
RED Canids qualify for IEM Rio 2026
RED Canids have locked in a spot at IEM Rio 2026 after defeating BESTIA to end their qualifier campaign on January 23rd. They recovered from a map-one defeat to beat them 2-1 and reach their first big tournament of 2026.
The qualifier victory brings their match streak up to nine wins in a row since David "dav1deuS" Tapia returned from his stint on paiN. While they have only faced regional opposition, it is still a strong start to the year.
After making it through the open qualifier, RED Canids took down some solid teams on their way to the final. They began by beating Sharks 2-0 then followed it up by beating qualifier favorites Imperial 2-1.
They then beat BESTIA 2-0 in the upper-bracket final before facing them again in the qualifying match. Despite a tough first map loss, RED Canids recovered and got two comfortable map wins to take the series and the spot at Rio.
Ex-paiN players shined as Kaue "kauez" Kaschuk had the best rating over the series while dav1deuS dominated on the final map with over 100 ADR.
The full team list for IEM Rio is:
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Vitality
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FURIA
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Falcons
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MOUZ
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Spirit
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Natus Vincere
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G2
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Aurora
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Liquid
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3DMAX
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Passion UA
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B8
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Legacy
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Gentle Mates (Global qualifier)
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HOTU (Global qualifier)
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RED Canids (Americas qualifier)
RED Canids will play later today at 06:30PM against MIBR in the semifinals of Circuit X Redemption Curitiba.




























