ESL Rotterdam: what to expect from oNe and Fluxo
With the excitement of the RMR week beginning to wash away, fans and viewers are set for a weekend of comparatively lower-tier CS at ESL Rotterdam. However, there is still a reason for fans to keep an eye on the mid-tier tournament with ECL/Premier mainstays Team oNe getting a rare chance to play an international LAN.
João "felps" Vasconcellos' Fluxo will also be at the event, after being forced to watch his former SK teammates qualify for the Rio Major from his sofa due to Fluxo's failure to qualify for the RMR tournament. With Fluxo and oNe drawn in the same group one of the teams are guaranteed at least one win. Whilst it will technically be a Brazil vs Brazil match-up, oNe have spent the majority of their existence playing and living in the US for the past years, whereas Fluxo have barely competed outside their home nation.
Beyond that match-up, it looks like it will be a tough ask for either team to get out of their group with both ENCE and Outsiders, arguably the favourites for the competition, being drawn alongside them. Ask me to pick one of these teams to manage a surprise upset at the event a week ago, before the RMR, and I would have said oNe had the best chance. The familiarity of their core and the firepower of Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa and Victor "iDK" Torraca make for a dangerous mix, especially in BO1's. However, an extremely disappointing run at the RMR failed to provide confidence in the team's ability to challenge at a higher level than NA ECL.
In particular, malbsMd continued struggles at big tournaments are a big worry. The teenage star clearly has talent and has proven that over the past few years, but has failed to make the most of his LAN opportunities, posting negative ratings at both RMR's he has attended this year. For Fluxo, in all honesty, they fall into the category of 'Just happy to be here' and whilst it will be cool to see felps back on LAN I struggle to see a way in which they can upset any of the big boys.
I still remain firmly in the belief that malbsMd is one good tournament away from breaking his big duct. With fewer eyes and the slightly smaller scale of Rotterdam maybe this his perfect chance to get in. There's no pressure of trying to qualify for a Major, no expectations, the majority of the South American fanbase will be focused instead on the FiReLEAGUE Global Finals where Imperial, among other South American teams, are set to play. If iDK can continue his form from the RMR and malbsMd shows even 80% of the skill he has in his locker then a shock win over a still rocky ENCE or the terminally underperforming Outsiders team may not be of the cards.
Realistically though, this is a chance for both teams to get some LAN experience against the top 30 teams and anything other than that will be a bonus for either team. ESL Rotterdam is set to kick off on the 14th of October, with oNe playing the opening match against ENCE at 04:30AM.
