Case lead charge, go undefeated in SA RMR Open Qualifier 1
The first of two South American RMR Open Qualifiers for the PGL Antwerp Major reached a conclusion tonight, stamping the first four teams confirmed to join FURIA at the American RMR in April. Although the competition was fierce throughout, many familiar faces of the BR scene succeeded in qualifying tonight.
With their first major test of competition Imperial showed their ability en route to qualification. Vinicius 'VINI' Figueiredo was possessed in the opening match versus TotalePro, closing the 16-2 victory with an eye-popping 33-7 K/D. Fernando 'fer' Alvarenga also made his presence known with a 20-9 K/D effort in the same match. Imperial carried the winning energy into the qualification best-of-three against Meta BR.
Nuke started in an unexpected fashion, as Imperial fell 11-4 to close the first half. They pieced it together on the defensive end, winning twelve back to secure victory in regulation 16-14. By the time the two teams reached Mirage, Meta BR had no more steam and Imperial began running away with the series. Imperial won the first half 10-5 before closing the match 16-5 off six rounds in a row, securing a spot in the American RMR. The squad ultimately fell to Case in the final match of the day 16-7, however it was only with seeding on the line.
ImperialMeta| Imperial |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Vinicius 'VINI' Figueiredo |
46 - 35 | +11 | 92.5 | 84.3% | 1.32 |
| Fernando 'fer' Alvarenga |
40 - 30 | +10 | 87.1 | 76.5% | 1.28 |
| Gabriel 'FalleN' Toledo |
41 - 28 | +13 | 80.2 | 74.5% | 1.21 |
| Lincoln 'fnx' Lau |
31 - 27 | +4 | 70.3 | 68.6% | 1.06 |
| Ricardo 'boltz' Prass |
36 - 34 | +2 | 74.1 | 72.5% | 1.01 |
| Meta |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leonardo 'Leomonster' Enrique |
47 - 39 | +8 | 93.2 | 74.5% | 1.29 |
| Alisson 'Alisson' Farias |
30 - 42 | -12 | 74.6 | 66.7% | 0.96 |
| Lucas 'CutzMeretz' Freitas |
31 - 42 | -11 | 66.3 | 52.9% | 0.76 |
| Emerson 'desh' Henrique |
21 - 34 | -13 | 46.6 | 52.9% | 0.72 |
| Brunno 'Demonos' Nóbrega |
25 - 38 | -13 | 55.9 | 66.7% | 0.70 |
00Nation opened their matches today against ELES, headlined by famed CS Twins Henrique “HEN1” Teles and Lucas “LUCAS1” Teles. Mario “malbsMd” Samayoa led the server in a well-rounded team effort that resulted in a smooth 16-5 victory for 00Nation. Things did not go as smooth in their best-of-three match against the Brazilian-Argentinian mix of Isurus. 00Nation were tossed around in the opening match of Overpass, as Isurus easily took their map pick 16-5.
00Nation found their form in the second map of Mirage, winning the first half 9-6 thanks to a strong offensive effort from malbsMd. However, things soon started to slip away from 00Nation despite a strong 6-0 start to the half. With 00Nation on match point, Isurus won nine-straight rounds to force overtime. Nine was the limit, however, as 00Nation woke up in overtime and won four straight to close map two 19-15. 00Nation carried that spirit into map three, winning the final fourteen of 16 rounds to close Nuke, secure the 2-1 victory, and qualify for the American RMR.
Isurus00NATION| Isurus |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucas 'destiny' Bullo |
61 - 52 | +9 | 81.3 | 76.9% | 1.18 |
| Victor 'gafolo' Andrade |
56 - 50 | +6 | 64.8 | 73.1% | 1.02 |
| Alexandre 'ALLE' Santos |
51 - 57 | -6 | 78.3 | 70.5% | 1.01 |
 Marcos 'deco' Amato |
49 - 56 | -7 | 77.7 | 75.6% | 1.01 |
| Nicolás 'Noktse' Dávila |
41 - 60 | -19 | 61.6 | 56.4% | 0.77 |
| 00NATION |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mario 'malbsMd' Samayoa |
63 - 51 | +12 | 80.8 | 73.1% | 1.25 |
| Vinicius 'vsm' Moreira |
62 - 58 | +4 | 89.2 | 75.6% | 1.18 |
| Marcelo 'coldzera' David |
56 - 52 | +4 | 83.4 | 73.1% | 1.15 |
| Leonardo 'leo_drk' Oliveira |
48 - 49 | -1 | 66.9 | 73.1% | 1.03 |
| Santino 'try' Rigal |
45 - 48 | -3 | 56.0 | 61.5% | 0.85 |
Case went through the grinder to earn themselves a seat at the American RMR. The team failed to find themselves offensively in the start of Inferno against Cruzeiro, mounting six rounds in the first half against the lesser-known opposition. Case found balance on the defensive side, thanks to the performance of Arthur “f4stzin” Schmitt and Rodrigo “RCF” Figueiredo. After losing the first three rounds, they won ten of the next twelve to survive the matchup 16-14.
For Case, it was out the frying pan and into the fire. After squeaking by versus Cruzeiro, the team had to make quick fixes against Sharks, a fellow notable team in the region. Sharks quickly exerted dominance on Case’s map pick of Ancient, taking the first half 12-3 before running away with it 16-10. Things did not get easier, as the two teams would be neck-and-neck for all 30 rounds on map two, Dust 2. Both teams earned eight on the CT sides to send it to overtime, where Case would edge Sharks 4-0 to take the series to a Mirage decider.
In-game leader Lucas “steel” Lopes took matters into his own hands-on map three, leading his team in tactics and performance off an impressive 22-16 K/D performance in a 30-round war. Case edged out the final two rounds over Sharks at 14-14 to close the map 16-14, qualifying Case after a hard-fought 2-1 series.
SharksCase| Sharks |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard 'chay' Seidy |
71 - 61 | +10 | 85.1 | 71.1% | 1.24 |
| Lucas 'Lucaozy' Neves |
67 - 61 | +6 | 85.4 | 73.3% | 1.14 |
| Romeu 'zevy' Rocco |
62 - 61 | +1 | 68.3 | 63.3% | 1.02 |
| João 'matios' Guedes |
50 - 60 | -10 | 65.4 | 70.0% | 0.95 |
| Jhonatan 'jnt' Silva |
54 - 60 | -6 | 65.4 | 63.3% | 0.89 |
| Case |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rodrigo 'RCF' Figueiredo |
79 - 61 | +18 | 87.2 | 66.7% | 1.24 |
| Lucas 'steel' Lopes |
60 - 61 | -1 | 79.4 | 76.7% | 1.07 |
| Lucas 'honda' Cano |
63 - 62 | +1 | 75.6 | 61.1% | 0.99 |
| Yan 'yepz' Pedretti |
51 - 57 | -6 | 64.4 | 72.2% | 0.95 |
| Arthur 'f4stzin' Schmitt |
47 - 65 | -18 | 56.8 | 62.2% | 0.82 |
Lastly, while the spotlight was on the stars of the scene, the impressive 9z quietly made their way through to qualification. Their journey started with a major 16-7 upset against MIBR on Nuke. Maximiliano “max” Gonzalez made sure his presence was felt every step of the way, ringing in a 26-10 K/D scoreline in 23 rounds of regulation. The 16-7 result came as a shock to many, as MIBR was a notable favorite to make their way through the event on paper.
max did not slow down in the team's pursuit of the American RMR against B4, finishing with a 17-7 K/D on the CT-side of Ancient to help his team win the first half 11-4. B4 rallied back to take it to round 30, but 9z kept their composure at the end to seal the deal. The close competition continued on Nuke, with the two teams exchanging rounds before B4 pulled away with five straight on T-side to edge out a 16-13 victory.
After quiet performances on Nuke, max, and Franco “dgt” Garcia came alive on the Inferno decider with 51 frags between the two. 31 of those frags came on second half CT-side, as 9z were able to turn it on in the eleventh hour to edge out a competitive B4 squad and secure a spot at the American RMR next month.
9zB4| 9z |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Maximiliano 'max' Gonzalez |
70 - 55 | +15 | 90.6 | 73.9% | 1.28 |
| Franco 'dgt' Garcia |
65 - 48 | +17 | 69.2 | 76.1% | 1.11 |
| Luca 'Luken' Nadotti |
66 - 58 | +8 | 71.8 | 68.2% | 1.08 |
| Martin 'rox' Molina |
52 - 60 | -8 | 66.2 | 70.5% | 1.00 |
 David 'dav1deuS' Tapia Maldonado |
50 - 59 | -9 | 71.6 | 69.3% | 0.99 |
| B4 |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucas 'nqz' Soares |
60 - 46 | +14 | 64.8 | 61.4% | 1.05 |
| Henrique 't9rnay' Menacho |
64 - 63 | +1 | 80.1 | 68.2% | 1.03 |
| Antonio 'realz1n' Oliveira |
51 - 64 | -13 | 72.3 | 64.8% | 0.93 |
| Rodrigo 'drg' Ausenka |
51 - 63 | -12 | 68.0 | 71.6% | 0.91 |
| Michael 'dok' Marques |
51 - 67 | -16 | 64.5 | 55.7% | 0.85 |
Following qualification, the four teams needed to play out best-of-ones to confirm seeding. Case edged out 00Nation and Imperial to complete their grueling journey as the first seed. Imperial beat 9z before dropping to Case to earn the second placing. 9z had to forfeit the third-place decider match against 00Nation due to technical difficulties, locking 00Nation in third and 9z in fourth.
The remaining unqualified teams will compete in the second and final South American Open Qualifier, which begins Today 02:00PM. With only one opportunity left to qualify for American RMR, favored teams like MIBR and Sharks will have no room for error.
The final standings for the first South American Open Qualifier are as follows:
1. Case (honda, f4stzin, RCF, steel, yepz) - Qualified for American RMR
2. Imperial (boltz, FalleN, fer, fnx, VINI) - Qualified for American RMR
3. 00 Nation (coldzera, leo_drk, malbsMd, try, v$m) - Qualified for American RMR
4. 
9z (dav1d, dgt, Luken, max, rox) - Qualified for American RMR
5-8. B4 (dok, drg, nqz, reazlin, t9rnay)
5-8. Meta BR (MaLLby, ninjaz, piriaz1n, puni, short)
5-8. Sharks (chay, jnt, Lucaozy, matios, zevy)
5-8. Isurus (ALLE, deco, DeStiNy, Gafolo, Nokste)
