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The South American closed qualifier for the Americas Minor has come to a close, with INTZ and Imperial earning spots in the next stage.

Fresh off securing a spot at the ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals, INTZ approached the qualifier with the wind in their sails, and they lived up to their tag as favorites as they breezed through the qualifier unbeaten.

With João "⁠felps⁠" Vasconcellos, Alexandre "⁠xand⁠" Zizi and Vito "⁠kNgV-⁠" Giuseppe all averaging ratings higher than 1.50, INTZ topped the qualifier after picking up 2-0 victories over Rejected, Isurus and Imperial.

kNg & co. cruised through the qualifier

The biggest surprise of the qualifier was the early elimination of Sharks, who have secured a spot at the upcoming EPL Finals after winning the ESL LA League. Renato "⁠nak⁠" Nakano's side began their campaign with a 2-0 victory over W7M but then fell short against Imperial and Wild, losing both matches without taking a single map.

The tournament came to an end with a nail-biting clash between Imperial and Wild, with Caio "⁠zqkS⁠" Fonseca' side running out 2-0 victors after two keenly-contested maps, the first of which went to overtime. This will be the first international event for Imperial, who feature the core of the old Santos line-up.

INTZ and Imperial will be joined by six teams coming out of the North American closed qualifier at the Minor, scheduled for January 22-26. The top two sides will progress to the Major's New Challengers Stage, while the third-placed side will compete in a play-in stage for the chance to secure one of the last two spots at the $1 million event.

The team list for the Americas Minor currently looks as follows:

INTZ
North America qualifier #1
North America qualifier #3
North America qualifier #5 Imperial
North America qualifier #2
North America qualifier #4
North America qualifier #6 Alexandre 'xand' Zizi Age: 23 Team: INTZ Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 248 KPR: 0.77 DPR: 0.68 João 'felps' Vasconcellos Age: 21 Team: INTZ Rating 1.0: 1.07 Maps played: 617 KPR: 0.76 DPR: 0.71 Rejected #170 Cristian 'LEEROY' QuijadaKlauss 'Klauss' HermannFelipe 'rochet' RochetRoberto 'akz' VidelaSebastian 'fara' Barducci Imperial #159 Caio 'zqkS' FonsecaGustavo 'SHOOWTiME' GonçalvesThiago 'tifa' FrançaDenis 'dzt' FischerBruno 'shz' Martinelli W7M #141 Ramon 'RMN' ToledoLucas 'YJ' YujiRafael 'raafa' LimaLeon 'ryotzz' FelipeFillipe 'pancc' Martins Vito 'kNgV-' Giuseppe Age: 26 Team: INTZ Rating 1.0: 1.17 Maps played: 347 KPR: 0.80 DPR: 0.64 Renato 'nak' Nakano Age: 31 Team: Sharks Rating 1.0: 0.96 Maps played: 283 KPR: 0.64 DPR: 0.66 Sharks #77 Renato 'nak' NakanoRaphael 'exit' LacerdaLeonardo 'leo_drk' OliveiraRodrigo 'RCF' FigueiredoJhonatan 'jnt' Silva Caio 'zqkS' Fonseca Age: 26 Team: Imperial Rating 1.0: 1.00 Maps played: 418 KPR: 0.66 DPR: 0.64 Santos #159 Gustavo 'SHOOWTiME' GonçalvesThiago 'tifa' FrançaDenis 'dzt' FischerVictor 'bld' RochaFelipe 'delboNi' Delboni INTZ #41 Vito 'kNgV-' GiuseppeAlexandre 'xand' ZiziJoão 'felps' VasconcellosMarcelo 'chelo' CespedesJoão 'horvy' Horvath Wild #124 Vinicios 'PKL' CoelhoLucas 'destiny' BulloPaulo 'land1n' FelipeAlef 'tatazin' PereiraDener 'KHTEX' Barchfield Isurus #120 Nicolás 'Noktse' DávilaRoberto 'reversive' ThemthamMatias 'tutehen' CanaleNabil 'nbl' AleuaGabriel '1962' Sinopoli