Argentine video game fans have a special appreciation for Counter-Strikethe one that became popular in Internet cafes more than 20 years ago and that now – with the passing of editions – has managed to position itself in its version Global Offensive (CS: GO) as a leading entertainer in the global competitive esports scene.

A few months before the end of the year, the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Rio de Janeiro CS: GO Major Currently it appears as the great goal that must reach the Argentine 9z Team, the only representative of Latin America.

The purple group, owned by Francisco Frankkaster Postiglione, has managed in recent years to position itself as a reference point for video games in the region, mainly thanks to the great successes of recent times, including two consecutive rankings at the Majora sort of World Cup played by the 24 best organizations in the world.

After playing the RMR América qualifying tournament in Stockholm and the FireLeague final at the Camp Nou in Barcelona, ​​Team 9z starts competing from 11 in Argentina in Rio de Janeiro in the Swiss format. That is, 16 teams will be grouped fight everyone against everyone and those who get 3 wins will qualify for the stage.

The first of their rivals will be the European team Gamer Legionwho finished seventh in that continent’s A-qualifiers and even defeated G2 Esports along the way.

After the eight races of the first round, Violeta will clash the same day against another rival not yet announced.

IEM Major in Rio de Janeiro: how the CS: GO World Cup will be played

The first tournament of this type will be held in South America and will see 24 participants divided into three phases: Contenders, challengers and legends. In this case, each stage will rank 8 teams and it should be noted that this will depend on how their performance in the tournament was.

The clashes will begin on October 31 and will have a grand finale on November 13.

The first stage Challenging phase will have as protagonist the 9z Team at the Riocentro congress center. In case of qualification, the Argentine team will access the so-called legendary stage which will be held from 5 to 8 October.

All the series will be in Swiss form for one game except those that determine the elimination or the classification of a team, which will be carried out at the best of 3.

The same rules and number of teams from the previous phase will be repeated and the best eight will enter the playoffs, from 10 to 13 November. In this case the matches will be played at the best of three maps.

Finally, the top eight will line up in the decisive phase Champions phase, at the Jeunesse Arena stadium with a capacity of 18 thousand spectators. In addition to the title, the champion team will retain $ 500,000 and qualify for IEM Katowice 2023. In total, the tournament will distribute $ 1,250,000 million.

IEM Major in Rio de Janeiro: the figures to follow

the Brazilian Gabriel “Fallen” Toledo is a legend for competitive CS: GO in South America. The victory of her Imperial against Complexity in the RMR qualifiers of the Americas satisfied her desire to play one of the most important tournaments in the world in her country and thousands of fans.

The next Major will likely be one of the last for the Brazilian legend, a performance that many have dubbed “The Last Dance”. This was announced in recent statements by the 31-year-old player plans to stop racing in 2023 and take on a role of coach, content creator or teacher.

The roster of the North American team FaZe Clan, winner of the last Major in Antwerp, is made up of a quintet full of superstars who perform with an enviable synergy. In recent weeks, however, one has stood out above the others: Saukants “broky” by Helvij.

The Latvian was the best FaZe player at RMR A in Europe, where the team finished 3-0 and qualified for the Rio de Janeiro Major’s Legends Stage main draw. Across all series, Broky has distinguished himself by winning crucial rounds in his own AWP rolecarrying sniper rifle.

the Ukrainian Oleksandr Olehovych Kostylievknown in the video game as “S1mple”, he has won numerous tournaments, collected many MVP trophies and managed to position himself on the world stage in the top 20 in the last four years.

Over the past few months, “S1mple” hasn’t slowed down at all playing for Natus Vincere (NAVI): he has amassed an average of 1.36 hits, 86.3 damage, 0.85 kills per round, and has only lost 0.64 casualties in the last few months. three months, according to official data from the statistics site HLTV.

Having stunned the 9z Team Argentina squad, where he won several titles and reached the Top 1 in South America, Santino “Try” Rigal was contested by several internationally renowned teams in early 2022.

Finally, the 17-year-old player is leaning towards the decision to join the Brazilian team 00Nation, who will also play as a local in this Rio de Janeiro IEM.

Rio de Janeiro IEM Major: match schedule for October 31st

• 11.00 MOUZ vs. strangers.
• 11:00 9z vs. Gamer Legion.
• 12.15 Bad News Eagles vs. 00NATION.
• 12.15 OG vs. Greyhound.
• 13.30 BIG vs. ANGER.
• 13.30 Genes of evil vs. IHC.
• 14.45 Vitality vs. Imperial.
• 14.45 Cloud9 vs. fanatic.