Aside from the few months in late 2013 and early 2014 when VeryGames, later called Titan, was considered the best team in the world, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has been considered a game dominated by superior individual skill, as opposed to the tactical aspect which saw less-skilled teams overcome juggernauts in the earlier iterations of Counter-Strike. Well, it took a long time, but it seems like the answer to the freewheeling style of Fnatic and EnVyUs has finally arrived, and it is called Luminosity.
Luminosity lights up
Luminosity is led by Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo, former star player of the best Brazilian teams in the latter years of Counter-Strike 1.6. Much of the Brazilian side's early success in 2015, which saw them score some upsets on de_mirage and place top eight at the majors, was credited to Toledo leading the troops. However, his tactical genius could not be showcased until he was given the appropriate tools to actually compete against the elite teams.
In July, the team recruited Marcelo "coldzera" David, an internationally unknown player who had never played a meaningful match against a top team. David instantly broke through as a star, and now boasts one of the most impressive résumés statistics-wise in the entire scene. Adding him alone was not enough to push Luminosity over the top, though, as it would not compete for titles until the arrivals of Lincoln "fnx" Lau -- a star player who helped mibr, the best Brazilian team of the early 2000s, win a major title in 2006 -- and Tacio "TACO" Filho.
The team's first event together was FACEIT Stage 3 Finals at DreamHack Winter, where it lost the opener against Fnatic 0-16, only to defeat three top-six teams: Ninjas in Pyjamas, EnVyUs and current Astralis (then playing under the TSM name), before falling short against Fnatic in the grand final. Despite having had practically no practice together as a team, the Brazilians had arrived with three impressive best-of-three series victories, something the previous versions of the lineup had never been able to accomplish.
Born to win
The Na`Vi squad that was born in 2010 was arguably the greatest Counter-Strike team of all time. Its superstars, Yegor "markeloff" Markelov and Ioann "Edward" Sukhariev, could match, and more often than not outperform, any duo in the world. Daniil "Zeus" Teslenko proved to be one of the most talented leaders in the game, Sergey "starix" Ischuk, Na`Vi's current coach, was a luxury to have as the third-best player on a team, and underrated role player Arseny "ceh9" Trynozhenko excelled in certain key roles in a way even star players dream of.
Na`Vi's initial year wound up being the most dominant year in Counter-Strike history, as they won all three majors, countless smaller tournaments and broke all prize money records to date. The team was notorious for its tough practice regimen, regularly putting in more hours into preparation than their opponents -- in fact, they lived together in Kiev, the only example of a Counter-Strike team successfully doing so over a longer period of time. The Ukrainians often showed up at tournaments having played more than 10 hours of Counter-Strike a day on average in the past two weeks. That is a lot more than top teams generally practice, by the way, regardless of what they would like you to believe.
What made Na`Vi so special was consistency. They had all the skill in the world, the most dominant ever sniper in Markelov -- who, you can argue, is also the most consistent big-game performer the game has ever seen -- and a tactical approach that teams simply could not figure out. The previously world's best team, Danish mTw, which was led by legendary in-game leader Alexander "ave" Holdt, famously could never beat Na`Vi in a match, falling short numerous times despite often having no trouble with any other team.
It is still early to say with Luminosity merely beginning their story as an elite team, but watching them play at DreamHack Open Leipzig, where they destroyed FaZe and grinded out a win over elite team Astralis before ultimately losing two overtime games in the grand final, I could not help but think of how much they resemble the Ukrainian greats. Whether they will be able to match the success of Na`Vi in 2010-2011 remains to be seen, but they are well on their way. And for an added similarity, Na`Vi 2010 dethroned Fnatic of 2009, a team playing similar brand of Counter-Strike as the current Fnatic team, also best in the world and fresh off one of the best years ever.
Luminosity embodies all the best things about Counter-Strike -- great teamwork and excellent tactical approach combined with the kind of flashy plays the likes of Toledo, David and Fernando "fer" Alvarenga are capable of. Toledo is the game's best leader of right now. David's consistency has been unmatched, and Alvarenga's flashy, aggressive play has brought him a large following. Filho takes care of the thankless jobs no one else wants, whereas Lau has evolved from a run-and-gunner into one of the game's premier clutch players. All the ingredients are there.
Often teams learn how to abuse certain play styles and become tough opponents for some elite teams, despite not being quite there. That is not the case with Luminosity, who have shown their style and approach to the game can defeat anyone in the game. They are not a perfect team, but the key thing they have going for them is the fact the way they have been successful is replicable -- everything is calculated and planned, and there should be no reason why they would not continue improving as they spend more time practicing, and competing against the world's best.
Luminosity are an elite team. They can beat anyone in the world. Currently, they are the most enjoyable team to watch. They have an incredibly loyal fan base in Brazil, and remaining a part of the scene with the Games Academy project of Toledo, and by attending local tournaments such as MAX5 Invitational in São Paulo in early January, will only add to their popularity.
Luminosity are not Na`Vi of 2010, but many similarities exist. All that is truly missing is a title at one of the majors, and they will get their first shot as a true contender at MLG Columbus in late March at the Nationwide Arena.