The best of the best. The cream of the crop. The smoked brisket to end all smoked briskets.

In a couple of weeks, Austin, Texas will host the finest Counter-Strike the world has to offer, and it’s almost certain the most thrilling action will come from these select few.

Kicking things off with the ‘unless-something-goes-horribly-wrong-they’re-winning-this’ spot, we’ve got ‘you-know-who’.

Look, there’s not much left to say that hasn’t already been said during their 30-BO3 win streak. Vitality are playing some of the most beautiful Counter-Strike we’ve seen since prime Astralis, and the results more than back it up.

And it’s not like they’re padding their stats against weaker teams - they’re consistently battling what’s arguably the strongest and most evenly matched top-3 we’ve had in a while. They are, without the slightest bit of doubt, the best team in the world right now.

With just one prize left to claim this season, we fully expect them to put the cherry on top of an already tremendous streak.

Now, if someone had a gun to our head and demanded we name a team with a shot at stealing this Major from Vitality, we’d probably take the bullet.

But if we really had to choose, it’d be Falcons. Ever since adding m0NESY, they’ve proven they can hang with the best, taking Vitality to a decider map in back-to-back BO5 grand finals.

That said, it still feels like they’re missing just that extra bit of prep time - and perhaps a little help from a certain Russian wonderkid - to finally push past the finish line. Could that breakthrough come at this Major? We’ll just have to wait and see.

MOUZ aren’t far behind Falcons, as they’ve also been playing some great CS.

But unlike Falcons, who have clear x-factor players in m0NESY and NiKo - guys who can turn unwinnable rounds and swing a map - MOUZ lack that one standout name you can truly count on to make the difference when it matters most.

Their ceiling and floor are very close, which makes them consistently strong - good enough to reach Playoffs and go deep at most events - but that same consistency can also cap their potential. And that’s really the only reason we’re placing MOUZ just a touch below Falcons in the contenders ranking.

At the edge of the list of teams we can confidently call contenders, we have Spirit. Honestly, if you have donk, you’re a contender. Simple as that.

But for Spirit to have a real shot at winning this Major, they’ll need a step-up in performance from everyone not named donk. We’ve already seen that if the kid dips even slightly, the team starts to struggle. And that’s something that just won’t cut it against top-3 opposition.

That’s been the story all season. Spirit’s only tier-1 tournament wins came at BLAST Bounty Season 1 - early in the year, before Vitality hit top gear - and PGL Astana, which notably didn’t feature Vitality, MOUZ, or Falcons.

So, there you have it.

We’ve read the script. Vitality will win the Major. Falcons will fall at the final hurdle.

Don’t bother coming back here on June 22nd to tell us we were right.

Or do, we love the interaction.