The first quarter of 2023 ended. RMR Qualifiers for the BLAST Paris Major are in full swing, and don’t you forget that this Major will be the last to be played on CS:GO as all the next ones, starting March 2024, are CS 2 only. Today, CS.MONEY Blog sums up the first esports results of the year. In this article, we highlighted ten best teams that have shown themselves brighter than others in these three months.
G2 Esports: money farming machine
Let’s start with the esports team earned the most prize money in the world and currently sits atop of HLTV ranking. Although G2 did not succeed at ESL Pro League Season 17, HooXi and his team managed to win BLAST Premier Spring Group Stage. However, their most important achievement was lifting the IEM Katowice trophy.
- Prize money in 2023: $452 500
FaZe Clan: major trophy + money
FaZe Clan failed to win Intel Grand Slam in 2022, but Karrigan successfully completed this task by winning ESL Pro League S17. Which obviously brought them one million dollars. The team performed poorly in Katowice but stepped up in Malta. The players still got it, and in Paris, FaZe Clan will be a clear favourite. We did not include the Grand Slam in the prize money for 2023 simply because the squad won most of the tournaments last year.
- Prize money in 2023: $251 500 (+ $1 000 000 for the Grand Slam)
Heroic: IEM Kato Finals + money
The Danish team has reached the IEM Katowice Grand Finals, which is Heroic’s main success this year so far. At ESL Pro League and BLAST Premier Spring Groups, their results were not great, not terrible. These guys would have to win a lot of money this year considering the org’s recent financial struggles.
- Prize money in 2023: $232 500
Natus Vincere: high places, no silverware
NAVI are still reconstructing. The Yellow-Blacks have yet to win their first tournament this year, but at the same time, the team is consistently highly placed: 3rd-4th place in the ESL Pro League, and IEM Katowice is proof of this. Many noted that s1mple’s game was not of the highest quality at the beginning of the year, but the best player in the world stepped up in Malta, so fans of Natus Vincere should stay positive about the team’s future.
By the way, do you know which CS:GO skins s1mple use? We went through his inventory and found some cool weapon finishes that might surprise you! Read here.
- Prize money in 2023: $147 500
Team Vitality: building up for Paris
The French club is not going through the best of times. 5-6 places in Katowice and Malta clearly do not correspond to the players’ ambitions, and only a victory in their group at BLAST Premier Spring saves the situation a little. Would zywOo perform well at BLAST Paris Major?
- Prize money in 2023: $102 500
ENCE: great plays, no results
ENCE are the team to regularly upset powerhouses in the tier-one scene but… they can’t produce nothing more, unfortunately. The beginning of 2023 went according to the same scenario. ENCE took 3rd-4th place in the ESL Pro League and scared a lot of world’s best teams. Also, players took third place at the CCT Central Europe Malta Finals, which was pretty pleasing.
- Prize money in 2023: $69 500
Team Liquid: Best Team in NA. And that’s all
Team Liquid can count only the semi-final of IEM Katowice as a somewhat positive result. The current squad is capable of more. We decided to highlight the team because they are currently the strongest in the Americas.
- Prize money in 2023: $105 666
IHC Esports: Best Asian Esports Team in 2023
The Mongolian organization surprised us with an outstanding performance in Katowice: the team took 9th-12th place there. IHC Esports is currently the strongest Asian team.
- Prize money in 2023: $28 200
Monte: tier-2 esports kings
Finally, we decided to pay attention to two teams from the tier-2 scene, which made statements for themselves at the beginning of the year. One of them is Monte Esports. The Ukrainian club entered the top 30 of the HLTV’s world ranking, while winning ESL Challenger League, CCT West Europe Series and CCT Central Europe Series. The team is on the move, and it will be interesting to watch them at tier-1 tournaments.
- Prize money in 2023: $78 000
Eternal Fire: good plays and a Malta win
The Turkish club declared themselves by winning CCT Central Europe Malta Finals. The team also qualified for the European RMR, where (together with Monte) they will try to qualify for BLAST Paris Major.
- Prize money in 2023: $67 000
BLAST Paris Major is approaching, the last CS:GO tournament in the history of the game before Valve moves everything. Are your skins ready to switch to CS 2? If not, CS.MONEY is the easy way to style up! Jump in and update your inventory right now.
