There are plenty of good teams in Counter-Strike esports, and the scene has never been so healthy, at least in terms of having strong teams in each region. We at Jaxon.gg analyzed what has happened so far in 2026 to define the best CS2 teams in the world.
We’ll try to keep our top 10 as updated as possible, to accurately reflect the latest developments in the world of Counter-Strike. That said, here are the best CS2 teams in the world at the moment.
Credit: © StarLadder
2025 wasn’t the best year for NAVI, and so far in 2026, it’s more of the same. They’ve gone from challenging for trophies to a team that only makes the playoffs from time to time, which isn’t bad per se, but NAVI is one of the most popular organizations in CS2 esports.
NAVI was probably looking to make roster changes in the break, but their surprisingly impressive performance at the StarLadder Budapest Major threw a spanner in the works.
Currently, they are sticking with the same lineup for the upcoming CS2 events.
Notable placings in 2026:
G2 have built a solid foundation despite losing NiKo and m0nESY. Credit: Stephanie Lindgren | © BLAST
G2 have done fairly well in 2025 and continue to perform at a similar level in 2026, which is admirable considering the circumstances. They’ve lost Nikola “NiKo” Kovač to Falcons ahead of 2025, and later on, saw the Saudi-backed organization poach Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov too.
Since it would be impossible to replace m0NESY anyway, G2 kind of took a Moneyball approach: they’ve made Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač the IGL, signed an experienced AWPer in Alvaro “SunPayus” Garcia, and a cracked young aimer in Matúš “MATYS” Šimko.
These moves, alongside the tactical depth provided by new head coach Eetu “sAw” Saha, were enough to make G2 stay competitive, and they already have a couple of decent results under their belt in 2026.
Let’s see if they manage to elevate their level in the coming months.
Notable placings in 2026:
bLitz will have to find a solution now that The MongolZ no longer have Senzu. Credit: Luc Bouchon | © BLAST
The MongolZ had everything to finish 2025 on a high note. After all, they’ve won their first tier-one trophy last season, at the Esports World Cup, and would certainly enter the StarLadder Budapest Major as one of the favorites.
However, The MongolZ benched their best player, Azbayar “Senzu” Munkhbold, out of nowhere, in October. In spite of that, they still managed to make the Major playoffs.
For 2026, The MongolZ brought in Anarbileg “cobrazera” Uuganbayar, who has impressed during his short time on the roster thus far.
The Asian super team should remain a consistent playoff contender this year.
Notable placings in 2026:
Aurora won their first big LAN tournament ever ahead of the StarLadder Budapest Major. Credit: © PGL
Aurora were a pretty solid team throughout 2025, aside from missing the BLAST.tv Austin Major playoffs and a couple of mixed results in the second season.
They were actually on the verge of collapsing in the middle of the year, which led their IGL Engin “MAJ3R” Küpeli to urge Aurora fans to show their support amidst a crisis at PGL Masters Bucharest. It worked in the meantime, as they even won the trophy.
Despite getting their maiden big event LAN trophy, Aurora opted to make a roster change, which is working out well for them thus far.
Caner “soulfly” Kesici is doing a solid job as Aurora’s anchor, as evidenced by the positive upturn in the team’s results.
Notable placings in 2026:
Falcons are closer to winning trophies than ever. Credit: Jonathon Yau | © BLAST
When Falcons acquired Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin, everyone thought that winning a tier one title was only a matter of time. However, the Saudi-backed organizationis somehow yet to lift a single trophy, even with the supertrio of NiKo, m0nESY, and kyousuke within their ranks.
For the level of investment Falcons is putting in, there are no more excuses left for the whole team. Something or someone has to move the needle.
With the organization’s vast resources, they might pull the trigger soon on another change if the right player is available.
Notable placings in 2026:
At least for now, Spirit were better when they had magixx and zont1x. Credit: Stephanie Lindgren | © BLAST
Once practically an unbeatable team in 2024, Team Spirit found themselves in a weird spot heading to 2026. They’ve won four tournaments in 2025, including IEM Cologne, but their lineup was simply not clicking.
Many fans hoped that Spirit would dominate after replacing Boris “magixx” Vorobyev and Myroslav “zont1x” Plakhotia with Ivan “zweih” Gogin and Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich. But their game plan still revolved too much around Danil “donk” Kryshkovets killing 2+ players at the start of the round.
Of course, there are days that donk is good for it, but Spirit should have more tactical depth anyway. That’s why the return of zont1x and magixx as an IGL was so exciting coming into 2026.
Their start to the year could be described as decent, with a 3rd place finish at IEM Kraków being the highlight. Let’s see how the lineup develops over time.
Notable placings in 2026:
This MOUZ team nearly won more tournaments in 2025. Credit: © PGL
It’s hard to tell whether MOUZ have hit their ceiling with this current lineup, or if they are just unlucky that Vitality have been so dominant since the beginning 2025.
MOUZ continue to constantly make playoffs and deep runs, but they haven’t won an event for over a year, since PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025.
This prompts a question for the future of this squad: Should management make changes to a team that regularly reaches semifinals and fights for trophies?
Notable placings in 2026:
Image: PGL
The biggest breakout team of 2026 thus far is undeniably PARIVISION. Dzhami “Jame” Ali is proving once again that he is one of the best CS2 IGLs in the world, with a new crop of young and exciting players.
The talent on the PARIVISION roster is extremely high, with the tactical depth and uncomfortable playstyle allowing the Russians to beat the very best, including MOUZ, Falcons, FURIA, and Spirit.
Hopefully, they won’t get figured out by the other top teams and remain a contender for months to come.
Notable placings in 2026:
FURIA went from an absolute disaster to a winning team in 2025. Credit: Luc Bouchon | © BLAST
Out of all the teams in the world, none of us expected FURIA to challenge Vitality in 2025. But the Brazilian team are undoubtedly one of the best CS2 teams in the world at the moment, having won FISSURE Playground 2, the Thunderpick World Championship, IEM Chengdu vs. Vitality, and the BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 2, in the second half of 2025.
Though a lot of this success is because of Danil “molodoy” Golubenko, a Kazakh AWPer who was already one of the best players in the world in his rookie year, all the other pieces of the FURIA roster are working too.
Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato is putting numbers and winning clutches, Yuri “yuurih” Santos became a reliable anchor, Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis is one of the best entry-fraggers in the world again, and Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo reinvented himself as a rifling IGL.
They were one of the favorites to win the StarLadder Budapest Major, but fell short to NAVI in the quarters. Despite the blip, they are following up on their previous successes with solid results so far this year.
Notable placings in 2026:
Image: PGL
It’s incredible how Vitality managed to consistently remain on top since the beginning of 2025. Won eight titles in a row, including the IEM Katowice and the BLAST.tv Austin Major trophies, and put the icing on the cake by lifting the StarLadder Budapest Major trophy to end the year.
It’s more of the same in 2026, as Vitality continue to dominate the competition. Of course, it’s much easier to stay on top with at least two of the best CS2 players in the world, Robin “ropz” Kool and Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut, on your lineup.
With a couple more wins this year, could Vitality eclipse the legendary Astralis lineup and become the greatest Counter-Strike team of all time?
Notable placings in 2026:
Feature image credit: © ESL
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