Brazil’s challenging journey in LoL Worlds to their first qualification for the Swiss Stage

It hasn't been easy for the Brazilian teams to be in crucial stages of League of Legends Worlds. As a minor region, Brazil never made big steps into LoL Worlds. Until Sept. 29 when paiN Gaming made a historic victory that qualified the team for the Swiss Stage of LoL Worlds 2024. But how has been the journey of Brazilian teams in the competition until now?

The first participation of a Brazilian team at LoL Worlds was in 2014 when KaBuM! Esports qualified for the Group Stage, as it was called before. In Group D with Cloud9, NaJin White Shield, and Alliance, KaBuM! only won one game against Alliance, and ended up losing all the five remaining.

The best place a Brazilian team ever had until 2024. In 2015, paiN Gaming made the best performance at LoL Worlds. Being part of Group A with Flash Wolves, KOO Tigers, and Counter Logic Gaming, paiN won two games and lost four games, being unable to go further in the competition.

Even though INTZ could not qualify for the next stage, this Worlds became a legend for the Brazilian fans for the INTZ victory against EDward Gaming. This game was celebrated just like a LoL Worlds finals. INTZ ended up in 14th place with one victory and five losses against H2k-Gaming, ahq eSports Club, and EDG.

With 24 invited teams, Team oNe eSports was doing very well at Worlds 2017, winning three matches and losing only one against Cloud9 and Dire Wolves. However, in the qualification match, they ended up losing to Fenerbahçe Esports, being unable to go to the next stage.

The Brazilian course kept going through the years. KaBuM! Esports was unable to make a better presentation at Worlds 2018. The Brazilian team lost two games against Cloud9 and tied against DetonatioN FocusMe (DFM) with one win and one loss. In the tiebreaker match, they lost to DFM. The mid-laner dyNquedo and the bot-laner TitaN are now part of the paiN Gaming team that qualified for Worlds 2024.

The worst Brazilian presence at LoL Worlds was in 2019. In a group with DAMWON Gaming (now Dplus KIA) and Royal Youth, Flamengo Esports ended up with a 1-3 score. In the tiebreaker with Royal Youth, the Brazilians lost and went back home.

The Play-Ins appeared in LoL Worlds with only two groups of teams. INTZ ended up in the same group as Team Liquid, Legacy Esports, Papara SuperMassive, and MAD Lions KOI. With only a victory against Team Liquid, INTZ lost the tiebreaker against MAD Lions KOI, being unable to reach the Knockout Stage.

The Play-Ins Stage didn't start badly for RED Canids Kalunga. With three wins and only one loss, the Brazilian team advanced to the Knockout Stage for the elimination match. But the PEACE team was superior, winning three of the five matches. This was the second passage of bot-laner TitaN in Worlds.

Worlds 2022 was a memorable Worlds for LOUD's fans since the victory of the Brazilian team against FNATIC. Brance's "bot gap" on the bicep was an iconic moment. Even with three wins and two losses, LOUD ended up losing against Evil Geniuses in the tiebreaker match. LOUD came back the next year.

The next year's confidence was still not enough to bring a Brazilian team to the Swiss Stage. In the Play-Ins, LOUD had a great match against GAM Esports but lost against PSG Talon, which sent them to the Lower Bracket. There, the Vietnamese team avenged themselves by eliminating LOUD with two two-match victories.

paiN Gaming had a last chance to reach the dream of being in the next phase of LoL Worlds 2024. Against Movistar Rainbow7, they knew the task wouldn't be easy. But in the end, they made it. You can go through the recaps of all the matches here.

It's important to say that this can be the last time a Brazilian team guarantees a place at the Worlds since the Americas leagues will merge in the next year. This means that Brazil will have its exclusive spot removed and will be part of the unification of the Brazilian League of Legends Championship (CBLOL) with the Liga Latinoamérica (LLA).

The next paiN Gaming match will be on Oct. 3 against the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) winner, G2 Esports. It's going to be a best-of-one match. You can watch the game on Twitch, YouTube, or the LoL Esports Website (with drops) at 12 p.m. PT // 9 p.m. CEST.

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