Siege’s Leviatán finally awake, Cruelty leads in Campeonato Mexicano

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While all eyes are put on Brazil and the beginning of this year’s Brasileirão, there’s more action in LATAM. South America’s Siege 2022 season kicked off on Tuesday, with Mexico’s starting on Saturday. 

Leviatán upsets both Malvinas and Furious Gaming

Since the creation of South America’s very own professional league, the regional competition has always had one, maximum two horses that were much above the rest. 

Last year’s Campeonato Sudamericano was a two-roster contest between Malvinas Gaming and 9z Team, with Furious Gaming being close but always behind. After three stages played, South America’s top three had only lost six matches against the “other five”. 

Following 9z Team’s departure from the scene, viewership expected Furious Gaming to join Malvinas Gaming as obvious title candidates. Malvinas Gaming went for the old reliable formula and picked up three Brazilian players including former Black Dragons and Ninjas in Pyjamas professional Pedro “pzd” Dutra, while Furious Gaming signed regional talents Federico “Pechito” Miller and Richard “blk” Rodríguez. 

Such moves led us to think about another two-horse race for the championship, but nothing could be further from the truth. 

Against all the odds, last year’s bottom team Leviatán seems to have built a competitive roster capable of dealing with the region’s big names. After narrowly avoiding relegation, Leviatán signed former 9z Team player Bautista “AtlaS” Bayugar and the Bolivian duo Diego “Dego” Fernández and Fernando “Ferchie” Muñecas. 

These three men joined Leviatán’s 2021 roster remaining players, Geremías “Geree” Irisarri and Santiago “Slemds” Alèn. So far, so good for the team’s new Siege lineup, as the squad has already beaten Malvinas Gaming (7-4) and Furious Gaming (8-7), which now leaves Leviatán as the region’s favorites to make it to the Copa Elite Six 2022 Stage 1.

It is worth mentioning that, last year, Leviatán scored eight points after 24 matches. That’s exactly the same tally the lineup has now, after just three matches into the season. 

The newly formed roster Pampas, led by former Malvinas Gaming duo Tomás “TomHagen” Otañi and Josias “Soco” Altamirano, is currently in second place with seven points after defeating Furious Gaming and last year’s South American championship finalists Newstar. 

Malvinas Gaming, with six, and Furious Gaming, with four, are still well alive in the Copa Elite Six race. However, looking at how their oppositions are playing this year, and considering both rosters are yet to meet in this stage, it is likely that one of them will miss the first Copa Elite Six of 2022. 

Team Cruelty leads after two games, Fenix Esports down to seventh

Meanwhile, Mexico has also been through a change. With many new teams and players, this season is going to be completely different from last year’s campaign.

Former Mexico Championship 2022 champions Fenix Esports are at the bottom of the standings following the team’s rebuild, which left with just one member from last season’s squad. Such departures were filled with some well-known names from last season, but the roster hasn’t performed as expected just yet. 

Meanwhile, at the top of the standings, Team Cruelty is the only team to have won the very two first matches of the year, as they defeated Fenix Esports (7-5) and Kingdom Gaming (7-2). On paper, Team Cruelty’s roster is the favorite in Mexico to go to the Copa Elite Six 2022 Stage 1, and this weekend has proven the viewers’ expectations. 

Even though OverKnight is currently in second place, the eyes are focused on the progression of Six Karma and ALPHA Team. Both teams met in the first match of the season, with the green squad winning a game that could eventually make the difference between going to the CES or playing the Supercopa LATAM Norte. 

Luckily for the wolf squad, a Six Karma unexpected overtime loss against MET REVEN means that there’s just a point between both teams. Consistency is going to be key in a competition where the mid-table could be tighter than expected. 

OverKnight’s next weekend is going to be challenging, as the Mexican roster will face current league leaders Team Cruelty and fan-favorites ALPHA Team. However, it is the perfect chance for the team to show what they are really capable of.