To succeed in Rainbow Six Siege, César “Dark” Adriano had to become the smartest kid in the class. Due to a lack of coaching opportunities in Brazil, he accepted 9z Team’s offer to manage the Argentinian-majority roster during one split.
Dark’s stay in the purple squad lasted less than three months, as he became FaZe Clan’s analyst in Sep. 2021. Two months later, the Brazilian was a Copa Elite Six and a Six Major champion. Later on, at the Six Invitational 2022, his work as an analyst was a crucial part of the team’s third-place finish in the season's most important event.
His work didn’t go unnoticed by the rest of the teams in Brazil and MIBR offered him a coaching opportunity, which he took in May 2022. Unfortunately, Dark couldn’t find any success at his new home and ultimately parted ways with the Brazilian organization in Nov. 2023.
"I entered a delicate moment for the old team, they had been together for a long time and I tried everything to get the old team to achieve their goals," the Brazilian explained in a written interview for SiegeGG.
"Unfortunately, we were unable to do so and the team entered a long period of changes to find its feet, many mistakes were made both on the part of the organization and our part regarding these changes. But I am very grateful for this entire period, I met people that I will keep with me for the rest of my life and good memories will last forever."
As the saying goes, one door closes and another one opens. Although he couldn’t guide his former team to the Six Invitational 2024, the Brazilian managed to sneak into the biggest tournament of the year after accepting FuryX’s offer to coach the team’s Rainbow Six Siege roster… in South Korea.
“I adapted very well, the biggest difference is in the working hours, in Brazil training takes place from 2 PM to 8 PM, and in APAC many teams still train in the evening, so it’s normal to start a work day at 1 PM and go until midnight,” he explained.
Another difference spotted by the Brazilian coach has been the quality of the practice sessions, as he admits there's a "low quality of training."
"In my opinion, APAC has evolved very slowly due to the low quality of training, with only a few high and medium level teams, everything is very repetitive. In Brazil, for example, we have many options for teams up to Tier 2 to train and everything at the highest level, so the region evolves very quickly. This is certainly a point that always leaves the region further behind," explained the Brazilian coach.
Although Dark didn’t struggle to melt with the culture, the Sweden Major champion admitted having issues when it came to communicating with the players. “This is certainly a difficult point for the team because everyone understands English, but few speak it well.”
Luckily, the solution to this problem was already in the team. According to the former MIBR coach, the current assistant coach and former player Lee “Nova” Si-Hun has played an important role in his adaptation. “He always helps me by translating everything from Korean to English, it won’t be a problem for game pauses.”
Almost two months after his arrival, Dark's short-term objective is clear: improving and evolving skills that no other APAC roster possesses, bringing "a high tactical level and adaptation of the Brazilians, creating many styles of playing and not focusing on just one to make it a more difficult team to face."
Meanwhile, the long-term goal is to become the best Rainbow Six Siege roster in their region. "Becoming Top 1 in the region is my goal when the regional championships start in 2024."
FearX's Six Invitational 2024 group includes the current title holders G2 Esports, the Six Invitational 2021 world champions Ninjas in Pyjamas, the Six Charlotte Major winners DarkZero Esports, and the Atlanta quarter-finalists Geekay Esports.
Although FearX's group is tough, the Brazilian coach will enjoy this experience as he will be playing in his home region. "It's certainly a dream to play in a championship of this magnitude in your country. I'm working hard to have the chance to play in front of the Brazilian fans," he concluded.