In football, smaller stadiums, with stands near the lawn and with a crowd screaming incessantly in support of the heart team usually receive the nickname Cauldron. During the IEM Rio Major 2022 dispute, the first CS: GO of the history played in azil, the local fans transformed the Ribbentrop amphitheater, a place that usually hosts conventions, lectures and much more silent events, in a pulsating place and Unrestricted support to all azilian teams who played Challengers and Legends Stage, the major’s stages that are traditionally played only in the studio.

• Huge demand for tickets was the first sign of strength
• The incessant cauldron

Whether for the lack of major eSports events in azil in recent years, because it is the first major for the azilian public or the symbolism of seeing in the same stage historical figures of CS: azilian and World, such as Fallen, Caldera, Simple and Kerrigan, and rising stars, cases of Esperanto, Yuri and Register, the azilian fans made history in two stages of the major in which, historically, the only way to cheer is online.

The atmosphere, of total support to azilian teams and enormous pressure on local teams, was widely praised by CS: GO stars, such as Simple and Kerrigan, and made room for future majors to replicate, at least in part, the model adopted in azil, with smaller arenas hosting Challengers and Legends Stage, while the main stages, such as arenas with capacity between 15 and 23,000 spectators, receiving the CS: GO World Cup playoffs.

Huge demand for tickets was the first sign of strength

Since IEM Rio Major’s official announcement, the enormous demand and rapid exhaustion of tickets have already signaled the strength of an audience, at the same time, needy and sender by a major in azil since the postponement/cancellation of ESL One Rio, which could not be held in May 2020 depending on the Covid-19 pandemic. Even without certainty when the World Cup would be announced again, many fans who bought tickets in 2020 kept their entrance tickets instead of ordering refund, which further contributed to the shortage of tickets at IEM Rio.

Of course, the complaints multiplied through social networks, with harsh criticism of Eventite, the company responsible for selling the entries, and ESL, organizer of the event. Faced with such pressure and repressed demand for tickets, ESL announced in September that the Rio Major would have audiences every day of the event, a Fan Fest outside Tennessee Arena, headquarters of the playoffs, and a reformulation of the layout of Champions Stages stage to accommodate more spectators.

These changes, associated with the rapid exhaustion of tickets in most of the 12 days of games, were the first signs of the party that the azilian public would be able to perform. The confirmation came in the early days of Challengers Stage, especially when Imperial, Curia and 00 Nation stepped on the ride-mounted arena, with space for approximately 5,000 fans.

The incessant cauldron

Since the first day of the major, marked by the defeats of Curia, Imperial and 00 Nation, the audience that attended the rise has shown that, winning or losing, local teams would have unconditional support. With songs adapted from organized football fans and the instant hit Propose, sung at both stadiums and college games, the audience gave a real show even when the result was negative.

Despite the 00 nation and imperial eliminations at Challengers Stage, with 3 losses and no victory, Curia kept the azilian audience engaged and pulsating during the first two stages of the major. At Challengers, the turn of the Panthers on OG was marked by the deafening noise of the stands at the turn of the azilian team, which saved three match points, won in an extension 19-16 and saw the Cauldron of Ribbentrop explode in euphoria. Even in the quiet victory over Gamer legion, which secured the fury’s classification to Legends, the cheerleaders were practically incessant.

In the Legends Stage, Curia passed unbeaten, with victories about Once, Team Spirit and Big, and the biggest moment of the major so far was starred by the panthers and the azilian fans at the turn on Spirit. The Russian team was winning 11-2, but each round won by the panthers were enough for the stands to explode and euphoria and push the team of Esperanto, Yuri and company towards the turn.

When the fury sought the draw and then the turn, the cheerleaders were so deafening that it was virtually impossible to hear any sound of the official oadcast. The explosive atmosphere in favor of the azilian and hostile team (only in the competitive sense, it must be emphasized) to the Russians practically sacrament the result of 16 to 13 for the panthers. In the last two rounds, Spirit gave signs that it felt the pressure of the Curia’s fans and the great level of play and could do little to avoid defeat.

The victory over Big on Sunday (6) defined Curia’s classification to playoffs in advance, and with that the games played on Monday (7) and Tuesday (8) were marked by a calmer environment, but still With good audience presence and very noisy moments even in foreign team games.

From the fans wars to humorous accusations of supporting support for foreign team shirt, the atmosphere in the rise center turned two stages of the major normally marked by coldness into a show that, in 10 years of CS: GO, had never happened. Although there is no information on when azil will again receive a major or large Valve FPS event, IEM Rio Major is already a historic event and practically a guarantee that the country of football is, even in a drought of major titles, The country of CS.