With the spotlight glaring on the biggest CS:S tournament to date it seems only right to turn that high beam on to the people that make the tournament what it is – the players. What, you thought it was you guys? Guess again.

I’m going to be focusing on the players that are going to be the difference makers for their team, the players capable of winning games single-handedly with their talents, the players that can do the things that few others can… Yes, if FPS titles in e-sports weren’t so horribly sidelined we could even dare to call them stars. And to you guys they should be because they are capable of all the things you attempt when you’re struggling to beat that wretched mix team at four in the morning.

The first on my list is perhaps one of the best Portuguese players to have ever graced the game, Mario “Fyx” Rodriguez. A consummate AWPer the player has had his opportunities limited by virtue of the fact that Portuguese teams have struggled to find the funding to compete in international events, especially back when the game was in its prime, and the fact that their infrastructure doesn’t give them the best internet for competing online. It is widely acknowledged by several top players in the game that he could have played in better teams than he did.



Still, it’s not all bad. He’s formed something of a bromance with his long standing partner in crime Fábio "n3w" Teixeira as well as a few others that represent the best in Portugal. He’s represented the biggest names in Portugal such as k1ck, represented his country on several occasions, been voted into the Portuguese CS:S player Hall of Fame and even been picked up by foreign organisations such as Fragmasters. Now he finds himself representing Online Kingdom in what will be the biggest tournament of his career to date.

Where’d He Come From?

Well, all the way back in 2006 the player rose to prominence playing with Net Gaming. Catching the eye of a few solid teams he was seen as a player that could add a lot to a team and was snapped up by a series of mixes and teams looking to attend LANs with a good AWPer in tow. Performances were mixed and he got through teams quite quickly in the 2007 period, representing SyKotic, Precission and N-Skill before settling in at Core Gaming.

It was at Core Gaming he would come to play with those who he would pretty much stick with for the bulk of his career, namely players such as n3w, extreme and paradyze. After establishing themselves as the best team in Portugal with a series of online victories it wasn’t long before k1ck, already a big name in several other e-sports titles, came a calling for them to be their Source team.

This relationship lasted a long time and the core of the team, Fyx, paradyze and n3w, all remained, slotting new and upcoming talent (such as a young Spaniard who went by the name of Dumbazo) enjoyed a run of domestic success that was unparalleled. The team even managed to attend two i-series events during this run, i33 where they finished a disappointing 13th/16th despite some memorable matches and i34 where they improved wholesale and managed a surprising 5th/6th.

In 2009 the successful expansion of the Fragmasters organisation, spearheaded by British manager Darren “Yakkkkkk” Ball, coupled with the rising interest in the CS:S scene in Portugal, saw them picked up by the organisation to represent their sponsors, Sapphire. The improved funding saw them regularly attend the British Multiplay ran event as well as the French event of LAN79. Safe to say the British event was always kinder to them… They never made it past 9th at the French event.



After a disappointing series of results Mario announced his retirement, leaving a big gap in the Fragmasters team. Inevitably, after staying on as a “stand-in” he made his return to full time action for the team and got them back to winning ways. For the most part that is. The Portuguese climate had changed significantly with Online Kingdom, being led by fellow veteran and former teammate Fábio "BuJ" Ferreira.

How’d He Get To The Big Show

It was actually looking likely that the player wouldn’t get chance to attend at all. Portugal were one of the few countries to run a LAN qualifier for the CS:S tournament and competition was fierce. The Fragmasters team and Online Kingdom were the two favourites and they both faced off in the finals. Despite a fantastic performance from Mario his team lost in the final 19-17 in overtime, a real kick in the teeth. Or should that be k1ck? No. It shouldn’t.

After that result it was anticipated he might be tempted by retirement again but instead he got the surprising call from Online Kingdom to join their team and travel to the event with them. He’d impressed them so much they had no hesitation in replacing the long standing member of the team Francisco "pamp" Pamplona. Perhaps it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. Also in the team was his old chum Fábio "n3w" Teixeira, united once more.

Why You Should Watch Him

Mario is the best AWPer in Portugal and arguably the best AWPer that country has produced. While his reactions are above average what makes him stand out is his reading of the game. He doesn’t move his scope super fast because he rarely has to – it’s usually in place waiting for which unsuspecting victim peeks at him.

Always a consistent fragger Mario is someone who, right now, is in the form of their life. His last contribution for Fragmasters was to carry them to fourth position with a series of brilliant performances. What he’s added to his game now is that he’s gone from being an impressive defensive AWPer, someone who can hold a site alone or shut down rotates once the bomb has planted, to being someone who can work entry picks through his awareness of opponent set-ups.



As a competitor there are few more fierce. He drives the players around him with his non-stop energy and positivity and can always be heard bellowing instructions. Off the server he is a quiet, unassuming guy who works hard at his game but never at the expense of friendship or doing the right thing. All things told it’s rare that talent comes without ego but Mario has none of the latter, making him the underdog player you should all be routing for.

Predicted Finish

Who knows? Online Kingdom want this more than most teams there and they will almost certainly take down one big name while they are in the competition. The overall blend of talent in their team represents the best Portugal has produced over a period of years and the chemistry the team will have will certainly shame some of those who made last minute changes prior to this event.

Still they will have a hard time breaking into those top six teams who are attending European LANs more regularly than they do. For that reason the prediction has to be a respectable 7th/8th but if any team is going to throw a spanner in the works it’s going to be these guys.

Achievements

2007

mindzone
ETL
WGT XLParty Oeiras

2008

mindzone steelseries source 4th cup
ESL MMS
WGT XLParty Loures08
mindzone steelseries source 5th cup
mindzone steelseries source 6th cup
4th Lleida Lan Party - Spain 1st Place mindzone steelseries source 7th cup
PowerColor Ib
Clanbase OpenCup Premier League
mindzone steelseries source 8th cup
SkillStation Razer CuP
WGT XLParty SJM08
Multiplay i34 EliteZone Qualifier
ESL MMS
5th/6th Place Multiplay i34
Iberian SourceCup
Futurtech 2008
XLParty S.joão da Madeira
The Steelseries Gaming League CCC
mindzone steelseries source 9th cup
XLParty Alcabideche
eSports awards best portuguese player 2008

2009

Netfun
ESL Counter-Strike: Source 5on5 Inverno Series
Mindzone PowerColor css Experience
NetFun
WGT XlParty Sª Maria da Feira
Caldas Lan Party
WGT XlParty Porto
5th ESL Major Series IV
5th/6th Place Multiplay i37
WGT XlParty Oeiras
7th/8th Place Multiplay i38
ESL Steelseries css season 2
NetFun CSS Tour
ESL AllStars Game'09 CSS
2009 ESL Portugal Hall of Fame

2010

NetFun Siberia Tour
NetFun Qck Tour
NetFun 1on1 Tour
5th/8th Place eSports Heaven Sapphire challenge
ESL Inverno Series
XLParty Pombal 2010
ESL SteelSeries Season3
NetFun Tour

2011

3rd/4th Place ClanBase Nations Cup XIV
XLParty pombal 2011
XLParty porto 2011
ESL Iberian Cup Season 1
4th Multiplay i43
Portugal ESWC Qualifier