Astralis
Absolute royalty within the competitive Counter-Strike scene, Astralis have quite literally redefined what it means to be a top tier Esports org. From changing the landscape on how psychology and burnout can affect Esports athletes, to introducing structural reform to their orgs such as substitutions, Astralis have been the leading light and innovators for competitive Counter-Strike pretty much from their very inception.
Formed out of all the hottest prospects in Denmark, Astralis are now a source of pride for the country and helped push Esports right into the forefront of the nation’s mainstream society. They’ve become friendly with the Danish Prime Minister and appear regularly on the nation’s main TV channels when they’re playing in the server.
Coach Zonic and IGL Gla1ve are amongst some of the finest thinkers the game has ever seen, revolutionising the way in which their side thinks in the server. Their commitment to the game, both in practice and theorising about their strategies, is beyond impressive and has birthed most of the legitimacy Esports now has as a highly skill-based intensive industry.
The five current members of Astralis, Gla1ve, Xpy9x, Device, Dupreeh and Magisk are the top earners the game has ever produced and the Danish org have won a record amount of Major Championships. Their four titles since 2018 is not only a record amount, but Astralis are currently the only side in CS:GO history to win three consecutive Majors, winning all three of last Majors held.
Fnatic
Before CS:GO blew up into the major worldwide title it is today, Fnatic were already one of the biggest forces in the blossoming world of Esports. The British-owned organisation founded a side in Sweden out of all the best players from the region and have stuck true to this heritage and legacy by only ever recruiting other Swedish players.
With CS:GO only being released in 2012, the Esports scene for the game only really began to blossom the following year with the first ever Major Championship. Fnatic reached the grand final of four of the first six Major Championships and won three of them, becoming the first and only side to reach that tally until Astralis’ victory at IEM Katowice in 2018.
During the formative years of CS:GO, which Fnatic were arguably the most ever-present and consistent side in the world for, the Black and Orange struck up a fierce rivalry with fellow Swedish side Ninjas in Pyjamas. Still a popular fixture to look out for in Esports betting markets, this rivalry would come to define the early era of the game and crown Sweden as the epicentre of high level Counter-Strike.
Fnatic would also form some pretty intense rivalries with the likes of Virtus.Pro and LDLC, against whom the team produced some of the most jaw-dropping and infamous bursts of play the game has ever seen. The side ranked first in the world as recently as April 2020 with their win at ESL Pro League Season 11, and they are still amongst the biggest orgs active in the whole Esports industry.
Team Liquid
Another global brand in the Esports industry, Team Liquid are a side that anyone who knows anything about Esports should be familiar with. In CS:GO, the North American org really began to hit their heights during 2019 with the acquisition of Stewie2k, where the roster romped to the fastest Intel Grand Slam in the history of CS:GO, netting the $1 million prize purse in just 63 days.
Though a Major Championship has so far eluded them, Team Liquid remain arguably the biggest side coming out of the North American scene and easily amongst its most marketable. Liquids partnership with Marvel Studios was one of the biggest and most profitable pairings ever seen in the world of Esports, and led to dozens upon dozens of Spider-Man, Captain America and Iron Man themed merchandise slapped off with a Team Liquid logo.
On top of all the success in the server and the high profile sponsorships, Team Liquid have recently opened up their state of the art Alienware training camp in the Netherlands. The facility, scheduled to be used by all of the org’s teams including its CS:GO roster, will come complete with all the latest fitness conditioning rooms, as well as all the best facilities for their performance online.
