Shift 16: G2 Esports on top
G2 Esports take the #1 spot in the Shift 16 — Photo courtesy of @ZeeboDesigns
G2 Esports take the top spot in the inaugural Shift 16 rankings, with Team BDS right behind. A total of 21 different teams received votes, and there was a 50-50 split between European and North American teams in the rankings. To create the rankings, each participating staff member puts their rankings together, and those rankings are combined to create the Shift 16.
1 - G2 Esports
Reigning international and North American champions, G2 Esports take the top spot in the Shift 16. They’ve been an unstoppable force since adding Winter Major MVP Atomic before the Winter Split, and are the only major region team to win four events this season, and the only team to go back-to-back (the Winter Major and the Verizon 5G Ultra Cup). G2 Esports already has guaranteed themselves a spot in Dallas for the World Championships, and will be contenders to win it all for the first time in their history.
2 - Team BDS
Team BDS shook up the most dominant roster in the Open Era of RLCS by adding French superstar Seikoo to the roster, but they didn’t miss a beat. Instead, they had their most dominant event of the season, storming through the bracket to win the Dacia Spring Cup. They currently hold the top spot in the European rankings, and appear to have only gotten better with the addition Seikoo.
3 - Moist Esports
The upstarts of the Winter Split, Moist Esports have now reached an RLCS-high five consecutive Grand Finals. They’ve won two and lost three, including the Winter Major setback to G2 Esports and suffering a sweep to Team BDS in the Dacia Spring Cup. But the young trio continues to impress and improve their game, and they’ll remain in contention as they gain more valuable experience in the coming events.
4 - Spacestation Gaming
Retals of Spacestation — Photo courtesy of @ZeeboDesigns
Despite failing to win an event this season, Spacestation Gaming have still looked like a force since adding young superstar Daniel to the roster. He led them to a top three finish at the Winter Major, and a second place finish in the Verizon 5G Ultra Cup, where the team fell just short against G2 Esports. As he continues to develop his skills in the RLCS, Spacestation Gaming will only get better in their quest for a first international title.
5 - FaZe Clan
FaZe Clan were ranked fifth by every member of our staff, and for good reason: they haven’t reached a Grand Final since the opening event of the season. Though they’ve been remarkably consistent, with only one result worse than fourth this season, it hasn’t translated to wins on the scoresheet. The four teams above them all played in Grand Finals in their most recent events, and FaZe Clan won’t be able to go any higher unless they can break through.
6 - The General NRG
The General NRG spent most of the first two splits as the dominant team in the North American RLCS. They were first in the standings wire-to-wire, had won two events, and had only missed out on one Grand Finals (in the Fall Classic). But they put in a disappointing performance at the Winter Major, failing to make it in front of the crowd, and followed it up with a shocking early exit in the Verizon 5G Ultra Cup. They’ve ceded their top spot to G2 Esports, but a team with this much experience and past success is certainly capable of bouncing back.
7 - Dignitas
Dignitas also opened the season on fire, taking the #2 seed from Europe into both the Fall and Winter Majors. However, they struggled at both events, only finishing top eight in Stockholm before failing to play in front of the crowd in Los Angeles. After a disappointing Dacia Spring Cup, the roster will need to bounce back in order to make it to the Spring Major in London.
8 - Version1
BeastMode of Version1 — Photo courtesy of @ZeeboDesigns
For a month, Version1 was the hottest team on the planet. They won the Mobil 1 Mountain Classic, and dominated their group by going 3-0 at the Winter Major behind Comm’s leadership. However, in front of the crowd, Version1 fell to both Spacestation Gaming and FaZe Clan to claim a sixth place finish, which they matched in the Verizon 5G Ultra Cup. They’re still in a good place to make it to the Spring Major and the World Championship, but will need to prove they can get it done when the lights are brightest to truly contend.
9 - Solary
By far the newest roster on the list, Solary just formed during this past trade window. Their relative lack of experience together didn’t seem to matter, as they stormed all the way from the open qualifiers to a third place finish in the Dacia Spring Cup. They also won the offseason Dacia Spring Electric Tournament, and will shoot up our rankings and the RLCS standings if they continue to perform at a similar level.
10 - Ghost Gaming
The addition of veteran player hockser has seen Ghost Gaming return to contention after a disappointing Winter Split, as they took fourth in the Verizon 5G Ultra Cup. After falling short of the Major in the Fall Split, and laboring through the Winter Split, the roster looks capable of stepping up and finally qualifying for the Spring Major. Their only losses came to G2 Esports and FaZe Clan, and they dominated the rest of the competition. The new Ghost Gaming roster is certainly one to keep an eye on going forward.
11 - Team Vitality
The Winter Split was the worst stretch in the RLCS in the history of Team Vitality, but they’re already putting it behind them and performing well. Similarly to Ghost Gaming, Team Vitality’s new roster has shown immediate improvemetn with their new addition Radosin. The Fall Major qualifiers finished fourth in the Dacia Spring Cup, and looked revitalized after the roster move. They’ll be hungry to get back to an international event, as they are led by former world champion Kaydop.
12 - Endpoint CeX
At one point in the season, Endpoint CeX was the only team in either major region to have won multiple events. Since they finished eighth at the Fall Major, however, they’ve only reached one Grand Finals, where they were beaten in a bracket reset by Team Queso (now Moist Esports). Swapping out Seikoo for archie was a jarring move, and one that will take time for the roster to adjust to, but they must improve immediately if they want to make their third consecutive Major in London.
13 - Team Envy
The team on the other side of G2 Esports’ vaunted Winter Split roster move, Team Envy have struggled since replacing Atomic with dreaz. North America’s #4 seed at the Fall Major hasn’t claimed a top-four finish since, and they’ve now replaced four-time world champion Turbopulsa with former coach Allushin. The move showed some early promise in the Verizon 5G Ultra Cup, as the team finished sixth, their best result since the Fall Classic.
14 - Karmine Corp
Karmine Corp entered the season with extremely high expectations and a talented roster, led by mechanical star Aztral. However, the squad failed to put up any performances to match those expectations, and missed out on both the Fall and Winter Majors. Their frustrations led to a roster change, as the team replaced Stake with noly. The move has already paid off, as they clinched their best placement since the Fall Split with a top six performance in the Dacia Spring Cup.
15 - Luminosity Gaming
This roster, which was put together after the Fall Split, was picked by some as a dark horse contender in Europe. However, they kept running into Team BDS and Dignitas in their brackets, and failed to make it to the Winter Major. In the Dacia Spring Cup, Luminosity Gaming faced the same problem, losing once again to Team BDS. Until they can consistently compete with the top dogs and break through, they’ll be stuck in the depths of the European rankings.
16 - Rogue
Rogue had struggled in the RLCS ever since losing their superstar player Firstkiller to FaZe Clan, but the addition of young star aqua has put them back on the map. Rogue went through some growing pains in the Winter Split, their first with aqua, but took down The General NRG in the Verizon 5G Ultra Cup and have shown signs of a breakthrough. If they can consistently string together performances like the one against The General NRG, they’ll be back in contention soon.
Did you agree with our rankings? Let us know on Twitter @ShiftRLE or down below in the comments what you think. The RLCS will be back on Friday with the 7-Eleven Slurpee Cup, but make sure to keep up with Shift for all your RLCS new until then!
