Two players from the best esports region in the world are going to packing their bags for a new team in South America.
The move threatens to shake up the pro scene in Brazil which, though it rarely makes headlines, is no joke. The Intel Extreme Masters in Sao Paulo last month featured over $60,000 up for grabs, and some of the biggest names in League of Legends and StarCraft 2, including the League Championship Series team, Millenium.
PaiN Gaming, the strongest League team in the country, have had a stranglehold on the country for a while now. They placed first in Brazil during the Riot Games Season 3 World Championships Qualifiers, and were just one match short of an appearance at the World Championships last Fall. At IEM last month, paiN met Millenium in the finals and ended up taking home second place.
But now, a rival team is looking to knock paiN down a peg or two.
Keyd Stars formed in late 2012, and despite some serious roster changes over 2013, managed some pretty big wins in the region, including a first place finish over paiN in the Brasil Gaming League Arena 2. At IEM, however, they only managed to get into the quarterfinals.
This week, they’ve made an announcement that will rock the world stage. After a brief dissolution last week, Keyd Stars is reforming with four brand new players. And two of those players aren’t Brazilian.
In fact, they’re not even from the same continent.
Korean League pros An “SuNo” Sun Ho and “Winged” (whose real-name hasn’t been released) will be joining the Brazilian team. Ho was previously a member of the ill-fated side Quantic Gaming, whose loss in the North American Qualifiers made emotional ripples throughout the community. Not much is known of “Winged,” though he did play for Korean team Najin Black Sword last season, which finished tied for third.
Together, they represent a new dawn for a team looking to make a dent in paiN’s dominance. Many regard Korean players as the best in the world, which is backed up in part by the region’s recent first place finish in the League World Championships. With these two new players, Keyd Stars clearly wants to bring a fundamental change to their play. Two players from Korea will mean new strategies, new practice techniques, and most importantly, a high level of skill to study and implement.
For now, Keyd Stars have simple plans—move into a house together and begin practicing. But as the 2014 World Championships draw closer, there’s no doubt that Keyd will have their eyes on the qualifiers. And paiN will have to keep their eyes closely on Keyd if they remain the best in the region.
Photo by Piotr Drabik/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
