IEM Fall: South America will be the region’s third Regional Major Rankings (RMR) tournament. Starting September 29th, four teams will compete for both RMR points and a prize pool of $10,000 USD. For two of them, this tournament means everything: nearly equal in points, whomever outperforms the other will secure South America’s a spot at the PGL Stockholm Major.
It’s a chance at the first major in over two years — but only for one of them. Today, we’ll take a look at who that team may be!
MIBR (3430 RMR Points)
Leading the pack with 3430 points, MIBR are currently holding onto Contender’s Status at the PGL Major. MIBR are the only team at the event to have recently played internationally, but their results aren’t particularly promising: the team were among the first eliminated in the IEM: Cologne play-ins, and finished last in Group C of the BLAST Premier: Fall Groups. Still, all experiences is good experiences, and MIBR looks to use it to their benefit here.
MIBR are likely to make the tournament’s grand finals. How they get there will depend on their opening matchup, where they compete against Sharks Esports. They would love to proceed through the upper bracket in hopes of securing a one map advantage in the final match, and it’d feel even better to do so against their tournament rival.
Sharks Esports (3375 RMR Points)
The Sharks are coming for the throne. Second place finishes at both of South American’s RMR events prior to this have kept them in contention for the Stockholm Major. To get over the line, all they need is to place higher than MIBR. That’s easier said than done, of course — but they did it in their last meeting, and they’ll need to do it one more time.
Sharks Esports should be meeting MIBR in the finals. However, one stumbling block may present itself: Bravos Gaming. The Sharks seem unable to beat Bravos consistently, which poses a threat to their Stockholm hopes. It will be a string of high stakes games for Sharks Esports, but they’ll have to thrive under the pressure if they want to punch a ticket to Sweden.
Bravos Gaming (2432 RMR Points)
Despite winning the region’s previous RMR event, roster moves have cost Bravos over 800 points, and has left them unable to qualify for the PGL Major. Now, they’re playing both to win the lion’s share of prize money and to play spoiler for either MIBR or Sharks.
It would be a strong statement from Bravos to win yet another RMR event, and they’ve certainly shown the talent needed to pull it off. The team has no recent games against MIBR, however, and a rocky record against the Sharks. They’d love to end the circuit on a high note, but winning at IEM Fall will be even harder than last time around.
Imperial Esports (0 RMR Points)
Imperial Esports enter IEM Fall: SA with zero RMR points, having missed out on both prior events in the 2021 circuit. The team performed well in the closed qualifier with wins over Paquetá Gaming and Havan Liberty, but expect them to have a short stay in the main event. They were defeated by Bravos Gaming in a 2-0 series in the qualifiers and are a tier below both MIBR and Sharks Esports, foreshadowing an early elimination at IEM Fall. Still, just making it here is impressive, and the team should be pleased with their progress even if things don’t go their way over the next few days.
