The strange case of Moche XL Esports – a small LAN actually worth watching?

In most cases, small LAN tournaments with meagre prize pools are only attractive for the fans of the specific teams in attendance or the most hardcore Counter-Strike fans. It makes sense: with so many events going on nowadays, there’s no reason not to pick and choose. However, Moche XL Esports might be an exception to this rule: it will mark the next step of FURIA’s journey towards greatness, and the young Brazilians are one of the most exciting teams to watch right now.

Smaller LAN events have a tough time in the wider CS:GO ecosystem. While they play a very important part in the development of the up-and-coming teams and allow less prestigious (or expensive) locales to experience a tournament in the arena, there’s simply so much Counter-Strike going around nowadays that it’s tough to commit yourself to watching one as a viewer at home. The gameplay and the casting on offer are aldo somewhat worse than you’re used to and most of your favorite players have better things to do than to show up. Not only that, but the lower budget often means that fewer teams are attending, which inevitably leads to less skill-testing formats. Well, Moche XL Esports might just be an exception to this rule for a simple reason: the attendants.

Under normal circumstances, a LAN headed by Virtus.pro and BIG alongside a still-undetermined team from Master League Portugal wouldn’t exactly be a mouth-watering prospect in 2019. However, the other three participants provide more than enough spice to pay attention to this one. Team GamerLegion’s cringe-inducingly 1337 name hides the latest step of the long redemption story of Ex6TenZ and ScreaM while Windigo Gaming has yet another opportunity in the limelight after their shock win at the WESG 2018 finals. Most importantly, we’re getting yet another chance to see one of the most exciting teams in the scene in action: the young Brazilians of FURIA.

It goes without saying that they should be destroying this competition, and it will be really interesting to see how they can cope with the favorites’ designation. This is always an important step in the evolution of an up-and-coming young side, and we’ve seen how KSCERATO and co. fell short against NRG in unexpected fashion at the ECS Season 7 finals. They fell just short at DreamHack Open Rio, with their loss to AVANGAR looking infinitely worse in retrospect. Winning is a habit, and one you have to learn – and with the pace of the Brazilians’ rise, this could very well be the last of these low-key events they get to participate at. With MiBR’s near-collapse, they’ll have all eyes upon them domestically – and whatever comes next, they’ll have to get used to this.