CS:GO is full of great players and great teams. Among them, the Brazilian ones occupy a very special place, even though it’s been a while since a team from Brazil managed to win a Major or at least an S-tier tournament.
Back in 2016 – 2017, many Brazilian fans used to watch SK Gaming and bet bitcoin on CS:GO matches played by them. Nowadays, they mostly watch FURIA Esports, but they’re about to start cheering for another squad as well.
00 Nation is a newly created Brazilian team that features two of the most famous and most accomplished players in the country: Marcelo “coldzera” David and Epitacio “TACO” de Melo. With these superstars, 00 Nation will attempt to do the impossible and break into the top 10 CS:GO rosters in the world.
00 Nation’s Roster
00 Nation’s roster is a mixture of high-caliber players and pure talent. The age difference is considerable. TACO and coldzera are both 27, while the other 3 players are 8 – 10 years younger. We’ve already seen this type of mix working wonders in the case of Astralis, Natus Vincere, and other world-class competitors.
Highly accomplished veterans bring a high level of experience and confidence to a roster, while youngsters keep everyone highly motivated to train non-stop, thanks to their high energy and single-minded motivation. When you’re 17 and you’ve received the opportunity to play in TACO’s team, you’re living the dream.
At the highest levels of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, players make a lot of money and Brazil is far from being a rich country. Because of this, 00 Nation’s roster has a high chance of succeeding. Let’s take a look at the team’s MVPs and then at the 3 youngsters.
MVPs
TACO and coldzera used to play together for Luminosity Gaming, SK Gaming, and then MIBR back in 2016 – 2019. Both of them won several Majors and S-tier events, such as MLG Columbus and ESL One Cologne 2016.
On top of that, their list of achievements includes numerous other trophies and it’s safe to say that both players have become millionaires thanks to their CS:GO achievements.
In coldzera’s case, the list of teams for which he competed is quite impressive: Luminosity Gaming, SK Gaming, MIBR, FaZe Clan, and Complexity. In 2016 and 2017, he won the Player of the Year Award. Needless to say, this man has rubbed shoulders with the greatest and used to be himself the greatest in the world.
There’s nothing that Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev has done and coldzera hasn’t done as well. But in coldzera’s case, his peak form only lasted for 3 seasons. That doesn’t mean he can’t get back to it though. And at the age of 27, he still has around 5 years left to go before he retires.
TACO has never been included in the top 20 CS:GO players of the year, but his achievements are very impressive. Furthermore, this player has demonstrated that he can adapt to foreign teams and excel.
After leaving SK Gaming in 2018, TACO joined Team Liquid, where he spent almost 9 months. During this time, he played in numerous Grand Finals and was very successful. On top of that, he also demonstrated great resilience in the face of professional and personal adversity.
During his stay at Team Liquid, the squad lost many Grand Finals but TACO never lost the will to train hard and try again. And when he had family issues, he continued to do the same. This means that he can and most likely will persist until 00 Nation becomes a great team.
Youngsters
00 Nation’s 3 youngsters are 17, 18, and 19. These players have nothing else to do except play CS:GO all day and learn from two of the world’s best players. If they do their job, this team has a bright future.
The first of the 3 is Santino “felt” Rigal. He is from Argentina and he’s the team’s AWPer. Before joining 00 Nation, he used to play for 9z Team and got some very impressive results for a team of that caliber, which is probably why he got invited to join the Brazilian squad.
The second player is Eduardo “dumau” Wolkmer, an 18-year-old who used to play for GODSENT. Again, the same pattern can be observed. His results were great and his individual performance was excellent. So TACO probably had an easy decision to make.
The third player, Bruno “latto” Rebelatto, is the oldest of the 3 and he too is a former GODSENT member. If he’s as eager to win as the rest of the team, 00 Nation’s chances of getting important results this year are definitely high.
00 Nation’s Results
00 Nation have not yet managed to find their success formula. But they did participate in some of the world’s best CS:GO events this year and they did reasonably well.
At ESL Challenger DreamHack Valencia, 00 Nation finished 5th – 6th after losing to Sprout in the Decider Match. But they won against FURIA Esports at the same event, proving that they can be the strongest team in Brazil.
At IEM Cologne, 00 Nation successfully qualified for the group stage after defeating Astralis and Imperial in the play-in stage. Unfortunately for them, in the second stage of the tournament they encountered FaZe Clan, currently ranked 2nd, and then Team Liquid, who ended up finishing 5th – 6th. But they did not lose without a fight.
00 Nation has all the ingredients for success. It’s now most likely just a matter of time until the team gets a deep run at an S-tier or A-tier tournament. Sooner or later, in 2022, the Brazilians will prove what they’re capable of. And we shouldn’t doubt them until they do.
If you’d like to get better at CS:GO or learn how to rank up faster, watching 00 Nation compete will help a lot. This team has formidable players that you can learn from and their vods are basically free tutorials.