Brazilian teams have long been criticized for poor fundamental play or lopsided stat distributions, but LOUD LOUD Brazil Rank #2 dgzin Douglas Silva v1nny Vínicius Gonçalves pANcada Bryan Luna tuyz Arthur Andrade cauanzin Cauan Pereira are looking to bring the complete package to Masters 1: Reykjavik.

The heralded superteam impressed Brazilian and international fans alike with an absolutely dominant performance in Stage 1 that showcased their unmatched firepower combined with some of the best teamplay in the region.

The roster was built around the core of the old Team Vikings lineup. Although they play support roles as initiator and in-game leader respectively, Gustavo "Sacy" Rossi and Matias "saadhak" Delipetro put up star player numbers while on their former squad.They became the most sought after duo in Brazil and were even reportedly fielding offers from top European organizations.

Sentinel player Felipe "Less" de Loyola Basso described Sacy as “a player with a lot of experience that is always focused and looking forward for the team,” and said saadhak is “a very good IGL that understands everyone's personalities and is able to understand how to work and have a good relationship with each one of us.” The LOUD roster has become renowned for its teamwork and player development under the tutelage of these veterans.

The roster was filled out with a variety of up and coming talents from the tier two scene in Brazil. Throughout 2021, Erick "aspas" Santos was regarded as the region's next rising talent where he earned the moniker “the final boss.” He made his name as a ranked demon and Reyna main, but transitioned into playing Jett and Raze as he grew into a more complete professional player on Slick. His star power brings a new dimension to the team that Vikings lacked.

Aspas is more than just another “mechanically good player” said Less. He is also “very fun to work with and he always makes the whole team laugh.”

Another critical piece was introduced with the addition of Bryan "pANcada" Luna. He toiled away on solid but unspectacular lineups such as B4 Esports during the early days of Valorant. Eventually he settled on the Stars Horizon lineup which forms the core of the current day Gamelanders Blue Gamelanders Blue Inactive . He forged a reputation as one of the most mechanically gifted controllers and holds his own against the stars of Brazil.

The ability of the supportive cast to be the best at their role has been essential for this roster's success so far. Every good team needs someone who can keep their cool under pressure, and pancada fits that bill, according to Less.

“[He's] a very solid player with a lot of knowledge on his role,” Less said. “He is able to help the team in our development while being very calm.”

The final piece of the puzzle was a relatively unknown young player named Less. He got his start playing with the core of the Jaguares Esports lineup and took maps off Furia and Vikings in Stage 3 last year. The addition of the 17-year-old sentinel player meant that saadhak would be moving onto the flex position.

LOUD team picture LOUD are focused on improvement as they face their first international test. (Photo from LOUD)

The announcement of the organization that this team was signing to was delayed, but the roster still swept through the open and closed qualifiers to qualify for the group stage of Brazil Challengers 1. After announcing that they had signed with a large Brazilian organization in LOUD, they swept through the group stage and playoffs to qualify for Masters 1: Reykjavik.

LOUD's dominance surprised even the most diehard fan. They won more than two rounds for every round they lost, and only improved on that statline as they faced tougher competition deeper into the tournament. All five players finished with a kills to deaths ratio in the top seven of the tournament. Back-to-back Bo5 sweeps over Ninjas In Pyjamas Ninjas In Pyjamas Inactive , as well as a sweep of Keyd Stars Keyd Stars Inactive , cemented LOUD as the best team in the region and the best team Brazil has ever seen.

Heading into Reykjavik, there are incredibly high expectations for this team. However, LOUD aren't worried about the pressure.

“[We're] learning and always focusing on our development as a team, focusing on our goal in the long term,” Less said. “In my vision we're not the favorites nor the underdog, our team works really hard focusing on our performance, the results just don't matter.”

“We know how to build our narrative about the event in question and deconstruct the ‘hype' related to the team, we also managed to transform all communication and interaction with the crowd into support instead of more pressure,” said LOUD's sport psychologist, Arthur.. “So the mood of the team tends not to vary according to the events and with the increase of pressure. We use breathing techniques to deal with unwanted levels of activation and work on communication to have an extremely fast adaptability.”

This isn't to say that LOUD won't appreciate the magnitude of this event. This is the first time aspas has faced international competition before, and he describes himself as very excited for the new experience of practicing against the best teams of each region.

Adapting to a new meta can be difficult. Brazil learned the hard way last year that bringing your own meta against the elite teams is an uphill battle. LOUD's coach Matheus "bzkA" Tarasconi sees a pattern among many teams that are “very good individually and try to compensate for the lack of knowledge with fire power.” He is hopeful that the region as a whole is “starting to learn how to play Valorant,” and believes “every international tournament we come back stronger”.

Speaking of bzkA, he was a late addition to the team after former KRÜ coach Rodrigo "Onur" Dalmagro was denied residence in Brazil due to vaccination policies. bzka was the coach of the old Vikings squad with Sacy and saadhak, and he described working with them as “definitely the main reason for me to stay as coach” instead of pursuing options as a player.

He helps individual players, particularly the younger ones, fix micro-decisions in their gameplay, and he contributes a little bit of everything including counter-stratting and developing the team culture outside the server.

LOUD received a bye round into the playoffs of Reykjavik due to NIP winning the LATAM/BR LCQ to acquire a second slot for Brazil at the event. While LOUD appreciate the extra time to prepare, they don't think the method is fair.

“It would be better that the winners from each region play against each other to have the best seed,” pancada said.

Alongside NIP, LOUD will be looking to redeem Brazil after the region had its guaranteed slots at Masters events reduced for 2022. While Brazil would certainly like more slots, saadhak can't argue with the decision.

“I think we as a region didn't demonstrate the full extent of our potential; we had close matches against Acend and Gambit but we didn't manage to get into the playoffs,” saadhak said. “As a result, I think it's fair that we have to dispute our slot with LATAM.”

Nevertheless, LOUD are guaranteed top eight in a double-elimination bracket and will await a random matchup out of the teams that make it out of the group stage. When asked for a team in the tournament that they would most like to play, aspas picked G2., “I think G2 is a very strong team, they're seed one from Europe. It would be a pleasure to play against them.”

LOUD are certainly more than just a collection of skilled players. They have an excellent supporting staff which includes their coach bzkA, their manager Loreviz, and their psychologist Arthur who all promote a healthy team environment that has already produced results.

They have demonstrated resilience and adaptability, and perhaps most importantly, they have the mentality necessary to take Brazil to heights the region has never reached before.