Sharks win PLG Grand Slam South America qualifier

Sharks have punched their ticket to the PLG Grand Slam after topping the South American qualifier with a 2-1 victory over DETONA.

Thirty-six teams from across South America took part in this single-elimination qualifier for the chance to represent the region in Abu Dhabi, which will host the first international event by PLG, with $100,000 on the line.

Perhaps the biggest upset of the qualifier happened in the Round of 16, in which Imperial could not make it past Isurus. There would be no Argentinian representation in the last-four stage of the tournament, though, as Nicolás "⁠Noktse⁠" Dávila's side were defeated in the quarter-finals by W7M.

Sharks, who recently returned from Lisbon to compete in ESL LA League and in the qualifiers for the Americas Minor, were the first team to reach the final after beating W7M 2-0 - the same scoreline by which DETONA defeated Wild.

Sharks qualify for event in Abu Dhabi

The qualifier took place at a time when DETONA star Vinicius "⁠vsm⁠" Moreira is being investigated by ESL for his alleged ownership of a Steam account with a VAC ban dating back five years. Unfazed by the news, the 19-year-old - widely regarded as one of the most promising talents in Brazil - fired his team to a clean 16-6 win on Inferno with a 2.42 rating.

Sharks rallied back on Train after overcoming an early five-round deficit. There was just one round separating the two sides at the end of the first half, but a strong Terrorist side display from Renato "⁠nak⁠" Nakano's men saw them lose just one gun round before running out 16-10 victors.

It all came down to Cache, which ended up being the most one-sided map of the three. Sharks limited the Terrorists to just three rounds in the first half, and even though DETONA found a lifeline by winning the second pistol, the reigning ESL LA League champions quickly regained control of proceedings to lock down the map at 16-5.

PLG Grand Slam 2018 South America Open QualifierBest of 3 DETONAMatchpage 1 2 28th October 2018 Sharks 16Inferno 6 10Train 16 5Cache 16

DETONA	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Vinicius 'vsm' Moreiravsm	56 - 48	+8	87.8	1.28
André 'tiburci0' Rossettotiburci0	48 - 41	+7	72.6	1.10
Matheus 'prt' Scuveroprt	49 - 51	-2	80.0	1.09
Wesley 'hardzao' Lopeshardzao	38 - 43	-5	60.3	0.96
Gustavo 'GUTO22' ArnoldiGUTO22	29 - 51	-22	52.9	0.75

Sharks	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Raphael 'exit' Lacerdaexit	56 - 38	+18	76.3	1.17
Rodrigo 'RCF' FigueiredoRCF	52 - 52	0	84.3	1.16
Jhonatan 'jnt' Silvajnt	46 - 40	+6	75.9	1.06
Renato 'nak' Nakanonak	36 - 43	-7	65.1	0.92
Leonardo 'leo_drk' Oliveiraleo_drk	44 - 47	-3	67.1	0.91

Sharks join G2 and HellRaisers on the team list for the PLG Grand Slam, which will be held from December 12-15. There are still six invites to be announced and seven qualifying spots up for grabs across multiple regions.

The team list for the event currently looks as follows:

G2
Sharks
Invite #4
Invite #6
Invite #8
GCC & South Asia Qual.
East Asia Qual.
SE Asia & India Qual. HellRaisers
Invite #3
Invite #5
Invite #7
North America Qual.
Europe Qual.
Oceania Qual.
Levant & Africa Qual. Vinicius 'vsm' Moreira Age: 19 Team: DETONA Rating 1.0: 1.23 Maps played: 61 KPR: 0.85 DPR: 0.66 Nicolás 'Noktse' Dávila Age: 25 Team: Isurus Rating 1.0: 1.02 Maps played: 319 KPR: 0.67 DPR: 0.63 Imperial #161 Caio 'zqkS' FonsecaGustavo 'SHOOWTiME' GonçalvesThiago 'tifa' FrançaDenis 'dzt' FischerBruno 'shz' Martinelli DETONA #180 Matheus 'prt' ScuveroGustavo 'GUTO22' ArnoldiAndré 'tiburci0' RossettoVinicius 'vsm' MoreiraWesley 'hardzao' Lopes W7M #115 Ramon 'RMN' ToledoLucas 'YJ' YujiRafael 'raafa' LimaLeon 'ryotzz' FelipeFillipe 'pancc' Martins G2 #16 Richard 'shox' PapillonKévin 'Ex6TenZ' DroolansKenny 'kennyS' SchrubEdouard 'SmithZz' DubourdeauxAlexandre 'bodyy' Pianaro Renato 'nak' Nakano Age: 31 Team: Sharks Rating 1.0: 0.96 Maps played: 262 KPR: 0.64 DPR: 0.66 Wild #105 Vinicios 'PKL' CoelhoLucas 'destiny' BulloPaulo 'land1n' FelipeAlef 'tatazin' PereiraDener 'KHTEX' Barchfield Isurus #89 Nicolás 'Noktse' DávilaRoberto 'reversive' ThemthamMatias 'tutehen' CanaleNabil 'nbl' AleuaGabriel '1962' Sinopoli Sharks #52 Renato 'nak' NakanoRaphael 'exit' LacerdaLeonardo 'leo_drk' OliveiraRodrigo 'RCF' FigueiredoJhonatan 'jnt' Silva HellRaisers #11 Kirill 'ANGE1' KarasiowVladyslav 'bondik' NechyporchukÖzgür 'woxic' EkerBence 'DeadFox' BöröczIssa 'ISSAA' Murad