Vitality return to No.1 in the rankings following Gamers8 triumph
The Dan "apEX" Madesclaire-led squad leapfrogged Heroic and top the ranking for the first time since June.

Vitality have secured their place at the top of the latest HLTV ranking thanks to their victory at Gamers8, marking their return to the podium's top step since their fall in June. The European squad secured their third LAN trophy of the year in Riyadh, and the first since they replaced Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen with Shahar "flameZ" Shushan.
Their win over ENCE in the final secured Vitality the lion's share of the $1,000,000 prize pool and enough points on the ladder to dethrone Heroic, who held the No.1 spot for the past two months.

Vitality's rise in 2023 started at IEM Rio, where the European mix took their first title since ESL Pro League S16. Their victory in Brazil only initially propelled them to the No.2 spot in the ranking, and it took three weeks for Heroic's points to decay and allow Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut and company to take the top spot. The European squad then added the BLAST.tv Paris Major trophy to their cabinet, further cementing them as the kings of the CS:GO hill.
Their reign only lasted seven weeks as the French organization announced their controversial decision to replace dupreeh with flameZ, cutting their ranking points by 20%. Vitality remained in the No.2 spot for the following eight weeks until their victory at Gamers8.

Other important changes in the ladder include ENCE's rise to the top three after a streak of four consecutive grand finals this year at IEM Dallas, ESL Challenger Katowice, IEM Cologne, and Gamers8. They replace G2 on the last step of the podium despite the European mix's victory in Cologne earlier this month, partially due to decaying points from previous accomplishments such as IEM Katowice and BLAST World Final.
GamerLegion also extended their stay in the top 10 this week while 1WIN returned to the top 30 following their title charge at CCT Central Europe Series 7.
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