KaBuM! made history in the Brazilian League of Legends this past weekend by becoming the first team to represent the country twice in the game's world championship.
After beating Flamengo 3-2 in the final of the winter playoffs of Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends, KaBuM! earned a spot in the play-in stage for Worlds, which will take place Oct. 1-4 and Oct. 6-7 in Seoul.
The journey to that achievement, however, was not easy for KaBuM!. After the 2014 world championship, the organization lost players, and its other iterations struggled. In 2017, the team's struggles reached a new low as KaBuM! was relegated to the Challenger Circuit.
But the team earned promotion later in 2017 to climb back to the CBLoL with a new structure, a more consistent lineup and the help of foreign coach Jean-Francois "Nuddle" Caron. KaBuM! surged and won the summer stage of this year's CBLoL to represent Brazil in the Mid-Season Invitational.
Despite that result, the team said farewell to Nuddle ahead of the winter season. KaBuM! struggled a little at the beginning of the second stage until the arrival of Lee's coach "Hiro" Woo Seok. In Brazil, the South Korean "put the house in order" and proved the potential of KaBuM! as the team won the regular season title for the second time this year.
KaBuM! top laner Luccas "Zantins" Martins Zanqueta Silva and support Marcelo "Riyev" Carrara were with the team when it was relegated and with it as it earned this Worlds berth. They, like many, were surprised by the team's success. Zantins summed up the 2018 season in one word: "unbelievable."
"If someone told me last year that we were going to win the next two splits, I would laugh and think it would not happen," he said. "The relegation and all the other difficult moments we had were essential for us to achieve our goals, so I do not think the past has to be forgotten."
Riyev, too, said the relegation was an important moment for him and helped him grow as a player. He reaped the rewards of that growth in the 2018 season.
"This year was very important because it made it clear that if I do things the best way, there is no way they can go wrong," he said. "With that motivation, I matured and grew a lot, both as a person and a player. So now, just keep working hard and bring results to the team."
Fernando Noé, the team's chief marketing officer, said the organization has learned a lot since 2014 as well. At the time, KaBuM! thought it was making choices for the betterment of the team. It has learned to better scrutinize roster moves since then.
Noé said that KaBuM! focused on a players-first approach after that Challenger experience. A mix of young, talented players and veterans set the squad up for success.
"From that, the result was the achievement of consecutive titles and a solid team," he said.
Even during the team's struggles, KaBuM! never considered giving up League of Legends. Noé said the trust and communication established between the organization and team were crucial to its rebound.
Bootcamp, pressure and expectations
KaBuM! players did not have much time to celebrate the title and rest after their worlds berth. They all left for South Korea on Tuesday for a lengthy boot camp that will go right up until the start of the play-in stage. Both Zantins and Riyev were excited about the opportunity to train in the best League of Legends region in the world.
"Korea's solo queue is much better than Brazil's in terms of level," Zantins said, "so the motivation to play and see how far I can get there is enormous."
KaBuM! is also the first international team to arrive in South Korea for boot camp, which might be an advantage in its preparation. Players know that the fans will have high expectations of the underdogs, though, especially after KaBuM! underperformed during MSI. KaBuM!'s coach said he is ready to rectify that result.
"No matter what team we're up against," Hiro said, "we'll be ready."