 2023 & CCT Central Europe Series 7 titles. Currently, they are placed 25th in the HLTV rankings, which is their all-time high position. 

BIG (+6)

  • Last Position: 22
  • Current Position: 28

BIG made some big changes over the summer to bounce back from their failed Paris Major qualification endeavors. They promoted some of their most exciting young talents and brought in Mateusz “mantuu” Wilczewski. The IEM Cologne 2023 was too big of a challenge as their debut assignment, but they have been improving steadily over the past few weeks. Recently, they have won the CCT North Europe Series #7.

HLTV Rankings: Biggest Drops 

These are the teams that have experienced the biggest drops in HLTV rankings:

Apeks (-3)

  • Last Position: 13
  • Current Position: 16

Apeks has managed just three victories in their most recent ten Best-of-Three (BO3) encounters. While a strong performance in ESL Pro League Season 18 could propel them up the standings, it poses a formidable challenge for the team that reached the Paris Major semifinals since they reportedly await a significant change in the roster. 

MORE FROM ESTNN
IEM Sydney 2023 - Overview & Details

TheMongolz (-2)

  • Last Position: 22
  • Current Position: 24

TheMongolz returned to S-tier action at IEM Cologne 2023. While their performances were commendable in both of their matches against Heroic and GamerLegion, they failed to win any of them. More disappointingly, they failed to grab an IEM Sydney 2023 spot as they finished third in the Asia qualifiers. The Mongolian side lost to 5yclone, who currently sit 28 steps below them in the HLTV standings. 

Notable Mention: FaZe Drop Out Of Top 5 As Astralis Return 

FaZe and Astralis have traded places in the latest HLTV rankings, which means the Danes are now ranked 5th, while the reigning Intel Grand Slam champions are 6th. 

FaZe's fortunes have been on the wane for an extended period, with their last tournament victory taking place five months ago at ESL Pro League S17, where they secured the Intel Grand Slam accolade. Subsequently, their performance dwindled, resulting in just one playoff appearance and a semifinal exit at IEM Dallas before the season concluded.

Astralis, on the contrary, have been enjoying an upward trajectory. After underwhelming performances at the BLAST Premier: Spring Final 2023 and Gamers8 2023 Qualifiers, Benjamin “blameF” Bremer’s men reached the IEM Cologne 2023 Semi Finals, and had a strong start to their ESL Pro League Season 18 mission.