After the world team rankings were updated on July 11, Natus Vincere displaced FaZe from first place. FaZe managed to stay at the top for 13 weeks. The European team's relegation in the rankings was due to a lack of major victories recently. She finished IEM Dallas and BLAST Premier Spring Final in 5-6th place, and at the Roobet Cup she took only second place, losing to BIG. Now NAVI is 20 rating points ahead of FaZe.
Natus Vincere, on the contrary, has recently returned to its previous form after Kirill “Boobl4” left its lineup. Mikhailov, and his place was taken by Victor “sdy” Orudzhev. As a result, the team won the BLAST Premier Spring Final, having won a crushing victory over FaZe in the quarterfinals of the tournament on the way to first place.
At IEM Cologne, both teams demonstrated convincing superiority over their opponents, advancing from their groups straight to the semi-finals of the tournament. With Natus Vincere and FaZe starting their playoff run in different parts of the bracket, it is possible that both teams will meet in the grand final, the outcome of which will determine who will finish at the top of the world rankings after the tournament. However, it cannot be guaranteed that the results of the semi-finals will not bring any surprises.
