Brazilian giants Fluxo enter CSGO with almost half a million spent on players

Fluxo, one of the biggest esports organizations in Brazil, spared no expense when it came to getting high-caliber players for their first CS:GO team.

With Brazil set to host its first CS:GO Major later this year, Fluxo have expanded into Valve’s first-person shooter with an exciting Brazilian lineup headlined by former SK Gaming player João ‘felps’ Vasconcellos.

Fluxo is a Brazilian organization co-founded in 2021 by Lucio ‘Cerol’ dos Santos and Bruno ‘Nobru’ Goes. (The latter was named the MVP of Free Fire World Series 2019 and still competes for Fluxo.) It has attracted a large following in the country, with a social media audience that includes 3.6 million fans on Instagram, 2.2 million on TikTok, and almost 2.8 million on YouTube.

In a press conference, Renan Philip, the CEO of 3C Gaming, the company that manages Fluxo, said that the organization spent over 2.5 million Brazilian reais, or $494,000, to assemble the lineup.

“There’s a phrase that I like, which is that the ‘price [of something] is what someone is willing to pay,’” Philip is quoted by Dust2.com.br as saying. “We cannot confirm [some of the transfer fees that have been reported], but those are investments that we truly believe to be good and consistent with the level of each player.”

According to Dust2.com.br, Fluxo spent €325,000, or $335,000, to sign Lucas ‘Lucaozy’ Neves from Portuguese organization Sharks Esports. Fluxo also had to open their coffers to sign felps from GODSENT and Vinicius ‘vsm’ Moreira from 00NATION. Adriano ‘⁠WOOD7⁠’ Cerato and Lucas ‘⁠lux⁠’ Meneghini were both signed on free transfers.

IEM Rio Major in sight

Fluxo CEO Gabriel ‘bak’ Lessa said that this “was the right moment” to enter CS:GO, with Rio de Janeiro set to host the Major between October 31 and November 13. The playoff stage of the event will be held in front of a crowd at the Jeunesse Arena, an indoor multi-purpose arena that hosted the 2017 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational and the 2018 Rainbow Six Siege Season 8 Pro League finals.

Fluxo have a long road to the IEM Rio Major ahead of them, starting with the open qualifiers later this month. If they manage to battle their way through one of the three South American qualifiers, they will then have to attend the American RMR, where FURIA, Team Liquid, Imperial Esports and 12 other teams will be lying in wait.

“We are here to build something together with the community and to be present in the game,” Philip said. “Today’s goal is the Major, but the real goal is to do everything right and put Brazil back where it used to be in CS.”

Fluxo CS:GO roster:

• João “⁠felps⁠” Vasconcellos
• Vinicius “⁠vsm⁠” Moreira
• Adriano “⁠WOOD7⁠” Cerato
• Lucas “⁠Lucaozy⁠” Neves
• Lucas “⁠lux⁠” Meneghini
• Willian “⁠Xamp⁠” Caldas (coach)