Brazil has been a hotbed of League of Legends talent over the last few years, but we have yet to see a team break through in a big way. KaBuM! eSports is looking to change that.
This will be KaBuM’s first time taking part in a major international event in quite some time. The last time KaBuM played in a major event was back in 2014. Then, they finished at the bottom of their group at Worlds. They did manage to defeat Swedish team Alliance, but that was their only victory in the main event.
Odds to win MSI Group B (Courtesy of BetDSI)
BAU SuperMassive -225
KaBuM! eSports +200
Dire Wolves +1500
Pentagram +2000
Backstory
We have seen a few different Brazilian teams have success on the international stage since the last time KaBuM made it to a major event. Team oNe eSports, INTZ e-Sports, and RED Canids have all made noise in international tournaments in the past, but none of the three have gone on to make it to the main event at MSI. KaBuM will be aiming to change that.
KaBuM finished atop the CBLOL in the regular season, giving them an automatic place in the finals. Like Korea, Brazil uses a gauntlet-style playoff in order to determine its champion and that was able to help KaBuM out tremendously. Vivo Keyd turned it on in the playoffs and defeated RED Canids in the semifinals before nearly toppling KaBuM. They took KaBuM the full five games before finally falling.
What to watch for
Zantins loves to jump onto carries in the top lane. Four of his five most played champions this split were Vladimir, Gangplank, Swain, and Jayce, so it’s pretty obvious what the strategy for KaBuM is in this regard. Zantins is the one veteran on the team’s roster, and they trust him to select a carry and try to win his lane in order to give his team an advantage.
In the mid lane, dyNquedo is someone to keep an eye on. He averaged an 8 KDA in the regular season and he was great on both Azir and Taliyah. He was one of the top mid laners in the region this season, continually harassing his counterpart in order to get ahead. dyNquedo isn’t afraid of taking on opposing mid laners solo either, as his kill percentage was very low compared to the rest of the team.
Although Brazilian teams are less likely as a whole to ride their AD Carries, that’s not the case with KaBuM. KaBuM’s AD Carry, Titan, lives up to his moniker. He is responsible for 32.3 percent of the team’s damage. It will be interesting to see how he fares at MSI though. He selected Tristana in over 40 percent of his games in the CBLOL and many don’t see her as viable in this meta.
Prediction
This team is talented, but not very experienced. The key for them will be in the top lane. If Zantins can get ahead and bully the lane, they could end up winning the group. However, I don’t think he will be able to do that against SuperMassive. Second-place seems very likely.
