LEVIATÁN put their Champions hopes in new hands for Stage 2

LEVIATÁN LEVIATÁN North America Rank #11 tex Ian Botsch Okeanos Anthony Nguyen Sato Eduardo Kenzo Nagahama Sato kiNgg Francisco Aravena C0M Corbin Lee has quickly evolved from a potential superteam contending for regional titles to a unique roster featuring both experienced, championship-level talent and high-potential rookies. Not only that, but the team also underwent some coaching changes, with assistant coach Desmo assuming the head coach role for the first time since mid-2023.

The roster turnover was significant, but even in their loss against LOUD to start VCT Americas 2025 Stage 2, the potential is there for LEV to return to regional glory.

“We're working every day towards that goal of being a good team at Paris,” Desmo said. “We're looking at Stage 2 as that springboard to not only get to Champs, but to be good at Champs.”

On paper, the roster in Stage 1 had two Championship-winning teammates reconnecting with Demon1 and C0M , the fragging IGL kiNgg , and Rossy and tex to solidify the roster. However, as the roster started slow, the team failed to improve to make it to the Stage 1 playoffs and Masters Toronto. Demon1 and Rossy both moved to the inactive roster, but that opened the opportunity for two star players from tier two to join the team for Stage 2 onward.

The new LEV roster for VCT Americas 2025 Stage 2.

Former M80 players okeanos and Sato joined the roster, and they had to fit into the roster relatively quickly if LEV wanted to make it to Paris. Thankfully, viewers wouldn't have to wait too long to see what the retooled roster would look like, as the Tixinha & Sacy Invitational tournament featured four VCT Americas teams, including LEV, FURIA FURIA Brazil Rank #35 heat Olavo Marcelo basic Luis Henrique Ferlin Tessaro Palla Davi Alcides adverso Benjamín Poblete stand-in Urango Victor Rodrigues tuyz Arthur Andrade , 2Game Esports 2Game Esports Brazil Rank #10 gobera Vitor Gobo lz Luiz Reche spike Rodrigo Lombardi silentzz Caio Morita pryze Luis-Henrique Viveiros , and KRÜ Esports KRÜ Esports Latin America South Rank #2 keznit Angelo Mori Dantedeu5 Jesús Federico Larrosa Mazino Roberto Rivas Shyy Fabian Usnayo Melser Marco Eliot Machuca Amaro . Not only was this the debut of Okeanos and Sato for LEV, but it was the start of head coach Desmo's tenure, and it was an ideal beginning.

“I was head coach during the Tixinha & Sacy Invitational, and worked in that role since the end of May,” Desmo said. “It felt nice to get some wins, even though it was an off-season tournament. It was good to get that experience, allowing the players to learn more about themselves. The goal was to learn how to adapt, and it was successful and fun.”

Despite only winning one game in their three group stage games, the team improved in the playoff stage to sweep FURIA and win a close five-map series 3-2 over KRÜ. Learning to adapt was key to that win, as both okeanos and Sato played four different agents in five maps. Sato rotated through the Duelist pool, playing four of the eight Duelists available in the game well, as okeanos tested out three Controllers as well as the Sentinel Deadlock. It was on that Sentinel that LEVIATÁN won Ascent, the final map of the series, to get a win on top of some needed teambuilding.

Both players have shown their potential in their games with the team so far, with Sato needing to fill the shoes of some big players who had that position in LEV. Sometimes replacing a role with a rookie is easy, but not when the last two Duelists your team had were Demon1 and aspas. Even for okeanos, he has to fit into a team and gel with them instantly, as almost any Controller or flex player has to do.

Their first VCT performance against LOUD LOUD Brazil Rank #8 lukxo Lucca Travaioli Virtyy Leandro Moreno RobbieBk Robbie Boerkamp pANcada Bryan Luna cauanzin Cauan Pereira proved that they can handle tier-one competition, and they will need to use the time they have left to get used to all the factors of tier-one play.

“They both have great ceilings, and they both told me that while they didn't enter the series nervously, the pressure from LOUD did affect them,” Desmo said. “I just think they need that stage experience to deal with that quickly. “

The biggest issue in that series was the aggression LOUD brought, as they were able to cause some panic when they pressed on both attack and defense. If LOUD were bringing those issues to the forefront, Desmo could only imagine what aspas and MIBR MIBR Brazil Rank #3 artzin Arthur Araujo xenom Eduardo Soeiro cortezia Gabriel Cortez Verno Andrew Maust aspas Erick Santos could do when LEV matches up against them. LEV need to learn fast if they want that trip to Paris, as that first loss put them in a position where they need to win most of their matches to even make it to Stage 2 playoffs.

Sato puts up great stats on Yoru to begin his VCT career. (Image via LEVIATÁN)

There were plenty of positives exiting the loss against LOUD, moments that showed off how talented these two new players were. Sato had a dominant Yoru performance on map one, and the strong defense half from okeanos on Icebox nearly brought map three to overtime, if it wasn't for an amazing performance from pANcada . The LEV rookies nearly saved the day on their VCT debut, but it was the LOUD rookies who won their debut as well. Now, LEV needs to get in form and use the pressure their next opponents bring to their advantage.

“Our practices have been good, but we just need to be able to convert that on stage,” Desmo said. “These rookies are smart; they can see how the veterans play and learn from it.”