they looked really weak last year
so did NRG C9 and EG buddy. they placed almost the exact same spot as the BR teams and some people also put them high on power rankings today
teams have changed a lot, it is not fair to take last season as a definitive factor because it's not the same teams at all.
almost all the na teams making upgrades in firepower
so did most of the brazilian ones, and the ones who didn't (LOUD) got better on team synergy and organization
of course there's bias, but i see a lot more bias on NA fans. just see how many people seriously believe in EG.
why the brazilian teams are looking good
MIBR: They got fucking aspas, and probably nzr is coming too. Artzin is probably staying and had a good season, was the best on the team. Xenom and Cortezia are two good prospects from tier 2. The team also has a pretty good coach. Conceptually is almost the same as NRG: Two promising rookies, an IGL that could be great, an world champion, and a player who deserved a better team last season (Artzin/S0m). The difference is that NRG has more popular and experienced names overall, which is fair to rank them higher. But they're not too far from each other name by name.
FURIA: Havoc went to his original role and is comfortable again, Mwzera is a pretty good initiator, Heat is a great addition, Raafa is a great IGL, and Khalil might be the weak link but he could finally reach his full potential as we've seen a few times. On top of that they got a pretty good coach. People who say this will be the worst team of the league are the ones biased that haven't bothered to actually look at this team and think for more than five seconds. This team was 3-2 on Split 2 and got better in almost every way, they will at the very least fight for playoffs.
2G: This one might be a wildcard and biased, as they haven't played tier 1 yet. But they looked very good on ascension, mix fresh talents with experienced leadership, got a good temporary sub for spike, and have a lot of synergy. It's not crazy to think it might work out.
LOUD: It's the worse, but people are overreacting to the changes. The team has a lot of firepower, and the core Dgzin - Cauanzin - Tuyz - Pancada is very strong on paper. The only downside is V1nny, that could drag it down, but if he does well, why wouldn't this team go well?