ESL Belo Horizonte: Feel the Brazilian heat this summer

As Starseries i-League Season 5 kicks off in Kiev, some CS:GO fanatics are probably worried about what their summer will be like post-Counter Strike. I mean, what would you do, go outside and play? Please! Everyone knows that the state of the art High-Res graphics don’t make up for a terrible story mode. Thankfully, reclusive CS:GO enthusiasts won’t need to melt under the sun this summer, at least, not literally.

Apply your suntan lotion and download the DuoLingo Portuguese app, because this june, ESL One Belo Horizonte 2018 will blow the Brazilian heat right through your screen. 8 of the World’s biggest names in CS:GO will converge on this South American mountain town between the 13th and 17th of June, but only one will leave victorious.

Space Soldiers and BIG, who both won European Qualifiers will be joined by the South American Qualifier, and hometown heroes, Não Tem Como. FaZe Clan, Team Liquid, mousesports and SK Gaming have also accepted invitations to attend.

The all-Brazilian Não Tem Como team which had recently been reformed with members mostly consisting of ex-100 Thieves players, has already shown promise. After coming in first at the aforementioned Belo Horizonte 2018 South American Qualifier, they repeated this feat by topping the rankings for the Americas Minor Championship - London 2018 SA Open Qualifiers this month. They will definitely be worth keeping an eye on this summer.

As per usual, the format will consist of two stages: The Group stage and Playoffs. Teams will be assigned to one of 2 groups of 4 teams each based on their ESL CS:GO World Rankings. The Double elimination style games will cut the roster by half, sending only the top 2 teams of each group to the playoff stage.

The 4 surviving teams will face off in 2 semi-final games (Bo3), and a Grand Final Bo5 game. The winner will not only get bragging rights, but will also take home a $200 000 prize. Money which that can then be spent on fancier gaming chairs, nicer hats, and brazilian waxing sessions for the team.