An all-Brazilian grand final to the Rainbow Six Copenhagen Major on May 7 ended with the most one-sided result in almost five years as w7m esports defeated rivals Team Liquid 3-0.
Both Liquid and w7m had impressed throughout the tournament, with w7m completing a flawless upper bracket run in the playoffs, while Liquid eliminated the reigning world champions, G2 Esports, in the quarterfinals.
Coming into the game, they both were set to face each other in what itself is a highly anticipated matchup. W7m finished second during the 2023 Six Invitational in February, while Liquid finished second in November’s Rainbow Six Jönköping Major. Since then, both teams have made roster changes, with w7m’s Gabriel “volpz” Fernandes moving over to Liquid, further fueling the rivalry.
The two teams initially seemed inseparable, with w7m only narrowly taking their own map pick 7-5. The series then went to Liquid’s risky map pick, Bank, one they had already on against their opponents earlier in the event.
Unfortunately for them, any improvement they had made to their strategies was being counteracted by standout individual performances as five rounds came down to clutches, with Kheyze managing to deny the plant on round 14 to win map two.
Diego “Kheyze” Zanello had been struggling all day compared to his teammates as the Brazil League’s MVP of 2022 was possibly feeling the pressure of playing his first international grand final on his 21st birthday.
This clutch clearly boosted his confidence as he began performing once again, ending map three as the joint-top fragger.
This was in stark contrast to his ex-teammate, Volpz, who had just five kills after nine rounds on the traditionally kill-orientated operator, Ash. This continued a tournament-low performance for the player who had just two opening kills to 13 opening deaths across the three maps as he died first in over a third of all rounds.
Volpz was eventually left in an unwinnable one-vs-four situation in the final round of the Major, as his death gave his ex-teammates their first international title.
After semifinal exits at the last two Rainbow Six Majors and a grand final exit three months ago, the w7m roster has at last lifted the title that has looked within their grasp for a year.
They achieved this in a fashion not seen in five years, with this being the shortest grand final since G2 Esports’ Rainbow Six Paris Major victory in August 2018, the esport’s most successful team at the peak of their success.
Achieving this just two months after making two roster changes is also somewhat unheard of and sets the team up for a very strong 2023, as the team has more time to gel together.
As for Liquid, this is another heartbreaking moment for the team with Luccas “Paluh” Molina, considered by many to be the most skilled player in the world, still searching for his first Rainbow Six Major title win after over four years and three grand final losses on the team.
Related: Paluh on Liquid’s longevity as a team: ‘The journey we’ve had together, we’ve learned a lot’
While speculation rose once again about 28-year-old André “nesk” Oliveira’s possible intention to retire from the esports scene after the defeat, he immediately shut this down as he tweeted, translated from Portuguese, “the important thing is to never give up, I LOVE to compete, and I will live this life until God allows me to play and win it all!”.
Team Liquid now has just four days to compose themselves before the online Gamers Without Borders tournament starts on May 11. As well as being a charity tournament, GWB also offers a single qualification spot to the $2,000,000 Gamers8 tournament in August, making it a must-win event.
Following this, Stage Two of the Global Circuit starts in September, which will lead into November’s Rainbow Six Major in the USA. With Brazilian teams dominating this event, the rest of the world will be trying to make up the distance before Stage Two starts.
