The Vegas dream comes to life
After going down 0-2 early on in the qualifier, the Brazilians were able to recover and win four BO3 series to get a spot in the Americas RMR in Monterrey in the first edition of the closed qualifier system of the RMR.
Since 2018, oNe have been based in Las Vegas where they have made North America their home base, despite their Brazilian roots. They've competed in the region's qualifiers for a while. Most notably, at the IEM Rio Americas RMR, oNe went 1-3 and weren't close to making the major.
The North American RMR qualifier started with two upsets for oNe, as they fell to Mythic and Vendetta 16-12, each. The team was on the brink of elimination, a very early one, given the expectations for the squad. This is when the "Vegas dream" started to take shape. A statement 2-0 win against 4ORMULA, who had been showing great CS, brought momentum to the Brazilians' side. Now with a 1-2 record, it was almost certain that the team would have to play the tiebreaker, should they survive until then, given their Buchholz score.
The Brazilians are known for believing, but this time oNe was making them dream. Another 2-0 against Strife, with two 16-5 maps was not expected beforehand but it could be felt in the way the players were clicking their mice. Something had shifted like they could do no wrong.
oNe were now 2-2 in record going into the last day of the qualifier. They would have to face timbermen who had beaten both Vendetta and Mythic, the teams that gave oNe the 0-2 record to start with. But this oNe team wasn't the same as the team that started the qualifier, they now were fully convinced that the spot was already theirs, and they would do anything to get it. A shaky start on the first map would only give them a scare, as oNe managed to still win Inferno after overtime. Then came Ancient, a map that timbermen have never lost in, and it continued like that. To end the series, oNe completely shut down their opponents on Mirage, with a 12-3 T-side half to start the map, and a 4-2 second half to close it.
Despite already being 3-2, oNe had to play the tiebreaker to guarantee a spot in the RMR. Their opponents? Evil Geniuses. The organizations had never faced each other in the Counter-Strike world before, but given the recent form from the EG side, and the exhibitions oNe had been showing, things were not looking great for the North American organization, but still, they were expected to beat oNe and go to Mexico. The series started on Anubis, where Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa completely lit up the server with 36 kills and the map would go to oNe after a 16-14 match. EG's pick of Overpass was just as balanced, as it ended with a 16-13 score, also going to the Brazilians, and once again with malbsMd topping the fragging list.
The Vegas dream had come to life. After finding themselves down 0-2 on the first day, oNe clawed back with attitude and motivation and managed to get their tickets to the Americas RMR. And now the Vegas dream is reborn again, with the Brazilians' sights set on the Eiffel Tower and the Paris Major.
