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CS:GO IEM Rio Major 2022 is one of the year's largest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournaments, attracting the best players from around the world. The event has drawn a large number of spectators, so the organizers wanted to do something special for them.
Aside from seeing the world's best teams in action, fans will also get to see an exhibition match. However, this is no ordinary showmatch, as it will see the participation of living legends from Sweden and Brazil.
As one would expect from an exhibition, it will feature most of the audience's favorite players. ESL wanted to make this special, so each player on both rosters is in a league of their own.
Team Brazil vs Team Sweden: Who will win this CS:GO IEM Rio Major Legends Clash matchup?
The lineup for the IEM Rio Major 2022 showmatch between Sweden and Brazil has been announced by ESL. The match will be played at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 13 at 11 am CT, before the start of the grand final.
Both teams' lineups feature some of the most legendary names in the CS:GO scene, with the Brazil team featuring a two-time Major-winning lineup representing SK and Luminosity during their era-defining period. Meanwhile, the Swedish team includes notable names best known for their roles in Ninjas in Pyjamas and Fnatic.
Fernando "fer" Alvarenga, Lincoln "fnx" Lau, and Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo will represent Imperial at their home Major after defeating Complexity in a nail-biting series at the RMR. Meanwhile, 00NATION will be represented by Epitacio "TACO" de Melo and Marcelo "coldzera" David, with both teams beginning their Major runs in the Challenger Stage.
The Swedish team is made up of the former Ninjas in Pyjamas trio of Christopher "GeT RiGhT" Alesund, Adam "friberg" Friberg, and Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg. They won the ESL One Cologne 2014 Major with the famous Swedish organization. They are joined by Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer and Jesper "JW" Wecksell, who won two consecutive Majors for Fnatic in 2015, with JW also taking home the first CS:GO Major, DreamHack Winter 2013.
While JW is out of the tournament due to severe illness, as per an update via ESL's official Twitter account, his replacement has yet to be confirmed, but it could be KRIMZ or flusha.
The showmatch lineup has won 18 Major titles in their time at the top of CS:GO, having been a part of three legendary teams.
Predictions
Brazil and Sweden have a long history in Counter-Strike, dating back to the days of CS 1.6 when they were notable rivals. MIBR, the best Brazilian team at the time, defeated Swedish teams Fnatic and SK Gaming in the grand finals of ESWC 2006 and DreamHack Winter 2007, respectively, tournaments that were as important as the CS:GO Majors are now.
The Brazilians were members of the legendary squads of SK and Luminosity, while the Europeans played for a variety of teams, including Fnatic and NiP. Surprisingly, some Brazilian superstars will compete in the Major because they are playing under the Imperial banner. The team defeated Complexity, which means we'll see fer, FalleN, and fnx.
When it comes to CSGO, Sweden has always been one of the leading countries. As a result, the country will likely have two or three All-Star teams, all of which will be epic. Having said that, the current lineup for the showmatch includes some of the most well-known names in the game. Although most of them are no longer active, we can still expect a lot of action.
Invited Players
These are the current lineups for both the teams featuring the greats:
Team Brazil:
- Marcelo "coldzera" David
- Fernando "fer" Alvarenga
- Lincoln "fnx" Lau
- Epitacio "TACO" de Melo
- Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo
Team Sweden:
- Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer
- Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg
- Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund
- Adam "friberg" Friberg
- TBD
While the fifth player on Team Sweden is yet to be confirmed, fans can expect that it'll either be KRIMZ or flusha.
When and where to watch
CS:GO fans from all over the world can catch the IEM Rio Major Legends Clash live by tuning into ESL CS:GO's official Twitch channel. Team Brazil will face Team Sweden in a best-of-three matchup on November 13, 2022, at 9 am PDT / 5 pm CEST / 9.30 pm IST.
