Five distinct contenders emerged in Brazilian CS: who will claim the crown?
The Brazilian region is home to some of the most passionate fanbases and successful orgs in the entire CS:GO landscape, boasting a rich history on the back of figures such as Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo and Marcelo “coldzera” David. Brazilian sides play with some of the most distinct styles in the game, and the region has emerged in 2021 as one of the most stacked in terms of competition this year. Here’s how the five best figures in the Brazilian scene shaping up.
FURIA
2020 was a mixed bag for FURIA, with the strong showings at ESL Pro League Seasons 12 and 13 and DreamHack Masters Spring somewhat overshadowed by the scrutiny the community have put on the acquisition of Paytyn “Junior” Johnson, whose difficulties in the server has resulted in the North American moving to the bench in favor of Lucas “honda” Honda so far this year.
FURIA are yet to drop out of the HLTV top fifteen during the online era and still boast one of the most distinctive playstyles, one that is difficult to contain for opponents. With the team now returning to the stability of having an all-Brazilian lineup and clearer communication with, there’s every reason to think they can close the gap on LAN to the very top teams like they threatened to do at various points during the early online days.
MIBR
After a turbulent 2020 that saw two complete roster overhauls, MIBR announced their current core made up of the former BOOM lineup in January 2021. At that time, the org were ranked down in 53rd in the HLTV world rankings, and they have since found a consistency hovering around the top thirty in the months since, with a peak position of 27th.
Marcelo “chelo” Cespedes has especially impressed as an entry fragger for the side, however, their overall shortcomings against the very best in the world have already been put on show at the likes of the IEM Katowice play-ins, the BLAST Spring Showdown, and ESL Pro League Season 13.
Whilst there’s undoubtedly more raw potential to tap into with this MIBR lineup, it’s hard to see where the transformation the side desperately needs to see is going to come from as things stand for the remainder of the year.
O PLANO
O PLANO had to wait for their time to come together due to various legal restraints, however, the former MIBR core were finally announced as a team in February 2021. Henrique “HEN1” Teles was enticed over from FURIA to play alongside his twin brother Lucas “LUCAS1” Teles. This, on top of the impressive rise up the rankings the O PLANO core managed under the MIBR banner in 2020, looked set to be the kind of winning formula needed to shake up the Brazilian scene.
However, it’s safe to say that O PLANO are yet to make the kind of splash most were expecting upon the initial announcement. They were able to qualify for the first NA RMR event of the year, cs_summit 8, where they secured a notable win over FURIA before dropping out against EXTREMUM.
The side’s recent loss to GODSENT, a regional rival ranked twenty-four places behind them, has brought the honeymoon vibes to an end and shown the org still have a ways to go before anyone tips them as Brazil’s best CS:GO side. However, with the blend of experience, passion, and chemistry from HEN1, LUCAS1, and IGL Vito “kNgV-” Giuseppe Cadura, there’s no reason to think O PLANO can’t showcase their true potential in a LAN environment this year.
GODSENT
GODSENT’s Brazilian experiment is one of the most fascinating storylines to have broken throughout 2021, with the current lineup led by João “felps” Vasconcellos and two-time Major winner Epitacio “TACO” de Melo slowly but surely starting to put some progress together.
With an average age of just over 21 years old, despite TACO turning 26 this year, GODSENT have hoovered up some of the most gifted talents from the region, with their lack of experience on the big stage effectively giving the org a blank slate in which to mold them going forward. And whilst their true potential is still very much in the air, there’s no denying the glimpses players like Eduardo “dumau” Wolkmer have shown so far.
Missing out on qualification to cs_summit 8 earlier this year was a big blow to the org, robbing them of their first proper chance of playing the best from NA in the spotlight, but recent wins over paIN, Team One and O PLANO will serve the side well as they look to move up the NA standings over the remainder of the year.
paIN
Whilst they might not have some of the recognizable names as their regional rivals, paIN saw a steady and consistent rise throughout 2020 and the beginning of 2021 that now sees them positioned as the third-highest ranked Brazilian team according to HLTV.
Led by Vinícios “PKL” Coelho, the side has performed well in several ESEA and DreamHack Open events throughout 2021, grinding up the ranks and even bagging a spot at cs_summit 8 through the closed qualifier, where they topped the group containing FURIA, O PLANO and Evil Geniuses.
For paIN, 2021 will be all about maintaining their position in the rankings ahead of the likes of O PLANO and GODSENT. Their experience in ESEA Cash Cups will undoubtedly help keep the finances and ranks healthy, and perhaps playing the long game, staying out of the headlines could prove to be a masterstroke in unleashing paIN’s true potential.
