Copa Elite Six Stage 3 preview: Everything you need to know

_{Banner image: Ubisoft / @KonkolMichal}

The Copa Elite Six is back, starting this weekend on Oct. 22 and continuing throughout the week until Oct. 30. The top four teams of Stage 3 from Brazil and the top two from South America and Mexico each will fight for a spot to compete at the Jönköping Major.

Here’s all you need to know about the tournament and the teams.

Format

The Copa Elite Six follows a double-elimination bracket format, where all games – including the Grand Final – are BO3. The top four teams at the end of the event will qualify for the Jönköping Major.

Bracket and schedule

Initially, the South American and Mexican teams will each play against a Brazilian roster.

• #1 Brasileirao vs #2 Sudamericano
• #2 Brasileirao vs #2 Mexicano
• #3 Brasileirao vs #1 Sudamericano
• #4 Brasileirao vs #1 Mexicano

The first two games in the bracket will kick off on Oct. 22, where w7m esports will face Malvinas Gaming and Black Dragons will play Six Karma. A day later, Team Liquid will play ALPHA Team, while FaZe Clan will play Pampas.

Teams

 w7m esports

The bulls are the only team to have qualified for all the Copa Elite Six played this year. Without any doubt, w7m esports have been the upset of the season, skyrocketing to the top of the league after the signings of two rookies in Joao "Jv92" Vitor and Gabriel "volpz" Fernandes.

Now, alongside Julio "JULIO" Giacomelli, the Brazilians are set to qualify for the third Six Major of the season, which will be played in Sweden.

 Team Liquid

After missing out on the Berlin Major and with Paulo “psk1” Augusto stepping down from the roster, Liquid signed Lorenzo “Lagonis” Volpi to get back on track. Despite a slow start to the stage, they eventually finished in second place just behind the regular season champions w7m esports.

Considering Team Liquid’s experience and consistency, especially in BO3 matches, seeing the roster missing out on the Jönköping Major is not a scenario that anyone will entertain seriously.

  FaZe Clan

FaZe Clan will fight this weekend in the Copa Elite Six Stage 3 to return to Sweden for a chance to win the Jönkoping Major. Sweden has been a successful hunting ground for FaZe, after winning the Sweden Major last year and finishing in third place at the Six Invitational 2022.

After losing to Rogue in the Berlin Major, there’s no doubt FaZe Clan are hungry for another piece of silverware. On top of that, they need a good performance at the Major to solidify their presence at the Six Invitational 2023.

 Black Dragons

Black Dragons are on the verge of qualifying for their first Six Major and second international Siege event since the Six Invitational 2018. Back then, Black Dragons’ roster was at the top of the region and was later signed by Ninjas in Pyjamas before it won SI 2021.

Curiously enough, Black Dragons were forced to travel to Sweden earlier this year after the issues with LATAM’s Six Invitational 2022 Closed Qualifier. However, MIBR defeated Black Dragons by 3-2 in the final game of the bracket and denied them a place at SI 2022.

 Six Karma

Six Karma have dominated this season after having only lost four games; three of them in overtime. The team’s only regulation loss of the season came in Stage 3 though, against OverKnight, but after already having secured a Copa Elite Six spot.

Six Karma’s dominance in Mexico is very visible in the individual standings, as four of their players have ended among the best six in the competition – with the top three being made by Six Karma’s players.

Saúl “Morphed” Torres, a highly-experienced player in the region, got the best SiegeGG Rating in the league at a 1.35. He was closely followed by Rodrígo “Rovi” Quiroz and Christopher “SkMzY” Espinosa.

  ALPHA Team

Despite ALPHA Team losing in maximum overtime to Team Cruelty on the final play day of the stage, SkullCracker’s 8-6 victory over Reven Esports wasn’t enough to see them feature the first set of European players in a Copa Elite Six instead.

ALPHA Team also played in the Stage 1 Copa Elite Six, but missed out on the second after Team Cruelty’s remarkable improvement throughout the second stage. But they now return to the Copa Elite Six stage, as they hope to cause an upset and qualify for the Jönköping Major.

  Pampas

Pampas were close to qualifying for the Charlotte Major after a narrow 2-1 loss to FURIA Esports. However, there was no repeat attempt in Stage 2 after they missed out on the Copa Elite Six entirely. Now, they also return to play in the regional qualifier after an unbeaten run in the Campeonato Sudamericano’s third stage.

Josías “Soco” Altamirano was the best player in the Sudamericano this stage, as he finished with a SiegeGG Rating of 1.40. 

Pampas’ roster includes the former Liga Six talent Gustavo “H4skk” Gabas, who finished with a SiegeGG Rating of 1.08 while largely playing Iana and Mute. 

  Malvinas Gaming

After being Copa Elite Six regulars last year, Malvinas Gaming are back after missing out on the past two editions. 

Malvinas Gaming’s roster has been taken over by Brazilians throughout the year, as the team has four members from the best sub-region in LATAM. Mattheus “KingSt4r” Filipe and Vitor “Kurtz” Monteiro are the team’s most dangerous threats, while Pedro “naka” Nakasone was the best support in the Campeonato Sudamericano this stage with 10 plants to his name and the second-highest SiegeGGRating of the competition.

All of the team’s Brazilian members have competed in Brazil’s Série B, the country’s Challenger League. While Kurtz and KingSt4r got to last year’s Série B Finals, naka’s only experience in Série B was in 2020 when Isurus finished in second place. Nevertheless, countless BR6 rosters have proven the quality of the Série B players and Malvinas could well be a threat.