steel and zqkS reunite on Flamengo

Teammates from as long ago as 11 years reunite under the same banner once more.

steel and zqkS played together for FalleN's KaBuM.TD

Flamengo have announced the signing of their new roster, headlined by Lucas "⁠steel⁠" Lopes and Caio "⁠zqkS⁠" Fonseca. The duo is joined by ex-9z Academy prospect Matias "⁠HUASOPEEK⁠" Ibañez Hernandez and Vinicius "⁠vinaabEAST⁠" Santos, with Matheus "⁠KAOS⁠" Nicolau fulfilling the head coach role.

The Brazilian esports division of the renowned professional sports club Flamengo stepped into the competitive scene in late 2022, and made their breakthrough by qualifying for the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Americas RMR. They missed out on a Major spot, however, which prompted the team to shake up their lineup and keep only zqkS and coach KAOS.

steel and zqkS, who returns for a second stint with the organization, are the most high-profile members of their new-look team. They first entered the scene with ProGaming.TD all the way back in 2012, before making the jump up to Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo's KaBuM roster in 2015.

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ex-KaBuM sign for Keyd Stars

The duo then played together at ESL One Katowice 2015 under the Keyd Stars banner, with steel making two more Major appearances with the team that transferred to Luminosity. After jumping around the Brazilian scene, they reunited in Immortals but missed out on a Starladder Berlin appearance. Nevertheless, destiny now has them cross paths once more after a span of six years.

HUASOPEEK, who hails from Chile and is the only non-Brazilian on the team, comes in on loan from 9z Academy. The 20-year-old represented the team since September and averaged a 1.06 rating while playing in several domestic tournaments, such as the recent 1XPLORE Latin America Cup 1.

vinaabEAST is the youngest player on the roster at 19, and his age comes with a lack of experience. He has played just 43 maps on HLTV in his career, with all of them coming under the Los Grandes organization — most of which came for their academy roster.

Flamengo are currently:

Lucas "⁠steel⁠" Lopes
Caio "⁠zqkS⁠" Fonseca
Vinicius "⁠vinaabEAST⁠" Santos
Matias "⁠HUASOPEEK⁠" Ibañez Hernandez (on loan)

Matheus "⁠KAOS⁠" Nicolau (coach)