Players with the most to prove at the Americas RMR

16 Americas representatives are set to clash inside of the RMR, with just five teams advancing to the Challengers Stage and the first-place team going directly to the Major. Every player has something to prove, as they’re all trying to make it out of the domestic competition to advance.

However, some players have added layers to their story, mounting greater pressure on the player to perform. Heading into the Americas RMR, these are the players with more to prove than their attending peers.

• Andrei “arT” Piovezan (FURIA)

The always exciting in-game leader for FURIA has more to prove this Major cycle, as his team has fallen short two times over in their last trips to the big dance with 5th-8th placings. After enjoying the top spot in the Americas region for the bulk of the year, they’ve taken an untimely backseat to the surging Liquid that just ended Pro League in second place.

Even with the BO3 win over their domestic foes at EPL, FURIA’s momentum doesn’t appear as high as it’s recently been and the win has been swept aside by the Liquid finals appearance. Advancing through the RMR shouldn’t be a concern, but going deeper than the recent 5th-8th place standard arT’s teams have set at the Major needs to be a priority.

• Vincent “Brehze” Cayonte (Evil Geniuses)

Brehze, for quite some time now, has been unable to find the form that netted him top 20 honors in 2019 and 2020. Things seem to be improving since the recent roster revamp, but the EG rifler is a ways away from hitting the star level we became accustomed to.

With his best performance coming at the Road to Rio qualifier, time will tell if he can replicate the 1.35 rating performance we saw against domestic foes, or if we will get more of the slumped Brehze we saw earlier in the year. With EG unafraid to test the waters between their three male rosters, Brehze should be doubly concerned with a strong performance in Stockholm.

• Tsvetelin “CeRq” Dimitrov (Evil Geniuses)

EG’s long-standing AWPer has been uninspired for some time in the starting lineup, ending seven of the nine attended events this year with a rating below 1.0.
Although he and Brehze were victims of some incredible in-fighting on the roster, Brehze has seemingly moved on from that situation and has begun finding improvement in his performance while CeRq has not.

With Brehze getting closer to form, CeRq’s recent performances are alarming. This Major cycle should serve as a litmus test for CeRq, as the scene is full of younger, cheaper AWP options that could fill the role. With Jerric “wiz” Jiang closing Pro League as the top performer in the regular season and EG already showing a willingness to shift the rosters, CeRq could have a big target on his back entering the RMR.

• Johnny “JT” Theodosiou (Complexity)

Complexity have been on the up-and-up since the import of Norwegian AWPer Håkon “hallzerk” Fjærli with wins over Astralis, HEET, and ENCE at EPL. After a full season of disappointing results, Complexity appear to have all the pieces they need to do damage in the Major cycle.

With no real tangible issues plaguing their success, JT has been given the greenlight to show himself off as IGL with no deterrents. Complexity enters the event in form, with a solid map pool, and with the team they want. Entering the RMR, there are no excuses for Complexity falling short. The situation in question gives Complexity freedom to show off exactly what kind of team-product they can provide.

• Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis (Liquid)

There is no denying that YEKINDAR has the most fan-applied pressure on him entering the RMR. Coming to Liquid as a stand-in, YEKINDAR has quickly worked his way into the newest hero of NA CS, injecting a double dose of optimism for the whole region ahead of the Major.

As one of the most talented players in the world, and the most consistent, many watching eyes are clamoring to YEKINDAR to take a Liquid core that has always been on the brink of the promiseland, and take them all the way in Rio.