With the Brazil League 2024 Stage 2 kicking off later today, here's everything you need to know about Brazil's top-flight:
Format
The Brazil League 2024 Stage 2 is divided into two stages: the group stage and the playoffs.
In the group stage, teams will face off in a round-robin league with BO1 matches. The best six teams on the standings by the conclusion of the group stage will qualify for the playoffs.
Finally, the playoffs will be a single-elimination bracket where the top two seeds from the group stage will start from the bracket's semifinals, while teams between the third and the sixth seed will start from the quarterfinals. All of the matches in the playoff stage will be BO3s.
Teams
Here's a look at all of the teams that will participate in the Brazil League 2024 Stage 2:
FaZe Clan
The Stage 1 champions FaZe Clan have been the most consistent team in Brazil since the start of the season. On their way to Manchester, the Six Invitational 2024 grand finalists set the record for the most-earned points in a single stage in Brazil under the current format, as they scored 25 points with seven regulation and two overtime wins.
Following the team's unbeaten run in the group stage, the Brazilians defeated FURIA Esports and E1 Sports to take the region's first seed to compete in Manchester. Unfortunately, the team could only reach the quarterfinals as the roster was sent back home after a 0-2 defeat against the eventual champions Beastcoast.
FURIA Esports
After a sloppy start in the Brazil League 2024 Stage 1 that saw the world champions clinching a playoff spot on the final day of the group stage action, the Brazilians missed out on the regular phase top two — which meant they had to win their quarterfinal game to keep their hopes alive of qualifying for Manchester through the playoffs.
Although the Black Panthers had a great start to their playoff run with a 2-0 victory over Keyd Stars, FaZe Clan pushed them to the third-place decider game after defeating them in the semifinals. Despite losing the first map of the series against w7m esports, FURIA Esports ended up qualifying for Manchester after victories on Bank and Border.
In Manchester, FURIA Esports' unbeaten Swiss Stage run was followed by a shocking 1-2 defeat against Team Liquid in the quarterfinals as the Blue Cavalry knocked out the back-to-back BLAST R6 Major champions.
Despite the team's inconsistency during the first half of the season, FURIA Esports collected some great results this summer as a top-four finish at the Esports World Cup was followed by a Super Copa do Brasil championship.
Team Liquid
Although Team Liquid was the only Brazilian roster to reach the BLAST R6 Major Manchester semifinals, the Blue Cavalry struggled during the first two weeks of the season as they lost their first four games of the split.
After the winless start to the stage, Team Liquid recomposed themselves with four consecutive wins, including an overtime victory against FURIA Esports. However, the team's 5-7 defeat against FaZe Clan in the final day of action in the group stage saw the Brazilians missing out on the playoffs.
With Gabriel "Maia" Maia having fully adapted to the squad during the group stage, Team Liquid felt like a different team in Brazil's qualifiers for Manchester and, after an unbeaten run including victories over MIBR, Fluxo, and w7m esports, the Blue Cavalry clinched a spot to compete at the first BLAST R6 Major of the season.
In Manchester, Team Liquid had another sloppy start as the roster was put between a rock and a hard place after two narrow defeats against M80 and FaZe Clan — which were followed by three back-to-back BO3 wins against Spacestation, SCARZ, and Bleed Esports.
Following the team's 2-1 victory over FURIA Esports in the quarterfinals, Team Liquid quickly became one of the favorites to lift the Deimos trophy. With Team BDS on the other side of the bracket, fans expected a replay of the Six Jönköping Major grand final. However, that didn't happen, as the eventual champions Beastcoast knocked Team Liquid out.
Eventually, something similar happened only two months later as Team Liquid was knocked out of the Esports World Cup after losing in the semifinals while Team BDS won on the other side of the bracket.
E1 Sports
Without any doubt, E1 Sports was Brazil's Cinderella during the first stage of the season. After unveiling the team's roster in March 2024, the Brazilians qualified for the BLAST R6 Major Manchester after a second-place finish in the Brazil League 2024 Stage 1.
The team's run to Manchester was extremely inconsistent. After the Brazilians lost the first two games of the split against Black Dragons and Keyd Stars, the roster shocked the fans with victories against Team Liquid (7-1) and Ninjas in Pyjamas (7-3). One week later, the team proved the performances weren't a mirage and defeated Fluxo and MIBR by 7-5 and 7-4 scores, respectively.
However, E1 Sports' end of the group stage wasn't as sweet. The Brazilians final three games of the group stage ended in defeats against w7m esports, FaZe Clan, and FURIA Esports. Fortunately for them, the team's 12 points were enough to secure the league's sixth seed to compete in the playoffs. Against all of the odds, E1 Sports ended up qualifying for Manchester after back-to-back 2-0 wins against Black Dragons and w7m esports.
Despite the team's performances in Brazil, E1 Sports' run in Manchester was extremely poor as they finished at the bottom of the Swiss Stage standings following defeats against PSG Talon, Team Bliss, and CAG Osaka.
The off-season hasn't gone well for E1 Sports either. After parting ways with Lucas "Lenda" Diniz and Luiz "Kizi" Carlos, Arthur "Ar7hr" Arantes signed for LOS while Guilherme "Empttz" Goulart left for personal reasons. Instead, the team signed Guilherme "Bassetto" Bassetto and Vinícius "live" dos Santos.
w7m esports
The Bulls finished the Brazil League 2024 Stage 1 group stage in second place only behind FaZe Clan after six regulation wins, two overtime defeats, and one regulation loss. However, w7m esports missed out on Manchester following the team's defeats against E1 Sports and FURIA Esports in the playoffs. Eventually, Team Liquid knocked them out of the Last Chance Qualifiers.
However, w7m esports' best part of the campaign has been the off-season. After qualifying for the Esports World Cup, the Bulls reached the tournament's grand final and earned themselves US$350,000. Unfortunately for the Brazilians, Team BDS won the series after victories on Clubhouse, Consulate, and Oregon.
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Following victories over Team Liquid and Fluxo, Ninjas in Pyjamas began the stage with six points to their name within the first three matches. Nevertheless, the team's start was proven to be a mirage, and ended the group stage in ninth place with three victories and six defeats. Eventually, a 0-2 defeat against Black Dragons saw the Brazilians missing out on Manchester.
However, after the arrivals of Diogo "Fntzy" Lima and Gabriel "Hatez" Kobuszewski, who came to replace Murilo "Muzi" Moscatelli and Gustavo "Wizard" Gomes, we think fans should follow the ninjas closely during the second split. Although the team lost to FaZe Clan and Team Liquid in Brazil's Esports World Cup qualifiers, the game against the Six Invitational 2024 grand finalists saw both maps going to overtime. Meanwhile, Ninjas in Pyjamas won one map against the Blue Cavalry.
Additionally, Ninjas in Pyjamas ended the offseason with a second-place finish at the Super Copa do Brasil after defeating FaZe Clan in the Lower Bracket Final.
Fluxo
Fluxo's debut in Rainbow Six Siege's competitive scene didn't go as planned. The Brazilian powerhouse signed the organization-less roster led by the former FaZe Clan player Leonardo "Astro" Luis to join the region's top-flight. However, the team finished the group stage with a record of eight regulation and one overtime defeat. Plain and simple, they could only get one point out of a possible thirty.
Despite the team's underwhelming group stage, Fluxo's improvement was seen in Brazil's Last Chance Qualifiers for Manchester, as the team defeated Keyd Stars and Black Dragons to reach the grand final. There, the roster fell against Team Liquid.
At Brazil's Esports World Cup qualifiers, Fluxo was close to qualifying for Riyadh. Saudi Arabia. The team's 2-0 victory over Team Liquid was followed by a triple-overtime series against FaZe Clan that ended in a 1-2 defeat. Eventually, Fluxo's players were beaten by FURIA Esports in the Lower Bracket Final.
Considering Fluxo's most recent performances against the top teams in the region, it wouldn't be a massive upset if we saw the Brazilians being a real contender to qualify for the BLAST R6 Major Montreal.
Black Dragons
Black Dragons' performance in the group stage of the Brazil League 2024 Stage 1 gave the fans enormous hopes of seeing the team back to an international competition after finishing in third place, only behind FaZe Clan and w7m esports. However, the team's defeat against E1 Sports in the playoffs' quarterfinals and the loss against Fluxo in the Last Chance Qualifiers' semifinals meant that Black Dragons would miss out on Manchester.
Following the conclusion of the first international event of the year, G2 Esports approached the Brazilians to sign Roberto "Loira" Camargo. After accepting the move, the team signed the former Keyd Star player Victor "Hornetao" Lopes. With him in the squad, Black Dragons finished one match away from qualifying for the Esports World Cup and placed among the best six teams at the Super Copa do Brasil.
Keyd Stars
Although Keyd Stars qualified for the Brazil League 2024 Stage 1 playoffs, the purple roster was far from being a serious contender in the race to clinch a Manchester spot. After a sixth-place finish in the region's top-flight, the team was knocked out of the Last Chance Qualifier after a 0-2 defeat against Fluxo.
Ahead of the second split of the season, Keyd Stars added the former Team Secret player Luiz "Miracle" Abrantes and the former E1 Sports Academy player mr6otlaw.
MIBR
Two years after MIBR's last international appearance (August 2022, Gamers8) it's fair to say the organization is currently a middle-team roster. The MIBR that got back-to-back top-four Six Invitational finishes is long gone.
However, the team may have found what the roster needed in itzmaquina, who came to replace Diogo "Fntzy" Lima. With the team's new signing, MIBR finished among the best four sides at the Super Copa do Brasil, despite heavy defeats against FURIA Esports and FaZe Clan. It will be interesting to see how the team evolves during the upcoming weeks.
Prize pool and SI Points distribution
Here's how the prize pool and the Six Invitational Points will be distributed across the teams competing in the second stage of the Brazil League 2024.
- 1st: US$36,000 and 100 SI Points
- 2nd: US$25,100 and 95 SI Points
- 3rd: US$21,500 and 90 SI Points
- 4th: US$18,000 and 85 SI Points
- 5th: US$14,400 and 80 SI Points
- 6th: US$12,600 and 75 SI Points
- 7th: US$10,800 and 70 SI Points
- 8th: US$10,800 and 65 SI Points
- 9th to 10th: US$9,000