Worlds 2021 Outlook Series | RED Canids (CBLoL) Preview

With Worlds 2021 on the horizon, the Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends’ RED Canids are one of 22 teams from across the globe that are gearing up for their biggest and most important event of the year. The 2021 League of Legends World Championship will feature each region’s best players, all fighting for the same goal: to stand atop the mountain and hoist the Season 11 Summoner’s Cup.

Representing Brazil, RED Canids will come to Reykjavík, Iceland looking to carry their CBLoL form into a tournament with much stiffer competition. The play-in stage that RED need to fight through includes teams like Cloud9 from the North American League Championship Series, Hanwha Life Esports of South Korea’s League Champions Korea and LNG Esports from China’s League Pro League.

RED Canids (CBLoL) Worlds 2021 starting roster breakdown

• Top: Guilherme “Guigo” Ruiz | Joined roster in 2018.
• Jungle: Gabriel “Aegis” Vinicius Saes de Lemos | Joined roster in 2019.
• Mid: Daniel “Grevthar” Xavier | Promoted from Academy in August 2021.
• Bot: Alexandre “TitaN” Lima dos Santos | Joined roster in 2019.
• Support: Gabriel “Jojo” Dzelme de Oliveira | Joined roster in November 2020, previously a member of Team oNe eSports.

How they got here

The Brazilian Worlds 2021 reps entered the year as one of the new additions in the CBLoL’s first year of franchised play. But just last year, RED Canids were fighting in the Challenger Circuit and ended up winning the BRCC 2020 Split 2 championship. 2021 marked the first year that RED Canids had been in Brazil’s premier League of Legends division since 2018. The team kept four of the five starters from last year’s Challenger Circuit roster and quickly made themselves known in the region. They went 12-6 during Split 1 of the CBLoL season, which was good enough for the third seed entering playoffs. After bowing out in the semifinals, RED Canids looked poised for another run in the summer split. However, things didn’t go so smoothly.

During Split 2, RED Canids struggled. Throughout the entire split, the team never peaked above fourth in the standings and hovered closer to .500 throughout the season. However, with the bottom four teams in the league posting poor records, RED Canids’ 10-8 record was good enough to squeak into the sixth and final spot in the Split 2 playoffs.

After failing to find their Split 1 footing, RED Canids gambled before the playoffs began. The team brought up Academy mid laner Daniel “Grevthar” Xavier, who had never started a game in the CBLoL, to replace long-standing team member Adriano “Avenger” Perassoli. To everyone’s surprise, the new-look RED Canids took down their Round 1 opponents, Flamengo Esports, in a 3-0 sweep.

In the semifinals against Vorax Liberty, RED Canids showed their quarterfinal match was no fluke. They once again outclassed their opponents, this time winning the series 3-1. Grevthar was the MVP of the fourth and most decisive game, finishing with a 9/1/4  KDA (kills/deaths/assists) scoreline on Irelia.

RED Canids met Rensga eSports in the final, a fellow former BRCC squad. Grevthar picked up two more Player of the Game awards in the 3-1 victory and led RED Canids to their second CBLoL title and their first-ever trip to Worlds.

Players to Watch

Grevthar is without a doubt the player to watch for RED Canids going into Worlds. In their 11 CBLoL games with Grevthar, RED Canids posted an impressive 9-2 record. Grevthar also had a 5.4 KDA, which topped all mid laners in the CBLoL Split 2 playoffs. The previously unknown prospect also showcased his deep champion pool by playing eight different champions throughout the tournament. CBLoL color caster Ryan “RandomMinionCaster” Teo highlighted Grevthar’s Kled as a surprising difference-maker.

“His Kled is vastly different from any of his other picks,” said RandomMinionCaster. “He will pressure the lane; he doesn’t care about killing you. He just wants you out of the lane, and then he will solo-invade your jungle. He doesn’t even need Aegis to come there.”

With Grevthar only recently debuting in the big leagues, we don’t know if what we saw in the CBLoL summer playoffs is what we’ll get, or if he still has more to show us. Either way, a player with only 11 games in his own region’s pro league is about to get an opportunity that many players spend their entire careers chasing: a chance to prove himself against world-class competition. For those reasons, Grevthar is a must-watch at Worlds 2021.

How RED Canids can succeed at Worlds 2021

We outlined it above, and it bears repeating: Grevthar is a big part of RED’s win condition. If the Brazilian squad’s mid laner can capitalize on his CBLoL momentum and play like the rising star he is, expect RED Canids to make a serious run for the group stage. That being said, the team’s success does not fall on Grevthar alone. The core group of RED Canids have shown that they have the synergy and camaraderie to overcome tough situations. The problem lies in their inexperience. None of the players on this team, aside from TitaN, have been to an international tournament. This is also where their mid laner having very little high-level experience could play a factor.

The one thing RED have going for them is the fact that they dismantled every team they played in the playoffs. The Mid-Season Invitational reps from Brazil, paiN Gaming, may not have been able to take games off of MAD Lions or PSG Talon, but they did 2-0 the Turkish representatives, fastPay Wildcats. If RED Canids can show they are in better form than paiN Gaming were, and it looks like they are, this team may have a shot at sneaking into the group stage.

This article is part of an ongoing preview series of all 22 teams competing at Worlds 2021. For our complete release schedule and more information on the other 21 teams attending Worlds, check out Upcomer’s Worlds 2021 Outlook Series hub.