PWNAGE RANKINGS: COUNTER-STRIKE 1.6

Week of January 22, 2007

Welcome to the Pwnage Rankings! This isn't meant to be a list of the best teams in the world, but rather the hottest, dedicated to the teams that rip up a tournament and take no prisoners. Field a team of five unheard of players and win a tournament, you're on the Pwnage Rankings; field a team of five CS Jesuses (Jesii?) but lose, you don't deserve this list. This is not about which team would win a best-of-999 series. It's just who pwned, and who got owned.

For now, all the old 1.6 teams stay on the list, because although they’ve picked up Source, they haven't announced quitting 1.6 or not attending major tournaments. They won't be leaving until other teams prove they deserve the spots.

Got a problem with these rankings? Want to make a suggestion? El Jefe is the guru of all things pwnage, so send your comments and questions to jefe@landodger.com

RANK (LAST)		TEAM	FINISHES	COMMENT
	1 (1)	Fnatic	1st, 3rd, n/a, 2nd	NiP beat them out for WCG, but three consecutive top 3 finishes at ESWC, WSVG Finals and CPL earns this Swedish team the top spot. "ins" joins a winner.
	2 (2)	ALTERNATE aTTaX	n/a, 1st, n/a, 3rd	Almost as impressive as Fnatic, but mouz qualified for Germany's WCG team and they didn't attend CPL. The extra top finish and more recent 1st gives Fnatic the edge.
	3 (3)	Pentagram	3rd, 9-10, 1st, group losses to 1st/5th	9-10 placing at WSVG and group losses in ESWC disappointing, but major points for the WCG victory and 3rd place at CPL.
	4 (4)	Team 3D	9-16, 2nd, 5-8, 4th	Overrated? Maybe, but can't argue with the results. Slightly disappointing CPL and WCG, but new lineup wouldn't mind duplicating 2006: over $40K US in prize money.
	5 (5)	Meet Your Makers	2nd, n/a, 5-8, n/a	Only two recent tournaments, but 2nd place at CPL makes them better than most teams. Recent finishes get more weight, nobody else has done much better.
	6 (6)	Hacker Gaming	5th, 5-6, n/a, n/a	Solid finishes at CPL and WSVG Finals. 5th and 5th-6th ... seems like #6 suits them.
	7 (7)	Pandemic	9-16, 4th, n/a, n/a	Pandemic over SK? Look at the finishes. Pandemic had a solid year, especially the 4th at WSVG over some other top teams. Very underrated.
	8 (8)	69°N-28°E	7th, n/a, 3rd, n/a	3rd place at WCG (as hoorai) and 7th at CPL are notable finishes. But they might have the lamest team name in eSports -- no one likes geographic coordinates unless they denote buried treasure.
	9 (9)	SK Gaming	9-16, 5-6, n/a, n/a	Storied past, but leave 2006 out of the history books. SK.swe is El Jefe's most disappointing team of 2006. Nothing close to a top finish, would have been lower except for 5-6 finish at WSVG.
	10 (10)	Made in Brazil	9-16, n/a, n/a, 1st	1st place at ESWC keeps them just inside top 10, but wish they would have attended more tournaments. 9-16 at CPL nothing to write home about.
	11 (11)	NiP	out, 7-8, 2nd, 5-8th	2nd at WCG was good, but what happened!?! 7-8 out of 10 at WSVG, and out at CPL? El Jefe expects better from them, and they slip from the top 10 after CPL disaster.
	12 (12)	Project_kr	6th, n/a, 5-8th, n/a	Along with a 3rd place finish at WEG, a decent 6th at CPL. Higher teams have higher finishes, but this team has potential to move up. A small gap separates them from the previous five teams.
	13 (13)	Against All Authority	4th, n/a, n/a, n/a	4th at CPL came out of nowhere. Could be a team to watch, could be a fluke -- but 4th deserves some dap. If they go against teams 1-12, watch for them to rise.
	14 (14)	compLexity	9-16, 7-8, n/a, 5-8	What a mediocre year. Zero top finishes. 3D beats them out of WCG, outplaces them at ESWC and WSVG. They get El Jefe's participation award, but if they don't win expect more changes.
	15 (15)	wNv Gaming	n/a, n/a, 9-16, n/a	1st at WEG in May, but then disappeared faster than USA in the World Cup. They desperately need to prove they can win outside of China: zero finishes at any other international tournaments. Will the real wNv please stand up?
	16 (16)	Jax Money Crew	8th, n/a, n/a, n/a	More recent finish gives them the nod over x6stence and Lunatic-Hai. JMC has talent, but they're missing something that the other top teams have (besides top finishes).
	17 (17)	x6tence	n/a, n/a, n/a, 5-8	Good showing at ESWC. They are tied with Lunatic for this spot, it's too bad that travel costs for these teams are so prohibitive. Nothing makes El Jefe sadder than non-attendance.
	18 (18)	Lunatic-Hai	n/a, n/a, n/a, 5-8	Tied with x6tence for 17th. Plagued by inactivity and non-attendance. Hopefully their new pickup, Minsoo "glow" Kim, will help their motivation and we'll see them compete against top teams once again.
	19 (19)	NoA	n/a, n/a, 4th, n/a	Their lineup has a fair amount of talent, but the days of X, shaG and Method are long gone. One of El Jefe's favorite teams because of X ... prove him wrong in 2007!
	20 (20)	Virtus Pro	n/a, n/a, 9-16, n/a	Finished 5-8 at restricted WEG tournament. They need their recent player movement to really jumpstart the team -- Russia's best didn't do much in 2006. 9-16 at WCG is, essentially, tied for last place.