The LATAM/BR Last Chance Qualifier pitted Ninjas In Pyjamas Ninjas In Pyjamas Inactive against Leviatán Leviatán Latin America South Rank #1 tex Ian Botsch kiNgg Francisco Aravena Mazino Roberto Rivas aspas Erick Santos C0M Corbin Lee in a battle for the twelfth and final spot at Masters 1: Reykjavik. In a 3-0 sweep, NIP became the second Brazilian representative at Reykjavik, leaving Leviatán one match away from qualification yet again.

NIP vs. Leviatán (3-0 NIP)

The format for the VCT circuit in 2022 included a single guaranteed slot at Masters events for both the Brazilian and Latin American regions. The BR and LATAM tournaments concluded in the previous week with LOUD LOUD Brazil Rank #1 Quick Gabriel Lima saadhak Matias Delipetro Less Felipe de Loyola tuyz Arthur Andrade cauanzin Cauan Pereira and KRÜ Esports KRÜ Esports Latin America South Rank #3 keznit Angelo Mori Klaus Nicolas Ferrari Shyy Fabian Usnayo Melser Marco Eliot Machuca Amaro heat Olavo Marcelo triumphing over NIP and Leviatán respectively to qualify for Reykjavik. A new feature of the 2022 circuit was the last chance qualifier which brought the second place BR and LATAM teams to a LAN event in Mexico to battle for the last slot at Reykjavik.

Leviatán had been the long-standing second fiddle in LATAM. Their loss to KRÜ in the finals of LATAM Stage 1 marked the third straight event where a single victory separated them from qualification to the international stage. During Stage 1, they even managed to win four out of nine maps against KRÜ but were unable to clear the final hurdle.

Unlike Leviatán, NIP were a relatively new team. The Swedish organization built a Brazilian roster for Stage 1 and qualified for the group stage. They proved themselves as a top contender by taking the top seed in their extremely competitive group, but they fell short against LOUD in the playoffs.

Icebox was unexpectedly left in the map pool by Leviatán despite it being their permaban and NIP's best map. NIP predictably picked it first although Leviatán were able to get their best map, Haven, picked second. Split, Bind, and Ascent were the final three maps although the latter two were not played.

The first round of Icebox started with a bang as Tacolilla pulled off a 1v3 ace clutch in the pistol. The attacking side of Icebox was NIP's playground during the group stage in Brazil, but they struggled to find any space against a stifling Leviatán defense that did an excellent job retreating from aggression to set up coordinated retakes. A huge vaiZ clutch in the seventh round extended the score to 6-1, but NIP finally found their rhythm, winning five in a row.

The individual skill of NIP came alive in the second half leading to big multikills wherever Leviatán tried to push. They capped off a flawless half with a flawless round to take the map 13-6. It took a cumulative team effort by NIP to turn the map around after their slow start, and all of their players finished with more kills than deaths.

An almost identical story played out on Haven. Leviatán got out to an early 5-2 lead by winning the pistol and setting up coordinated retakes, but NIP pulled the game back to a tied halftime score. Once again, NIP lit up the scoreboard in the second half to pull away 13-6.

Both Seraph and Melser led their respective teams in kills on the Omen, but Leviatán were unable to get the rest of their team online.

Facing elimination, Leviatán needed to start their comeback on Split. They won their third straight opening pistol, but NIP defied the pattern by taking a first half 7-2 lead. Split has strong defensive positions that are more entrenched on site, so Leviatán were not abandoning site to set up four or five man retakes. Tacolilla started to win a number of opening duels with the Operator which helped Leviatán salvage five rounds in the half.

Leviatán finally won their first attacking pistol of the series and engaged in a back and forth battle which saw the game tied at seven, eight, ten, eleven, and twelve rounds apiece. However, their efforts were for naught as NIP closed the map in overtime 14-12. In-game leader and star duelist xand flexed to Raze to allow Jonn to play the Jett, and they led the server with 46 combined kills.

Leviatán have now been eliminated from Stage 1 after falling short in back to back qualification matches. They had some chances to control the outcome in all three maps but were unable to keep pace with NIP when the Brazilians found their rhythm. Leviatán will now have to wait for Masters 2 to chase their elusive international appearance.

NIP will round out the 12 teams attending Masters 1: Reykjavik. Three of their players are new to the international stage, but this is the second time xand has qualified through last chance qualifiers after making it to Champions in a similar fashion with FURIA, and bnj participated in Reykjavik last year with KRÜ. Their win also secures the top Brazilian team LOUD a bye to the playoffs and ensures KRÜ will have to play through the group stage.

Looking Ahead

The group stage of Masters 1: Reykjavik starts on April 10. The seedings and exact schedule have not been announced yet.