Epitacio “TACO” de Melo, the 2x Major winner and member of 00Nation, will be missing the upcoming RMR and Paris Major, according to a statement he released on [link:{"url":"https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1ss8pgh","isNewTab":true,"text":"TwitLonger"}]. In the statement, TACO explained that he needed to take care of himself and make decisions about his future, which remains uncertain even to himself.

Despite this, TACO made it clear that he is not leaving 00Nation or the game of CS:GO, but rather taking time to recover and focus on his personal growth. He expressed happiness at the team’s recent success in qualifying for the EPL playoffs, and emphasized that Counter-Strike is still his passion.

“Unfortunately, I won't be attending the RMR and consequently the Paris Major. My future is uncertain even to myself and I'm taking the necessary time to recover and decide about my next steps.

This doesn't mean I'm leaving ZeroZero or that I'm leaving CSGO, but that I'm taking care of myself, improving, and learning, so I can direct not only my life to the right place but any decision that I will have to take in the future regarding my career.

I want you to know that I'm very happy with the team qualifying for the EPL playoffs. I'm not watching the matches (only few of them) but even far away I'll always be happy for their success.

Counter-Strike is my passion and will always be, but now I need to take care of myself.

I'm very grateful for all the messages and love I'm receiving lately and I can't describe how important it is.

 break from competitive play is not uncommon in the esports industry, where burnout and mental health issues are becoming increasingly prevalent. Many professional players have spoken about the importance of taking breaks and prioritizing mental health to perform at their best.

Fans of TACO and 00Nation expressed their support for the player on social media, with many sending messages of love and encouragement. TACO himself thanked his fans for their support, saying that it was "very important" to him.

It remains to be seen what TACO’s future hold for him, but for now, the player’s health and well-being are the top priority.

TACO

00Nation

We have gathered the most viewed clips of CS:GO on Twitch in 2022, and it seems like you guys actually prefer to rewatch other things than just insane highlight plays!

Top 10 most-watched Twitch CS:GO clips of 2022:

An interview with Qikert turned into a pure Twitch drama with KRIMZ attracting all the attention in the background!

[twitchClip:RockyShakingCroquetteKappaClaus-bZU3TM8cf_q3WgEC]

2. xQc's epic play on Cache - 386.741 views

One of the most popular streamers in the world, Félix "xQc" Lengyel may not be the best CS:GO player in the world, but he can still deliver one of the most entertaining clips of the year!

[twitchClip:ShySavoryWerewolfTTours-gtkYnILCafbYWyMJ]

3. Do you have any difficulties communicating in English? - 319.072 views

Alvaro “SunPayus” Garcia chose the savage way of answering this question at ESL Pro League 16! 

[twitchClip:SlickSteamyPeafowlCorgiDerp-ofLQiHSVwaUT5-wf]

4. What's wrong with Brollan's arm? - 256.453 views

Twitch users were left astounded by the posture of NIP's Ludvig "Brollan" Brolin during an interview. That looks painful!

[twitchClip:DeafAggressiveCobblerBlargNaut-MEkTkl1uVstNvJ2f]

[twitchClip:SolidFlaccidKoalaTF2John--UiIhKHRJtfP5rNo]

6. Everybody loves a good kiss, right? - 220.118 views

We all thought this would be another lovely kiss from the audience, but this turned out to be on another level...

[twitchClip:SilkyFaithfulGrasshopperPipeHype-_I1qsl1jagXfkLUl]

7. Finally an actual highlight clip! - 200.338 views

s1mple's 4K against OG from BLAST Lisbon is the first gameplay clip from a competitive match on this list.

[twitchClip:VivaciousCorrectOrangePJSugar-qdhHIzXjNsJcTfqp]

Another s1mple clip. This time on Overpass with the AWP!

[twitchClip:ZanyAgitatedTildeGivePLZ-YsIN-lyBQQi315iw]

9. TACO plays with a chicken and IHC - 178.351 views

In one of the calmest clutches of the year, Epitácio "TACO" de Melo takes his time playing with a chicken before eliminating Techno4K from IHC.

[twitchClip:AltruisticHonorableGerbilTinyFace-hfbfZ5rZYiYdDahr]

10. m0NESY's unreal clutch on Inferno - 175.202

In his fourth official match for G2, m0NESY gave a hint of what was to come for the exceptional skilled Russian, who ended the year on top with an MVP award at BLAST World Finals. 

[twitchClip:SavoryPleasantTildeShadyLulu-gcLBbwygwBuSLTq8]

KRIMZ

s1mple

m0NESY

Brollan

SunPayus

We are now only eight days away from the start of the much-awaited IEM Rio Major in Brazil. To ease the waiting time, we have created a countdown series, where we dive into the history of all 17 Majors. Today we have reached ESL One: Cologne 2016.

[slugORMA:{"slug":"countdown-major-8-days-go-1-million-good-reasons-win","isNewTab":false}]

 Cache, Cobblestone, Dust2, Mirage, Nuke, Overpass, Train.

ESL One: Cologne 2016 was the ninth CS:GO tournament in the history of the game and was held from July 5 – July 10, 2016 in the Lanxess-Arena in Cologne Germany. Like the previous Major, this one also featured 16 teams and a total prize pool of $1,000,000!

The previous two events in Cologne were all about the Swedish giants from fnatic and NiP. But by the time ESL One: Cologne 2016 came around, the Counter-Strike landscape had changed. The Ninjas had fallen off drastically, while fnatic were still among the world’s top four teams. The previous event marked the definite end of a dynasty. For the first time in CS:GO Major history, Ninjas in Pyjamas failed to get past the group stage and weren’t even able to qualify for the following two Majors.

New teams were on top, and none of them from Sweden.

2016 was the year of the Brazilian nation. While the team won their first Major as massive underdogs under the Luminosity banner, by the time of Cologne 2016 SK Gaming were undisputed best team in the world. The famous and proud Brazilian winners were FalleN, fer, coldzera, fnx, and TACO.

All the focus was on the Brazilians squad going into ESL One: Cologne 2016. The Brazilian godfather, Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo literally took his team from the depths of irrelevancy to Counter-Strike world champions within one year.

If a professional CS:GO player gets his own graffiti on a map, he’s clearly done something extraordinary. Only few players received this special honor by Valve and one of them is Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, who achieved immortality at ESL One: Cologne 2016.

Those were the words from the renowned caster, James Bardolph when he witnessed s1mple’s outrageous play in the semi-final of ESL One: Cologne, where Liquid took upon the Swedish side from fnatic. The Ukrainian beast outdid himself by presenting a completely ridiculous double no-scope on the B-site of Cache. The iconic play perfectly illustrated his inhuman skills and mechanical capabilities, and the sequence will forever be a part of Counter-Strike history.

Watch the iconic play from s1mple right here:

On their way to the Grand final, the Brazilians from SK Gaming had to overcome some of the biggest names at the time including FaZe Clan, G2, FlipSid3, and Virtus.pro, while Liquid took down teams such as Envy, MOUZ, NAVI, and fnatic to secure their spot in the final.

It is July 10, 2016, and the Lanxess Arena in Cologne Germany is filled to the brim. Nearly 14.000 spectators are ready to watch a nerve-racking Grand final at the tournament between SK Gaming and Team Liquid.

The action of the Grand final began on SK Gaming’s pick of Train, where the Brazilians started off things on the offensive side, storming to a 3-0 lead. It looked like the first gun round between the two teams would go SK’s way, but the Brazilians couldn’t hold down the site and Liquid grabbed their first round. However, the Brazilians would immediately hit back in the following round, resetting Liquid’s economy. SK Gaming were full of momentum, especially coldzera who went huge and delivered a clutch to give his team an even more substantial lead. Down 1-6, Liquid started to wake up and managed to climb back one the scoreboard, thanks to praiseworthy performances from Hiko and s1mple who helped their team add seven rounds to the scoreline, before the second half.

Liquid was on the verge of securing the second pistol round and turn the tide in their favor, but their hopes were crushed by fer, and instead, SK Gaming went on to win all the remaining rounds to draw the first blood to the series.

Map two was Cobblestone, on which both teams had incredible moments throughout the entire tournament. But the map was especially one of Liquid’s favorite picks and the North American squad with s1mple tried their best to live up to that billing as they got out to an early lead after securing the pistol round. coldzera and SK Gaming were able to steal away the third round against the odds, winning an eco and eventually running away with the lead. From there on, the Brazilians showed no signs of slowing down, with the scoreline blooming to a 10-5 advantage. In the second half, SK Gaming only allowed s1mple and company to grab one single round before locking down Cobblestone 16-6 and securing another Major title.

SK Gaming became the second team in CS:GO after fnatic to win back-to-back Majors. They proved their critics they can win no matter what.

Highest rated players at ESL One: Cologne 2016:

1. {cflag:BR} Marcelo “coldzera” David (SK Gaming) – 1.37 Rating 

2. {cflag:DK} Nicolai “device” Reedtz (Astralis) – 1.28 Rating 

3. {cflag:BR} Epitacio “TACO” de Melo (SK Gaming) – 1.25 Rating 

4. {cflag:SE} Freddy “KRIMZ” Johansson (fnatic) – 1.22 Rating 

5. {cflag:BR} Gabriel ”FalleN” Toledo (SK Gaming) – 1.19 Rating 

6. {cflag:ES} Oscar ”mixwell” Canellas (OpTic) – 1.19 Rating 

7. {cflag:BR} Lincoln “fnx” Lau (SK Gaming) – 1.19 Rating 

8. {cflag:UA} Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev (Liquid) – 1.18 Rating 

9. {cflag:RU} Georgi “WorldEdit” Yaskin (FlipSid3) – 1.17 Rating 

10. {cflag:UA} Ioann “Edward” Sukhariev (NAVI) – 1.16 Rating

Tomorrow we take a look at the ELEAGUE Major: Atlanta 2017

FalleN

coldzera

Teams like Vitality, Cloud9, FaZe, NAVI, and Liquid all made it to the Major in Rio. The three last mentioned managed to make it to the legends stage, and the first two need to compete in the challenger stage to make it through to the legends stage. The home crowd will be loving this major as the legendary duo Epitácio "TACO" de Melo and Marcelo "coldzera" David will be playing at this year's last Major. Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo and Imperial is also one of the Brazilian roasters who will be playing in the challenger stage after they took a win in a thriller match against Complexity.

Watch these special moments doing the qualifier here made by the YouTuber "NosleepCSGO".

Throughout the RMR qualifier, mixed emotions were shown as many upsets managed to push out big organizations such as G2, Astralis, and Complexity. The biggest surprise of them all must have been that G2 is not going to Rio, The star-studded roster was eliminated by GamerLegion after three maps.

[slugORMA:{"slug":"no-rio-niko-g2-eliminated-huge-downfall","isNewTab":true}]

Brazilian Counter-Strike has a rich and successful history in CS:GO, with the big South American country and its teams having won multiple Major titles and produced several superstar players in Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo, Marcelo “coldzera” David and Epitacio “TACO” de Melo over the years.

But who is set to fill out the void and take over when the above-mentioned legends retire?

TACO, 00Nation’s in-game leader and captain, has his answer straight.

The other day ESL also managed to speak with dumau himself for an [link:{"url":"https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1609837762?t=12h23m10s","isNewTab":true,"text":"interview"}], where they asked him whether he believes he’s the next big thing in CS:GO.

- I work very hard to reach these goals with our team and my personal goals. I feel it and believe that. If someone says they don’t believe that, I don’t care. I will keep doing my job and my work, and someday I will reach these goals, dumau said. 

TACO, dumau, and the rest of 00Nation are currently fighting for a spot at the upcoming Major, which is set to take place on their home turf in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the Americas RMR tournament, 00Nation is only one win away from qualifying as they are placed in the 2-1 bracket before today's crucial matchup against Complexity. You can find today's schedule in the article down below. 

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dumau

Despite having played nearly 1500 official maps and won countless trophies, including two Major titles, Epitacio “TACO” de Melo is still VERY committed to CS:GO. He’s also extremely devoted to carrying his 00Nation squad to the top of the game.

So much that TACO is willing to dedicate his entire off-season watching demos and building the perfect strat-book for 00Nation, the Brazilian IGL explained on the latest episode of HLTV Confirmed.

- I didn’t have a break. I didn’t want to, TACO said in the podcast. “I’m being honest, I spend my entire player break watching demos. I have a lot of notes from all seven maps we’re playing. When we came back after the player break our strat book was already made.

- I wrote a lot of stuff, I copied a lot of stuff, and I watched a lot of stuff. So, I didn’t have a break. That’s what you do when you want to improve and get better.

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/Copyright_-_Helena-Kristiansson_-_TACO_kwdnrg","originalWidth":3840,"originalHeight":2160,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: Helena Kristiansson ESL","alt":"CS:GO, Counter-Strike"}]

In the episode, TACO even revealed that he watched all 73 map demos from this year’s IEM Cologne during his player break.

- I used my free time to watch a lot of demos – if HLTV could get my IP address, they would see that I’ve watched every IEM Cologne match demo. Every map played at IEM Cologne 2022.

- (…) When I’m saying that I didn’t have a break, it’s very different when you are home [compared to being at a bootcamp]. You can pause, eat something that you like, talk to you girlfriend, play with your dogs and stuff like that.

You can watch the sequence, or the entire HLTV Confirmed episode, in the video down below.

In late June this year 00Nation revealed the signing of three GODSENT players starred by TACO. The transfer meant that TACO was reunited with his former long-standing teammate Marcelo “coldzera” David.

The South American roster also include Santino “try” Rigal, Eduardo “dumau” Wolkmer, and Bruno “latto” Rebelatto.

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[slugORMA:{"slug":"pain-mibr-00nation-qualify-americas-rmr","isNewTab":true}]

The entire Brazilian Counter-Strike scene will probably be watching tonight when Imperial goes head to head with 00Nation for a spot in the group stage at IEM Cologne. The monster match was made possible after Imperial started the day by defeating the Australians from ORDER.

Imperial needed all three maps to go through, but on the decider map of Nuke, they started out with a 13-2 lead after an impressive CT side. And though ORDER gave it their best in the second half the damage was done. Imperial won Nuke 16-11 and knocked out the Australians.

This sets up a reunion of the five legendary members of Luminosity/SK Gaming, who won two Major in 2016. For Imperial, we have fnx, fer, and Fallen, while coldzera and TACO represent 00Nation. The Brazilian Brawl will be played tonight at 19.30 (CEST).

Imperial - ORDER 2-1 | IEM Cologne Play-in

8-16 (Inferno) | {cflag:AU} aliStair - 1.48 Rating / 22-12 K-D / 99.1 ADR

16-8 (Mirage) | {cflag:BR} boltz - 1.45 Rating / 21-13 K-D / 80.5 ADR

16-11 (Nuke) | {cflag:BR} fer - 1.44 Rating / 24-16 K-D / 104.1 ADR

MVP: {cflag:BR} Fernando 'fer' Alvarenga - 1.14 Rating / 55-45 K-D / 81.9 ADR

Imperial

Order

Brazilian Counter-Strike has never been more dominant in the world of professional CS:GO than it is now. With FURIA keeping up their great performances, Imperial continuing to show promise, and 00NATION joining the scene as the newest Brazilian super-roster, a lot is happening for the Brazilians of the Counter-Strike world. 

00NATION got off to a great start at the ongoing IEM Cologne 2022 Play-in event and managed to take down the big name that is Astralis. We talked with "TACO" after their victory. One of the reasons for 00NATION's success is the partnership of "TACO" and "coldzera". When asked about playing with "coldzera" once again, "TACO" said the following: 

To hear more about the iconic partnership and hopes for 00NATION's near future, you can watch the entire talk we had with "TACO" down below: 

The Norwegian Organization 00NATION announced its new roster for the rest of the 2022 season last night on Twitter.

Eduardo "⁠dumau⁠" Wolkmer, Bruno "⁠latto⁠" Rebelatto, and Epitacio "⁠TACO⁠" de Melo are the new fresh faces on the roster, who looks to turn a disaster 2022 around with an almost complete overhaul of their old team. Only Marcelo "⁠coldzera⁠" David and Santino "⁠try⁠" Rigal are remaining with the latter also being rumored away during the process.

The deal sees TACO and coldzera reunited after four years apart from each other. The two players were part of the SK Gaming and Luminosity rosters that won two Majors back in 2016.

With the acquisition of the core of the GODSENT roster, 00NATION has taken over their spot at ESL Challenger Valencia that starts today and also their IEM Cologne Play-in spot, where the team will face Astralis on Tuesday.

latto

GODSENT

00NATION is interested in signing the GODSENT roster and their coaching staff, according to a report by [link:{"url":"https://www.dust2.com.br/noticias/29093/00nation-mira-quarteto-e-comissao-da-godsent","isNewTab":true,"text":"dust2.br"}]. The reported move would not only result in TACO reuniting with coldzera but also dumau, latto, and b4rtiN, alongside coaches chucky and AlaNDieg0R. The changes would result in vsm, ⁠try⁠, and malbsMd being moved to the bench, making the active roster full of Brazilians.

The drastic changes were supposed to happen due to 00NATION's disappointment in missing PGL Major Antwerp. The first change came in May as the team benched ⁠leo_drk⁠. According to Dust2.br, 00NATION has not made an official bid for the players yet. At the same time, the future of HEN1, which currently plays for GODSENT, has not yet been decided.

{cflag:BR} Marcelo "⁠coldzera⁠" David

{cflag:BR} Olavo "⁠chucky⁠" Napoleão (coach)

{cflag:BR} Alan "⁠AlaNDieg0R⁠" Riveros (assistant coach)

{cflag:GT} Mario "⁠malbsMd⁠" Samayoa (bench)

{cflag:AR} Santino "⁠try⁠" Rigal (bench)

{cflag:BR} Vinicius "⁠vsm⁠" Moreira (bench)

{cflag:BR} Leonardo "⁠leo_drk⁠" Oliveira (bench)

b4rtiN

The three playoff teams from group C at ESL Pro League have been found after Players (Gambit) won against GODSENT tonight. Players will follow Movistar Riders and Team Liquid into the next stage of the tournament.

The important win came after two nail-biter maps, where GODSENT showed some good Counter-Strike to keep up with Abay 'HObbit' Khasenov and the rest of the CIS roster. On the decider map the score was however settled.

On Inferno, it was Sergey "Ax1Le" Rykhtorov, who came out charging. The Russian rifler was 14-1 in K-D about halfway through the first half. But it was not enough to distance GODSENT, who kept lingering on. It took all 30 rounds to defeat the Brazilians 16-14.

Players picked Overpass as their map, but again they could not shake their opponents off. The first half ended 8-7 in favor of Players, but that all changed in the second half. Epitacio 'TACO' de Melo called an excellent T-side for GODSENT, who started to dominate their opponents during the second half. Henrique 'HEN1' Teles delivered eight uncontested first kills on Overpass, which helped GODSENT to steal Players' map pick back.

So everything was lined up on Mirage for an exciting brawl between the two contenders for the last spot in the playoffs in Group C. A 13-2 half killed the intensity, that had engulfed the match until this point. Players cruised home the victory in the second half, which sends them through to the playoff stage as the last team in Group C. 

Tomorrow Players and Team Liquid fight for second place in the group in the last round of matches in Group C.

Players - GODSENT 2-1 | ESL Pro League Season 15 (Group C)

16-14 (Inferno) | {cflag:KZ} HObbit – 1.42 Rating / 27-20 K-D / 92.6 ADR

13-16 (Overpass) | {cflag:BR} HEN1 – 1.45 Rating / 22-13 K-D / 78.9 ADR

16-3 (Mirage) | {cflag:RU} Ax1Le – 1.60 Rating / 18-8 K-D / 92.4 ADR

MVP: {cflag:BR} Henrique 'HEN1' Teles – 1.27 Rating / 54-42 K-D / 79.9 ADR

Ax1Le

HEN1

Players

Whereas the earlier Bo3-series between Movistar Riders and Liquid saw two undefeated rosters lock horns, the last Bo3-series of day three in Group C presented a battle between two teams who are yet have secured a victory at the event. Both GODSENT and Party Astronauts were 0-2 before their meeting today. Despite this, it was still the North American roster of Party Astronauts who were the underdogs going into the match, and for good reason it proved. A dominant performance from GODSENT, on both maps, led to a confident 2-0 victory for the Brazilians who now remain in contention for a top three in Group C of ESL Pro League Season 15. 

The first map of the series was set to be played on Nuke and was picked by the Party Astronauts. Yet to have won a single map at the event, it seemed a tough task for the North American roster going into the Bo3-series against GODSENT. Things didn't pan out the way they would have hoped for in the first half either. A crushing CT-sided performance from GODSENT, combined with the lackluster offense of Party Astronauts made for a 13-2 scoreline, favoring the Brazilians, going into the second half of Nuke. Whilst the first half of Nuke had been a one-sided affair, Party Astronauts regained some confidence in the second half. Ultimately, however, the lead created in the first half was too much for the Astronauts to bounce back from, and at 16-9 Nuke concluded with GODSENT as the victors. 

The second map of the Bo3-series took place on Ancient and was, of course, picked by GODSENT. With momentum carrying over from the dominating performance on Nuke, Ancient seemed destined to go the way of the Brazilians from the get-go. Despite starting on the less favored side on Ancient as T's, GODSENT seemed keen to finish what they had started on Nuke. A relentless offense rewarded GODSENT with a 9-6 lead before switching sides at halftime. The second half of Ancient brought more Brazilian dominance and at the scoreline of 16-8 it was GODSENT to claim victory on Ancient and take home the Bo3-series confidently. 

GODSENT – Party Astronauts 2-0 | ESL Pro League Season 15 (Group C)

16-9 (Nuke) | {cflag:BR} TACO – 1.66 Rating / 29-13 K-D / 108.4 ADR

16-8 (Ancient) | {cflag:BR} b4rtiN – 1.63 Rating / 25-12 K-D / 88.7 ADR

MVP: {cflag:BR} Epitacio "TACO" de Melo | 1.37 Rating / 42-27 K-D / 88.7 ADR

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/TACO_jds6fl","originalWidth":1920,"originalHeight":1080,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: PGL"}]

Party Astronauts

The Brazilians from GODSENT has been together for 13-months now, as the Epitacio “TACO” de Melo-led squad is trying to find their spot among the very best in CS:GO. The team has managed to maintain the same five players on the roster, which is something you won’t see many teams do in this current era.

GODSENT concluded 2021 in fine form, presenting strong results at the big event of IEM Winter 2021. Something, which secured them a #13 spot on the world ranking – the highest among South American teams.

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/TACO_GODSENT_mmpkc2","originalWidth":4096,"originalHeight":2304,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: ESL Adela Sznajder"}]

TACO and company will begin their IEM Katowice Play-in campaign against MOUZ this Tuesday (Credit: ESL - Adela Sznajder)

We got the chance to have a chat with the entire GODSENT roster at a press conference prior to IEM Katowice, where we kicked off by asking TACO if he thinks they are the best team in the South American region right now.

- I’m not sure about us being the best, because we still have to prove ourselves. But I’m 100% sure that we are the most promising team in South America. If you look at our results and the tournaments we played last year, I think we accomplished every goal that we set. That’s what you call a promising team, TACO said.

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Do you think you guys can dethrone FURIA if we say they are the best team?

- Yeah. Last year when it mattered the most, we won the IEM Winter qualifier against them. It’s still really early to say, but I definitely think we are capable of doing this. I believe in my teammates; I believe in myself.  (…) We are not playing to be only the best Brazilian team – we are playing to be the best team in the world, TACO stated in the press conference.

You can watch the GODSENT roster answer our questions at the IEM Katowice press conference in the video below.

TACO and the rest of GODSENT are set to start the Play-In stage at IEM Katowice Play this Tuesday, when they take on MOUZ in the opening round. The Bo1 matchup will go live at 11:00 (CET) and can be seen right here on Pley.

[slugORMA:{"slug":"bymas-iem-katowice-after-positive-covid-19-test","isNewTab":true}]

MOUZ

FURIA

The time has come! The highly-anticipated playoff stage at IEM Winter 2021 has arrived. The last six competitors from the $250.000 event are set to fight a thrilling battle for the 1st place, where G2 and Virtus.pro already has booked a spot in the semifinal, while NIP, GODSENT, Gambit and Vitality meet in two respective quarterfinals this Sunday. 

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The first match will be between NIP and the Brazilian underdogs from GODSENT, who most surprisingly secured a playoff spot after defeating both Heroic and BIG on the way. Again today, it will require a lot for Epitacio "TACO" de Melo and his gang if they wish to advance, especially with NIP's superstar AWPer Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz having himself a great tournament so far. 

The quarterfinal matchup will go live at 16:00 (CET) and can be seen right here on Pley.

device

Ninjas in Pyjamas

The Brazilians from GODSENT has grabbed their first notable title since they were acquired by the big Swedish organisation at the beginning of this year, as they managed to seal the victory at DreamHack Open September NA.

Epitacio “TACO” de Melo and his troops took home the win after a marathon Grand Final against Extra Salt, which spanned over 7 hours. The Bo5 decider went all the way to the fifth match and also presented two thrilling overtime maps on Vertigo and Dust2.

GODSENT vs Extra Salt 3-2 | DreamHack Open September NA

16-6 (Ancient) | {cflag:BR} felps – 1.91 Rating / 29-12 K-D / 121.1 ADR

8-16 (Nuke) | {cflag:ZA} Sonic – 1.53 Rating / 21-12 K-D / 99.3 ADR

19-17 (Vertigo) | {cflag:US} oSee – 1.84 Rating / 44-20 K-D / 120.0 ADR

14-16 (Inferno) | {cflag:ZA} Sonic – 1.65 Rating / 31-17 K-D / 120.6 ADR

22-20 (Dust2) | {cflag:BR} dumau – 1.80 Rating / 46-20 K-D / 119.2 ADR

MVP: {cflag:BR} Eduardo ”dumau” Wolkmer – 1.32 Rating / 131-93 K-D / 87.1 ADR

In the South American edition of DreamHack Open September, it was also a Brazilian roster who ended out as the victors, owing to Shark’s impressive showing in the Grand Final against 9z. The fully Brazilian team took the victory, despite 9z having a 1-0 map advantage going into the match.

Sharks vs 9z 3-2 | DreamHack Open September SA

0-1   (9z begin the match with a 1-0 map advantage due to coming from the upper bracket)

16-14 (Ancient) | {cflag:BR} pancc – 1.45 Rating / 27-18 K-D / 93.0 ADR

13-16 (Nuke) | {cflag:BR} BIT – 1.59 Rating / 28-17 K-D / 104.7 ADR

16-14 (Inferno) | {cflag:BR} zevy – 1.41 Rating / 27-14 K-D / 83.2 ADR

16-11 (Mirage) | {cflag:AR} try – 1.58 Rating / 29-17 K-D / 93.9 ADR

MVP: {cflag:BR} Lucas “Lucaozy” Neves – 1.25 Rating / 92-75 K-D / 89.1 ADR

	30 days	90 days
Fixture count	1	12
Maps count	2	25

TACO

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