Total Shorty Kills
South America LCQ – Australs, Gamelanders, FURIA, & Havan make the playoffs
Naim "EnKay" Rosinski
10/15/2021
The South America Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) has concluded its group stage. Four teams have made the playoffs and will square off in the semifinals. With only one spot up-for-grabs at CHAMPIONS in December, the battle will only get more fierce from here on out.
Australs and Gamelanders Blue have made it out of Group A and Group B respectively after coming out on top and receiving the first seed. FURIA and Havan Liberty had to fight their way out through a Decider Match.
Now complete, South America LCQ Group Stage looks as follows:
Let’s have a brief look at each Playoff finalist’s journey through the Group Stage.
Australs
The Chilean squad of Australs got a fast-pass to the Playoffs after two 2-1 victories. Though not as clean as they would have liked, they first overcame FURIA Esports in their opening match. kiNgg had a solid performance throughout the series and was a major deciding factor in key moments.
Australs’ Winners Match came out to be against Sharks Esports. All hell broke loose as the 2-1 score for Australs did not nearly reflect the hectic series. Sharks took the first map, Split after an overtime at 14:12. Australs retaliated on Ascent with a 13:11 score. Lastly, Icebox was as close as it gets as another overtime ensued, yet this time it went in favor of the Chilean squad. gaabxx, Australs’ Jett and Reyna main went ham during the three-map fiasco to sequre himself 77 kills in the series.
Gamelanders Blue
The all-Brazilian team of Gamelanders overshadowed Havan Liberty, SA’s representatives at Masters 3: Berlin.
Their run kicked off with a 2:1 triumph over Six Karma. A 10:13 loss on Split sparked a fire in the Gamelanders squad as they retaliated with a 13:9 win on Ascent. The decider, Breeze, was a walk in the park, as Walney “Jonn” Reis and co. steamrolled Six Karma 13:3.
Their next challenger was no other than Havan Liberty. The WInners’ Match, despite a 2-0 victory for Gamelanders, could have gone either way. Havan lost Bind 10:13. On the second map, Icebox, Gamelanders established a hefty lead but Havan turned it around as the defenders. Gamelanders were having none of it, however, as they forced overtime. There, a stellar performance from Leonardo “mwzera” Serrati gave his side the 14:12 victory as well as a straight pass to the playoffs.
Furia Esports
After an initial loss to Australs in the opening match, FURIA had to fight their way back up in order to qualify for playoffs.
LAZER was the team they faced in the Losers’ Match. On Haven, a phenomenal defense side granted FURIA the 7:5 lead. LAZER attempted to put together a comeback, but were cut short as FURIA closed it out at 13:9. On Icebox, FURIA showed a masterclass attack side with Alexandre “xand” Zizi at the steer, leading to a 10:2 lead. LAZER put together five straight rounds on the attack side of their own, but FURIA tightened their belts to close it out 13:7 and advanced to the Decider Match.
Former Masters Reykjavik Brazil representatives, Sharks Esports, were their opponents. The two sides traded blows on Haven until eventually FURIA pulled ahead on defense and closed the map out at 13:11. Ascent came out to be another tight affair as it was all square at 6:6 at the half. An all-around team effort led by Agustin “Nozwerr” Ibarra on attack by FURIA gave them the edge to close Icebox out 13:10.
Havan Liberty
The final qualifier for the playoffs belongs up there in terms of being the favorite to win this SA LCQ. Havan Liberty, the former Masters Berlin entrees, are having, however, a rather tough time in this event. Despite qualifying in the end.
Havan Liberty kicked off their venture with a clean 2-0 victory against Infinity Esports. A rather easy 13:6 Bind, led to an even cleaner 13:5 Icebox victory. With the whole team fragging and doing their part, Havan Liberty had a good start to the LCQ.
However, as we know, Gamelanders Blue shattered that look. Although tight, a 2-0 loss was a tough pill to swallow. Felipe “liazzi” Galiazzi and co. had to then fight through the Decider Match to qualify.
Six Karma was their opponent at the match with everything to play for. The 3-map fiasco came out to be one of the more exciting matches in this South America LCQ. The first map, Bind, saw both teams feel right at home on defense. Havan was trailing 3:9 at the half but made up the difference after half-switch. A phenomenal effort by Gustavo “krain” Melara on defense, was not enough, as Six Karma took the 14:12 victory in overtime.
This lit a raging fire in the Havan Liberty camp, which led to a blowout victory on Split. Liberty’s control on defense, led to a flawless attacking half with five straight rounds going their way. Split finished with a 13:4 crushing win for Liberty as we were moving on to the decider, Ascent.
If Bind was not heated enough for someone, Ascent was a hectic affair. Six Karma’s Alexander “Xander” Lopez challenged Havan with flashy Jett plays. However, liazzi was having none of it, leading to a 7:5 half for Havan Liberty. The second half was extremely back-and-forth, which led to multiple overtimes. Finally, a 3k by liazzi on the retake on defense secured the win for Havan Liberty.
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