Americas Minor Preview
With the Americas Minor set to kick off in less than 24 hours, we have prepared for you a preview of the eight attendees participating in the tournament held in London.
Six North American and two South American teams will go head-to-head with each other this week, from Saturday to Wednesday, at the Twickenham Stadium in London. The eight teams have been placed into two GSL-style groups, which will be played on Saturday and Sunday, while the double-elimination playoffs will follow from Monday to Wednesday.
| Group A | Group B |
 NRG |  Complexity |
| eUnited | Rogue |
 Não Tem Como | Dignitas |
| Swole Patrol | FURIA |
Looking at the teams attending the tournament, NRG are one of the favorites to secure a spot at the FACEIT Major, September, with the team having bloomed into form in the past three-months - both online and on LAN. Damian "daps" Steele's side are the highest-ranked team in attendance (7th), followed by Rogue (31st] and Complexity (32nd), two teams with a decent amount of experience with their respective line-ups.
Aside from the North Americans, two Brazilians teams - FURIA and Não Tem Como - are also strong contenders to reach the New Challengers stage, with Andrei "arT" Piovezan and his men on the rise since March, while Não Tem Como have been a roller coaster, attending this event on the back of group stage exits in Belo Horizonte and Miland.
In addition to the two spots in the FACEIT Major's New Challengers Stage, the teams will be vying for their share of a $50,000 prize pool.
| Ratings used are from the past three months on LAN * Indicates online rating |
Group A
| NRG (#7) | Age | Rating |
 Tsvetelin "CeRq" Dimitrov | 18 | 1.20 |
| Ethan "Ethan" Arnold | 18 | 1.19 |
| Vincent "Brehze" Cayonte | 20 | 1.16 |
| Jacob "FugLy" Medina | 23 | 1.07 |
 Damian "daps" Steele | 24 | 0.98 |
Offline placings in the last three months | |
| 3rd-4th | ECS Season 5 Finals |
| 2nd |  StarSeries i-League Season 5 |
NRG being the highest ranked team in the tournament means that the squad will have a target on their backs entering the fray. NRG have found success in the past three months and are a team on the rise since their last offline appearances at StarSeries i-League Season 5 and ECS Season 5 Finals, breaking into the top-ten of the world ranking for the first time.
NRG began the year on a rather slower note except for their online play; however, things have seemed more structured since the team brought Chet "Chet" Singh on board as coach, in late May.
Since then, NRG's biggest showing came in Ukraine, when the team took part in the StarSeries i-League Season 5 Finals. Despite the slow start to the tournament, daps and his men got right back into the mix as CeRq shined wielding the Big Green to help his squad reach the grand final.
Swept in the finals in Ukraine, the team then headed to London to take part in the ECS Season 5 Finals, where the team breezed through the group stage to secure a semi-final spot. In the end, they fell short of another grand final appearance after losing to fellow North American side Liquid.
The Minor comes at a pivotal moment for NRG, who sit in the best position the organisation has been since since venturing into the scene in 2016. Individual players have stepped up to push the team to newer heights, with CeRq not afraid to take responsibility. Looking at NRG's opponents, there should be no reason why the team wouldn't top Group A in London.
| eUnited (#44) | Age | Rating |
| Michael "dapr" Gulino | 19 | 1.09 |
| Kaleb "moose" Jayne | 20 | 1.08 |
| Brandon "Ace" Winn | 23 | 1.06 |
| Will "dazzLe" Loafman | 22 | 1.06 |
| Skyler "Relyks" Weaver | 23 | 1.02 |
Offline placings in the last three months | |
| 3rd-4th | ZOTAC Cup Masters Americas Regional Finals |
| 5th-6th | DreamHack Open Austin 2018 |
| 3rd-4th |  ESEA Season 27 Global Challenge |
eUnited got their first taste of offline action in March 2018, when the team participated in the ESEA Season 27 Global Challenge, where the squad managed to top their group before falling in the semi-finals. The first showing on LAN proved the team has some fire burning within and can compete with some of the region's best.
Shortly afterwards, the team made an appearance at DreamHack Open Austin, where the competition was at a higher level than at the previous event. Relyks and his men got off to a great start, but the team quickly deflated later in the group stage before being eliminated by Fragsters in a three-map series.
The young squad of eUnited have had little exposure in their offline adventures throughout 2018 - with their most recent offline showing being at the ZOTAC Cup Masters Americas Regional Finals. Moreover, the team is also fairly young, lacking the veteran experience needed to guide the team deeper into the playoffs at offline events. In order for this young group to reach the playoffs, eUnited must come out with fire in their bellies to pick up the opening matches in hopes of securing a spot in the playoffs.
| Não Tem Como (#42) | Age | Rating |
| João "felps" Vasconcellos | 21 | 1.22 |
| Vito "kNgV-" Giuseppe | 23 | 1.19 |
| Marcelo "chelo" Cespedes | 20 | 1.13 |
| Lincoln "fnx" Lau | 28 | 1.11 |
| Bruno "BIT" Fukuda Lima | 27 | 0.92 |
Offline placings in the last three months | |
| 5th-6th |  ZOTAC Cup Masters Europe Regional Finals |
| 7th-8th | ESL One Belo Horizonte 2018 |
Não Tem Como have been up and down throughout the last three months, with the nagging roster changes throwing a wedge into the team's potential consistency. Following the exit of twin brothers Henrique "HEN1" Teles and Lucas "LUCAS1" Teles, Não Tem Como quickly turned to kNgV- and chelo to fill the voids.
The first offline event with home-field advantage in Belo Horizonte came at a time NTC were ready to show the world what they had been working on; however, the team quickly flopped in the group stage, unable to secure a series win in the tournament. Back in Europe, they did not fare much better at the ZOTAC Cup Masters Europe Finals, where they placed 5th-6th, and then were overrun by Spirit in the open qualifier for DreamHack Masters Stockholm.
Despite the lacklustre results, the core members of the team are certainly capable of breaking out at any given moment to allow the team some room to make their mark in the playoffs. But based on what we have seen from them, it would be an overstatement to consider them a favourite for a top-two finish in London.
| Swole Patrol (#49) | Age | Rating |
| Austin "Cooper" Abadir | 24 | 1.12 |
| Jordan "Zellsis" Montemurro | 20 | 1.12 |
| Ryan "freakazoid" Abadir | 25 | 1.08 |
| Derrick "LILMAN" Boyne | 24 | 1.01 |
| Samuel "SileNt" Portillo | 23 | 0.99 |
Offline placings in the last three months | |
| 5th-6th | ZOTAC Cup Masters Americas Regionals Finals |
| 7th-8th | ESEA Season 27 Global Challenge |
Swole Patrol are not a household name in North America, but they have already made some appearances at large-scale offline tournaments in 2018, starting with the WESG World Finals, where they went out 0-3 in a group that included GODSENT in AGO. The team then travelled to Leicester, where they finished dead-last in the ESEA Season 27 Global Challenge and lost to ex-Splyce in the ESL Pro League relegation stage.
In an effort to improve their game, Swole Patrol replaced Ryan "ryann" Welsh with LILMAN, and the early signs were positive as they played out a close match against Sharks at the ZOTAC Cup Masters Americas Finals even if, in the end, they were unable to claim the victory.
Swole Patrol will need to be prepared before jumping into the mix as their history at offline events has been lacklustre. Unluckily for them, they have been placed in a very stacked group, so it looks like the most they can hope for in London is to cause an upset by taking a map off one of the big-name sides.
Group B
| Complexity (#32) | Age | Rating |
| Shahzeb "ShahZaM" Khan | 24 | 1.24 |
| Bradley "ANDROID" Fodor | 24 | 1.17 |
| Rory "dephh" Jackson | 26 | 1.15 |
| Jaccob "yay" Whiteaker | 19 | 1.12 |
| Peter "stanislaw" Jarguz | 24 | 1.06 |
Offline placings in the last three months | |
| 5th-6th | ZOTAC Cup Masters Americas Regional Finals |
| 5th-6th |  DreamHack Open Summer |
| 7th-8th | DreamHack Open Austin |
Complexity is another team that has been familiar with roster changes and inconsistency during the first half of the year. In late April, the team added stanislaw and ShahZaM to beef up their active roster, and results have been gradually been paying off for the squad as the year progresses. If there were a time for the team to break out, now would be it.
Since the lineup was completed with these two additions, the team has been unable to finish higher than 5th-6th on LAN. The first in this series of events was DreamHack Open Austin, where the team were unable to secure a win in their group, resulting in a last-place finish.
Then, Complexity got off to a great start at DreamHack Summer, securing a win in their opener; however, the team quickly spiralled downhill following a pair of series losses that resulted in another early exit.
With nearly ten days to prepare for their next event, ZOTAC Cup Masters America Finals, Complexity struggled against FURIA, who proved to be a tall order as stanislaw and co. flunked in the quarter-finals. The recent lacklustre performances have put the team in a mounting situation; to make the next stage or bust.
| Rogue (#31) | Age | Rating |
 Casper "cadiaN" Møller | 23 | 1.21 |
 Ricardo "Rickeh" Mulholland | 26 | 1.17 |
| Daniel "vice" Kim | 22 | 1.10 |
| Hunter "SicK" Mims | 19 | 1.09 |
| Spencer "Hiko" Martin | 28 | 1.02 |
Offline placings in the last three months | |
| 2nd | DreamHack Open Austin |
Rogue have had a rather slow start to the 2018 campaign, with only one offline event in the last three months, where they finished runner-ups at DreamHack Open Austin. Less than 24 hours before the start of the event in Texas, the team secured the services of Rickeh, which ended up being a quick turn around point for Hiko and his men. Rogue jumped out and quickly secured a playoff spot before taking a three-map series against Fragsters to reach the grand final, but the team crumbled in the title decider versus Space Soldiers.
Rogue's recent success has a lot of room to grow as the team is backed by veteran experience, with the likes of cadiaN, Hiko, and Rickeh being the team's core unit. Despite the lackluster results from mostly online qualifiers, Rogue can still compete and send teams home if not prepared, so keep an eye out for a quick start from Rogue.
| Dignitas (#55) | Age | Rating |
| Gage "Infinite" Green | 19 | 1.18 |
| Peter "ptr" Gurney | 28 | 1.17 |
| Ronnie "ryx" Bylicki | 25 | 1.13 |
| Mitch "mitch" Semago | 21 | 1.08 |
| Michael "Grim" Wince | 17 | 1.00 |
Offline placings in the last three months | |
| - |
Dignitas have seen better times than those they are currently in. The North Americans have yet to compete in an offline event this year, with a plethora of roster changes having consistently put the team behind. And while they finalized the roster in late May, the results have been hard to swallow.
With ptr, Infinite, and ryx now in the mix, the newly-formed roster raised eyebrows in the closed qualifier for the Minor, sweeping through TeamOne, Luminosity and Swole Patrol, but this is LAN we are talking about here. With zero offline experience so far this year, Dignitas will have a hard time to survive a group that includes teams who have seen plenty of LAN action in 2018.
| FURIA (#48) | Age | Rating |
| Yuri "yuurih" Santos | 18 | 1.33 |
| Kaike "KSCERATO" Cerato | 18 | 1.27 |
| Andrei "arT" Piovezan | 22 | 1.22 |
| Vinicius "VINI" Figueiredo | 19 | 1.14 |
| Guilherme "spacca" Spacca | 28 | 0.98 |
Offline placings in the last three months | |
| 2nd | ZOTAC Cup Masters Americas Regional Finals |
FURIA have been silently climbing the ranks in recent months after coming out on top of several qualifiers, including the one for the ZOTAC Cup Masters Americas Regional Finals. Andrei "arT" Piovezan and his men also claimed several domestic titles at the beginning of the year, making for a very successful first half of 2018.
FURIA's recent run at the Americas Regionals Finals saw the team advance from the quarter-finals to the title decider, in which they came up short against Ghost. Led by veteran spacca, the Brazilians are riding the wave after the strong showing in California, and they will be looking to claim more scalps in London as they try to establish themselves as the next big team to emerge out of South America.
Ryan 'freakazoid' Abadir 
Age: 25 Team: Swole Patrol Rating 1.0: 0.99 Maps played: 572 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.70 
FURIA #48 Guilherme 'spacca' SpaccaAndrei 'arT' PiovezanYuri 'yuurih' SantosVinicius 'VINI' FigueiredoKaike 'KSCERATO' Cerato 
Shahzeb 'ShahZaM' Khan 
Age: 24 Team: Complexity Rating 1.0: 1.10 Maps played: 730 KPR: 0.75 DPR: 0.66 
Peter 'ptr' Gurney 
Age: 28 Team: Dignitas Rating 1.0: 1.07 Maps played: 662 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.62 
João 'felps' Vasconcellos 
Age: 21 Team: Não Tem Como Rating 1.0: 1.06 Maps played: 556 KPR: 0.76 DPR: 0.71 Jordan 'Zellsis' Montemurro 
Age: 20 Team: No team Rating 1.0: 1.06 Maps played: 262 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.69 Yuri 'yuurih' Santos 
Age: 18 Team: FURIA Rating 1.0: 1.17 Maps played: 222 KPR: 0.80 DPR: 0.65 Michael 'Grim' Wince 
Age: 17 Team: Dignitas Rating 1.0: 1.06 Maps played: 178 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.70 Derrick 'LILMAN' Boyne 
Age: 24 Team: Swole Patrol Rating 1.0: 0.96 Maps played: 222 KPR: 0.66 DPR: 0.70 Kaike 'KSCERATO' Cerato 
Age: 18 Team: FURIA Rating 1.0: 1.21 Maps played: 130 KPR: 0.78 DPR: 0.57 Vinicius 'VINI' Figueiredo 
Age: 19 Team: FURIA Rating 1.0: 1.07 Maps played: 203 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.66 Gage 'Infinite' Green 
Age: 19 Team: Dignitas Rating 1.0: 1.13 Maps played: 149 KPR: 0.76 DPR: 0.66 
Casper 'cadiaN' Møller 
Age: 23 Team: Rogue Rating 1.0: 1.06 Maps played: 747 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.66 Austin 'Cooper' Abadir 
Age: 24 Team: Swole Patrol Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 206 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.65 Não Tem Como #42 Bruno 'BIT' Fukuda LimaLincoln 'fnx' LauVito 'kNgV-' GiuseppeJoão 'felps' VasconcellosMarcelo 'chelo' Cespedes Ricardo 'Rickeh' Mulholland 
Age: 26 Team: Rogue Rating 1.0: 1.06 Maps played: 430 KPR: 0.71 DPR: 0.63 Guilherme 'spacca' Spacca 
Age: 28 Team: FURIA Rating 1.0: 0.98 Maps played: 268 KPR: 0.63 DPR: 0.61 Hunter 'SicK' Mims 
Age: 19 Team: Rogue Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 596 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.68 
Space Soldiers #18 Engin 'MAJ3R' KüpeliIsmailcan 'XANTARES' DörtkardeşBuğra 'Calyx' ArkınAhmet 'paz' KarahocaEngin 'ngiN' Kor Bruno 'BIT' Fukuda Lima 
Age: 27 Team: Não Tem Como Rating 1.0: 1.01 Maps played: 247 KPR: 0.68 DPR: 0.66 Daniel 'vice' Kim 
Age: 22 Team: Rogue Rating 1.0: 1.01 Maps played: 344 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.67 
Sharks #69 Renato 'nak' NakanoRaphael 'exit' LacerdaLeonardo 'leo_drk' OliveiraRodrigo 'RCF' FigueiredoJhonatan 'jnt' Silva Lincoln 'fnx' Lau 
Age: 28 Team: Não Tem Como Rating 1.0: 1.07 Maps played: 476 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.65 
Fragsters #33 Lucas 'Bubzkji' AndersenIsmail 'refrezh' AliJacob 'dragonfly' LundNicolai 'torben' AmorimMartin 'stavn' Lund 
Ethan 'Ethan' Arnold 
Age: 18 Team: NRG Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 447 KPR: 0.75 DPR: 0.68 Samuel 'SileNt' Portillo 
Age: 23 Team: Swole Patrol Rating 1.0: 0.95 Maps played: 521 KPR: 0.67 DPR: 0.71 Vincent 'Brehze' Cayonte 
Age: 20 Team: NRG Rating 1.0: 1.10 Maps played: 501 KPR: 0.77 DPR: 0.69 Complexity #32 Shahzeb 'ShahZaM' KhanRory 'dephh' JacksonPeter 'stanislaw' JarguzJaccob 'yay' WhiteakerBradley 'ANDROID' Fodor 
Ghost #34 Joshua 'steel' NissanKenneth 'koosta' SuenMatt 'Pollo' WilsonYassine 'Subroza' TaoufikMatthew 'WARDELL' Yu 
Ryan 'ryann' Welsh 
Age: 17 Team: Gorilla Gang Rating 1.0: 1.01 Maps played: 241 KPR: 0.71 DPR: 0.71 
Will 'dazzLe' Loafman 
Age: 22 Team: eUnited Rating 1.0: 1.03 Maps played: 349 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.71 Peter 'stanislaw' Jarguz 
Age: 24 Team: Complexity Rating 1.0: 0.99 Maps played: 719 KPR: 0.67 DPR: 0.66 Dignitas #55 Peter 'ptr' GurneyRonnie 'ryx' BylickiMitch 'mitch' SemagoMichael 'Grim' WinceGage 'Infinite' Green Jaccob 'yay' Whiteaker 
Age: 19 Team: Complexity Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 348 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.72 Rory 'dephh' Jackson 
Age: 26 Team: Complexity Rating 1.0: 1.02 Maps played: 543 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.73 Michael 'dapr' Gulino 
Age: 19 Team: eUnited Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 259 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.66 Skyler 'Relyks' Weaver 
Age: 23 Team: eUnited Rating 1.0: 1.02 Maps played: 528 KPR: 0.71 DPR: 0.69 Marcelo 'chelo' Cespedes 
Age: 20 Team: Não Tem Como Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 319 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.67 Damian 'daps' Steele 
Age: 24 Team: NRG Rating 1.0: 0.89 Maps played: 641 KPR: 0.60 DPR: 0.67 Swole Patrol #49 Ryan 'freakazoid' AbadirSamuel 'SileNt' PortilloDerrick 'LILMAN' BoyneJordan 'Zellsis' MontemurroAustin 'Cooper' Abadir Jacob 'FugLy' Medina 
Age: 23 Team: NRG Rating 1.0: 1.02 Maps played: 787 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.65 Ronnie 'ryx' Bylicki 
Age: 25 Team: Dignitas Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 469 KPR: 0.76 DPR: 0.67 Bradley 'ANDROID' Fodor 
Age: 24 Team: Complexity Rating 1.0: 1.04 Maps played: 553 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.67 Tsvetelin 'CeRq' Dimitrov 
Age: 18 Team: NRG Rating 1.0: 1.17 Maps played: 529 KPR: 0.79 DPR: 0.63 Spencer 'Hiko' Martin 
Age: 28 Team: Rogue Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 807 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.62 Brandon 'Ace' Winn 
Age: 23 Team: eUnited Rating 1.0: 1.03 Maps played: 347 KPR: 0.67 DPR: 0.62 
Spirit #30 Vadim 'DavCost' VasilyevDmitriy 'Dimaoneshot' BandurkaDmitry 'S0tF1k' ForostyankoPavel 'COLDYY1' VeklenkoViktor 'sdy' Orudzhev 
Luminosity #51 Henrique 'HEN1' TelesLucas 'LUCAS1' TelesLucas 'steel' LopesGabriel 'NEKIZ' SchenatoGustavo 'yel' Knittel 
TeamOne #53 Pedro 'Maluk3' CamposJean-Michel 'mch' D'Oliveira
Nicolas 'NikoM' MiozziVictor 'iDk' TorracaAlencar 'trk' Rossato Mitch 'mitch' Semago 
Age: 21 Team: Dignitas Rating 1.0: 1.00 Maps played: 438 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.67 Vito 'kNgV-' Giuseppe 
Age: 25 Team: Não Tem Como Rating 1.0: 1.18 Maps played: 286 KPR: 0.81 DPR: 0.65 Andrei 'arT' Piovezan 
Age: 22 Team: FURIA Rating 1.0: 1.11 Maps played: 207 KPR: 0.77 DPR: 0.68 Rogue #31 Spencer 'Hiko' MartinCasper 'cadiaN' MøllerRicardo 'Rickeh' MulhollandHunter 'SicK' MimsDaniel 'vice' Kim Kaleb 'moose' Jayne 
Age: 20 Team: eUnited Rating 1.0: 1.12 Maps played: 363 KPR: 0.77 DPR: 0.65 
Liquid #4 Nick 'nitr0' CannellaKeith 'NAF' MarkovicJonathan 'EliGE' JablonowskiEpitacio 'TACO' de MeloRussel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken eUnited #44 Skyler 'Relyks' WeaverWill 'dazzLe' LoafmanMichael 'dapr' GulinoKaleb 'moose' JayneBrandon 'Ace' Winn Henrique 'HEN1' Teles 
Age: 22 Team: Luminosity Rating 1.0: 1.14 Maps played: 537 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.57 Chet 'Chet' Singh 
Age: 21 Team: NRGC Lucas 'LUCAS1' Teles 
Age: 22 Team: Luminosity Rating 1.0: 1.00 Maps played: 534 KPR: 0.68 DPR: 0.66 NRG #7 Damian 'daps' SteeleJacob 'FugLy' MedinaVincent 'Brehze' CayonteEthan 'Ethan' ArnoldTsvetelin 'CeRq' Dimitrov