Team Liquid rockets up Dota 2 rankings after ESL One Germany

ESL One Germany left fans stunned on multiple fronts. Team Secret’s first-place streak was broken after six months of untouchable dominance, Team Liquid’s roster looked elite for the first time in years, and mudgolems continues to exceed expectations. 

That, alongside a return to action in China, has made for an interesting two-week stretch in Dota 2. Here are the updated rankings:

Team Liquid jumps to third place in Dota 2 rankings

Unsurprisingly, the biggest in the rankings was the biggest winner of ESL One Germany. Team Liquid jumped up from eighth place two weeks ago into third after carving its way through the lower bracket of the playoffs with wins over four other teams ranked in the top 10. 

That victory saw multiple members of the team leap up the player rankings, which helped push Liquid far up the rankings. Depending on how things shake out for Quincy Crew in Dota Summit 13, Liquid could actually slip into second place.

Alongside Liquid, Natus Vincere and mudgolems both gained some ground in the rankings. In both cases, this stemmed from strong performances in the event with Natus Vincere reaching the grand finals and mudgolems placing third thanks in part to a massive upset win over Team Secret.

Four Angry Men debuts in 14th place

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds organization Four Angry Men made its Dota 2 debut in the CDA-FDC Professional League with a star-studded roster branded as Elephant.4AM. The event was largely a success as Elephant.4AM topped its group with wins over EHOME and Team MagMa, and eventually reached the grand finals. The team finished second, falling to PSG.LGD.

While that performance from the team should garner optimism for the team’s long-term prospects, the return to action landed the team in a fairly humble 14th place. Earlier versions of the rankings had players such as Zhang "Eurus" Chengjun and Lu "Somnus丶M" Yao ranked very highly, but the team’s three-month hiatus and relatively humble 5-3 record at the event kept their debut from being explosive.
 
The upcoming China Dota 2 Pro Cup Season 2 will give a real look at the team, and offers Elephant.4AM the chance to climb.