Brazil’s best Counter-Strike team is going through some big changes.
It has been announced by Brazilian esports organization Keyd Stars that the group’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team has taken their leave to pursue new opportunities. At the same time, the former Keyd Stars squad has reportedly brought in a new player, Marcelo “Cold” David.
News of the team’s departure came directly from the organization, which called the players “the best Brazilian lineup Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has ever seen.” The statement also spoke to the new opportunities the players had found, reminiscent of how the group originally joined Keyd Stars after leaving competing Brazilian organization Kabum in what was a much more acrimonious departure.
But the team wasn’t done there. A report on Brazilian website r1se detailed the release of Caio “zqk” Fonseca, who will be replaced by fellow Brazilian David, formerly of Dexterity.
The move by David demonstrates the domestic power wielded by the now former Keyd Stars team. For all the potential Dexterity has shown with David as part of the roster, only Gabriel “Fallen” Toledo and his teammates can offer consistent opportunities at international events for Brazilian players.
It’s a position similar to that which was once held by Brazilian team Made in Brazil, who competed in numerous Counter-Strike majors and found international success while other teams from the region struggled to fund international attendance. There were some exceptions, such as Generation X and Game Crashers, but no such exceptions exist in the world of Brazilian Global Offensive.
The move comes after a pair of disappointing finishes for Brazil’s top team. Losses to Counter Logic Gaming and Fnatic sent the team out in the bottom half of the ESL ESEA Pro League final, and their group stage exit at this year’s ESWC was even more disappointing. The team’s performance in Montreal most notably included a thrashing at the hands of American squad Cloud9, a symbolic defeat for the group hailed as potentially being the best team in North America upon their arrival earlier in the year.
The revamped roster will debut in August at ESL Cologne.
