"I think he is the most consistent player
in the world. I think he is the rock of
the team he plays for because he is ever
dependable."
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Marcelo “coldzera” David is one of the best Counter Strike: Global Offensive players
to ever live. But before Luminosity Gaming’s fer recruited him to help his
Brazilian team reach the top of the  CS:GO world, Coldzera was a student of the
game. Cold’s brother Rafael taught him how to play Counter Strike
early-on in the competitive scene’s development, and Rafael’s friends would tease
Cold about not being very good, fuelling his desire to improve.
Gaming was a huge part of Cold’s life, but he had to hide
it from his parents who feared his
relationship with the game had gone too
far. Cold’s father started a broom manufacturing company out of his
garage that had expanded and became the family business that Cold was expected to takeover.
And initially, his father forbade him from leaving Brazil to compete with
Luminosity in North America. But one
phone call from FalleN, The Godfather of
Brazilian Counter Strike, changed
everything.
With his father's blessing, the young
rifler was finally off to the United
States. Early in 2015, Luminosity was climbing the ranks of the Counter Strike
world faster than any Brazilian team in the game’s history. And when Coldzera
joined the team in July, they finally secured the firepower they needed to
compete with the best.
Coldzera’s LAN debut with Luminosity
would come at ESL One: Cologne 2015.
Despite coming into the event with little expected of them, Luminosity fought their
way out of groups.
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But in the quarterfinals they found themselves
matched up against the tournament
favorites, Fnatic. While Luminosity pushed
the European juggernaut to their limit
fnatic ultimately proved to be too great
of an obstacle for the Brazilians to
overcome.
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Over the next few months, Coldzera settled into Luminosity and began to show exactly why FalleN had
been set on him joining the team.
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While Luminosity would be knocked out in the quarterfinals of Dreamhack Cluj-napoca
it was undeniable that the team had made
significant strides in 2015. However it
was clear that they needed some extra
star power to pair with Coldzera if
they were to contend for a major title.
So prior to Dreamhack Leipzig, TACO and
FNX were brought in. With
FalleN as their primary AWPer, Cold their
secondary AWP and primary fragger and
Taco, FNX and fur's added fragging power,
the classic Luminosity lineup we've come
to know today had assembled. And they
took the tournament by storm.
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Luminosity made it all the way to the
grand finals where again they would face
Na'Vi in a close series.
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In the end, Na'Vi would prevail and while
Luminosity were disappointed to have
lost their impressive performance
signaled better things to come.
Individually, Cold had played like a man
possessed and it was clear that the team
would be contenders at the upcoming
Columbus Major. And contend they did.
LG swept both mousesports and Ninjas in
Pyjamas in the group stage to make it to
the Top 8. Once they got to the
bracket stage, it was Coldzera's time to
prove himself against the best in the
world. But after bringing their
quarterfinal opponent Virtus.pro to
match point on cash, Luminosity began to
falter.
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Coldzera and Luminosity found themselves down a map
and facing another premature tournament
departure. But this time, the Brazilians
were up for the task.
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After coming back to
take two straight maps off one of the
best teams in the world,
Luminosity moved on to face Team Liquid
in the semifinals.
Liquid were looking to make CS:GO history
by becoming the first NA Major champs
with a star-studded lineup of their own
and at first the Brazilian squad looked
overmatched.
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But when Luminosity needed it most, Cold put the
team on his back with what will go down
as one of the most memorable plays in CS:GO's storied history.
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A lot has been said about the
probability of landing a shot like this.
A double headshot with the AWP while
leaping, but what can't be overlooked is
that he landed it when his team had
their backs against the wall in the
semifinals of a Major and it completely
changed the momentum of the series.
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Off the back of Cold's spectacular
play, Luminosity cast aside both Liquid
and their history of top eight busts,
earning a shot at redemption against
Na'Vi in another grand final. This time
they made quick work of the Ukrainian
powerhouse to become the first
non-european team to ever win a Major.
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That win was not only huge for the
Brazilian squad but for the entire CS
world as well. It was now clear that it
was possible to confront the European
gods of Counter Strike at the Major
level and come out unscathed. And it came
as no surprise to anyone when Coldzera
was named the tournament's MVP.
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Prior to Columbus, Luminosity
were certainly on a hot streak
but this win placed them among the top
teams in the world and etched their
names into CS history. Over the next few
months the team went on to win four
consecutive LAN events ,including wins at
both DreamHack Austin and the ESL Pro
League Season 3 Finals. Luminosity's next
shot at a Major championship would be at
ESL One: Cologne. But while they should
have been focused on winning
back-to-back Majors the team was dealing
with distractions outside of the game.
Just days before the Columbus Major
Luminosity's roster and coaching staff
had signed contracts to move from
Luminosity to SK gaming. But the team
started to regret their decision after
winning in Columbus and were locked into
a back and forth between the two
organizations. The news that Coldzera and
his teammates were in the midst of a
contractual dispute dominated headlines
even with ESL One: Cologne around the
corner. "The problem is the stress of all
this shit that's going on and people may
be looking down on them or they
themselves being conflicted if they
didn't necessarily want things to work
out this way that's what concerns me
because I don't want to see them now be
under so much pressure because of that
that they tilt away the next Major." After
the dust had finally settled Coldzera
and company walked into the Lanxess Arena
under the SK gaming banner. SK
kicked off the tournament by beating
both Faze Clan and G2 Esports in the
group stage before dispatching Flipside
Tactics and Virtus.pro in the quarter
and semifinals.
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The stage was set
for SK to meet Team Liquid in the Grand
Finals, marking the first time that two
non-european teams competed for a Major
title. And with S1mple and Coldzera both
playing outstanding CS, it was set to be
a grand final to remember.
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They were the best team in the world and
Coldzera, once again the MVP of the
tournament, was the undisputed king of
Counter-Strike. FalleN, Coldzera and the
rest of SK Gaming did what once felt
impossible. They built a team from the ground up and
they made their game work. And now it
wasn't Virtus.pro, Fnatic or Na'Vi who
were the team to beat heading into 2017.
It was five Brazilian players.
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But even as they stood atop the Counter-Strike
world, SK Gaming were not immune to
conflict outside of the game. Just prior
to the beginning of the 2017 season, the
team kicked FNX. Rumors swirled
that he was removed because of internal
issues but all that most CS:GO fans saw
was that SK's two Major winning core
was now without one of its top
performers. Fox stepped in to take FNX is
place just in time for the ELEAGUE Major
in Atlanta, but the pressure fell on
Coldzera to remind everyone who the
tournament favourites were.
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While SK's quest for a third consecutive Major
title would ultimately end at the hands
of Virtus.pro, it hadn't stopped Cold
from showing why he was the best player
in the world. In the wake of Atlanta, the
team brought in felps as the long-term
replacement for FNX and they regained
their form heading into the PGL Major in
Krakow. At the event SK, went 3-0 through the group stage and found
themselves in the Top 8 of yet
another Major. But this time, SK Gaming
were ousted by Astralis in the
quarterfinals.
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The disappointing exit marked
the first time that the Brazilian squad
had missed out on a top four appearance
since Columbus in 2016. By the end of
2017 SK Gaming and Coldzera had a lot to
reflect on. Toward the end of the year
the world of CS was in flux.
The game was trending towards super
teams and organizations were looking to
surround their stars with the best
talent in the hopes of racking up Major
titles. It was time to see if SK's
lineup could keep up in this new era and
at ESL pro league season six finals SK
Gaming proved that they could still hang
with the scene's best.
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SK were no longer the untouchable team that the
community thought they were in 2016 but
on the big stage Coldzera slammed the
door shut when rising claims that Niko
had surpassed him as CS:GO's apex predator.
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As 2018 began, the Eleague Boston
Major was the next chance for SK to
reclaim their title as the preeminent
team in CS:GO, but unfortunately for
Coldzera, SK would not make history again.
Instead the Brazilians would become a
footnote in Cloud9's own historic
achievement as the first ever American
team to win a major.
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SK brought the same core lineup that
had worked for them forever but this
time it simply wasn't good enough. Since
the Major, SK Gaming
have looked worse than they ever have
with the team having undergone yet
another roster transition. But as
question marks surround SK Gaming for the
first time in years, Coldzera remains
unquestionable. He was ranked the top
player in the world for the second
straight year by HLTV in 2017 and even
as SK has faltered at the start of 2018
he's still shown that he is superhuman.
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There's no
doubt that esports move fast. A team or
player can go from best in the world to
mediocre in months. But so far in his
career Coldzera is one of a handful of
Counter-Strike players ever that always
shows up. From the moment his father got
off the phone with FalleN, Coldzera has
been stalking his prey.
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dropping jaws with displays of unbelievable skill.
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Producing awe-inspiring clutches
when his team is behind.
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A generational talent willing to make
sacrifices to win championships.
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One of the most complete and consistent players
Counter-Strike has ever seen.
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No drama. No trash talk. And no
complications. Just kill after kill.
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