Image courtesy of DreamHack/Adela Sznajder
Luminosity Gaming roster:
Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo
Fernando “fer” Alvarenga
Marcelo “cold” David
Tacio “TACO” Filho
Lincoln “fnx” Lau
Recent Achievements:
2nd - Dreamhack Leipzig 2016
3rd-4th - StarLadder StarSeries XIV
2nd - Faceit 2015 Stage 3 Finals
Brief Overview:
The Brazilian roster behind Luminosity Gaming has undoubtedly been one of the greatest success stories of Counter-Strike in recent memory, not only overcoming limitations of their home country, but at the same time being to able to reach the top echelons of professional teams.
The majority of the Luminosity Gaming roster has been together since their signing by the organization since July, when the team replaced LG’s former North American line-up that they had started with. At the time, Luminosity still had Lucas “steel” Lopes and Ricardo “boltz” Prass and had already had made their move over to the United States, and were already enjoying considerable success in mid level tournaments, making the playoffs of both ESL One: Cologne 2015 and Dreamhack Open: Cluj-Napoca. The team wasn’t satisfied with those results however, and soon after dropped both boltz and steel in order to bring in fresh talent from Games Academy, Tacio “TACO” Filho and Lincoln “fnx” Lau. The move surprised many, as the team was by no means going downhill and the two new players seemed to be a step down from those that they had replaced. The suspicions seemed correct initially, with the team losing their first match with their new roster 0:16. Luminosity quickly rebounded however, coming in second at the FACEIT Stage 3 LAN finals, the same event where they had been crushed initially. The team continued their run into January, coming 3rd-4th at the StarLadder StarSeries XIV event and then 2nd and Dreamhack Leipzig 2016 at the end of the month.
Although with the addition of TACO and fnx LG seemingly downgrade in terms of raw skill, the two players contribute to what is arguably the greatest strength of the team, their tactical prowess. Under the leadership of Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo, one of the best in-game leaders in the current meta, Luminosity Gaming seem poised to replicate their strong showing at Leipzig and Cologne.
Fun facts:
- FalleN's Counter-Strike classes through Games Academy is one of main reasons behind CS:GO's popularity in Brazil.
- Luminosty Gaming have yet to lose a single map this month, taking four straight wins so far in the ESL Season 3 Pro League.
- Unlike other teams, de_train is one of LG's most played maps, for good reason; the team has an over 80% win rate on it.
Headline image courtesy of DreamHack/Sebastian Ekman
