With both the Paris Major and the launch of Counter-Strike 2 just around the corner, it's an exciting time to be a CS:GO fan. To celebrate, we reached out to Viperio's Matas "Extinct" Strumila to get his take on the biggest issues in Counter-Strike right now.
The best team in CS:GO - according to Viperio
Our exclusive chat with Extinct came just as the news broke that Heroic has risen to become the number-one ranked team in the world, according to HLTV's rankings. It's an incredible achievement for the team, who has usurped the previous number-one team G2 Esports, who now sits in fourth place.
Heroic has earned that number-one spot through an incredible 2023 record so far, most recently making it all the way to the IEM Rio grand final. Viperio has already acknowledged Heroic's incredible performance in a recent interview with Luckbox, through their prediction that Heroic would make it through to the BLAST.tv Paris Major grand final, where they'll face off against G2.
But of course, when you're at the top, the only way to go is down. With Counter-Strike 2 set to replace CS:GO later this year, CS:GO teams from across the world will be gunning for the number-one spot before we say goodbye to the game for good. With just a few more months of CS:GO left to go, which team does Extinct think is best placed to usurp Heroic?
"It is going to be between Heroic, NAVI, Faze Clan, Team Vitality and G2," says Extinct. "I think Heroic could hold the spot, but it will be all determined at the Paris Major, where we will see who the current number 1 team is."
And unfortunately for Viperio, they'll be watching the Paris Major at home with the rest of us. Despite a promising start against Fnatic at the European RMR, they ultimately failed to make a name for themselves in the tournament through back-to-back defeats at the hands of Sprout and Bad News Eagles.
That disappointing result led to a recent roster change on the team, with Jack "Gizmy" von Spreckelsen and Marco "MMS" Salomone leaving to make room for Javier "Ping" Griffiths and Kirk "Tadpole" Stephens. It's a tough time to say goodbye to your fellow teammates, but Extinct remains optimistic about the team's future.
"It is always tough making roster changes and sad to see friends leave," says Extinct. "But we are focusing ahead of ourselves and focusing on the new roster."
And how are things with the new roster? It's still early days for the fresh faces on Viperio, but Extinct has already noticed their potential - once the team has time to get together, anyway.
"We have not had great results recently," admits Extinct, "but we do notice the potential of the roster. A lot of the roster is busy at the moment, due to it being exam season and the end of the university semester. So there hasn't been time to iron out mistakes and begin practicing. Once all that is out of the way, we are confident that the team will begin seeing improvements and good results."
And you'll be able to keep up with Viperio's future efforts right here on Luckbox. But in the meantime, all eyes will be up the upcoming BLAST.tv Paris Major, due to begin on May 8. To see how Viperio's Paris Major predictions shape up, you'll be able to watch the entire tournament via our BLAST.tv Paris Major match schedule. And of course, remember to claim your free 100% bonus before you bet on CS:GO!
