The event began on Wednesday in São Paulo, Brazil.
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The America’s Cup is an inter-regional competition featuring the second and third place finishers from the LCS and CBLOL.
Although it is not on the same stage as other international events, winning the Copa América carries multiple prizes. The first is regional bragging rights: a statement about which US region performed best in the first half of the year.
The second prize, more importantly, can have a long-term effect, as the tournament winner earns a training trip to South Korea, home to some of the sport’s most competitive solo queuing environments.
For most of the Sentinels’ roster, the trip would be a return visit. For American-born mid laner Isaac “DARKWINGS” Chou, it would be the first time.
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Chou is in his first full season as a mid laner, a position that requires individual skill, game-wide awareness, and the ability to influence other areas of the map. He established himself as one of the most stable players in his position during Split 1.
After the split concluded on Saturday, Chou was direct about what he wants from Brazil.
“We definitely want to go to the Korean training camp,” he said. “That’s like a priority. And I really want to go too.”
His argument for the trip goes beyond personal development.
Sentinels coach Greyson “GoldenGlue” Gilmer noted that Chou will specifically benefit from the caliber of competition in Korean single queue.
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“Honestly, the mid laners in Korean solo queue are really good in laning,” Gilmer said after the Sentinels’ win over Brazilian team Red Canids on Wednesday. “It could definitely help improve his laning phase.”
The sentinels are not the only ones who want the trip. Fellow LCS qualifier Cloud9 Kia remains a threat in the lower bracket, and Red Canids could also rise from the lower bracket to claim the America’s Cup.
But the Sentinels won’t look that far. They will face FURIA on Friday, where a victory would leave them one game away from the trip.
FURIA seeks to make Brazil proud
There was an aura of disappointment when FURIA failed to secure a spot in First Stand, but rather than persist in defeat and leave their fans disappointed, FURIA rose to the occasion against Cloud9, sweeping the LCS second place team 2-0.
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Arthur “Tutsz” Machado said the team came to Brazil with the desire to restore confidence and show their fans that they belonged on this stage.
Machado said the LTA benefited the Brazilian teams even when the North American teams dominated from the start. By the end of the experiment, the gap had narrowed enough that a true interregional final was within reach.
Gilmer also agreed that the quality of CBLOL play has improved and, when combined with a weaker LCS region, makes for compelling games.
Machado pointed to FURIA’s early-game aggression as the key factor in the victory over Cloud9. Gilmer said he had detected that trend in his scanning and had observed it in real time.
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“Watching the games with Cloud9 before (Wednesday) and seeing them pick things like Yasuo, Malphite, cool picks, it was a lot of fun to watch,” he said. “I still think the same approach is still there, very aggressive, and they like to play like teamfight compositions.”
FURIA finished third in CBLOL, just as the Sentinels did in the LCS, and Machado said never having played against the team fueled his desire to face them. He had the Sentinels pegged as the opponent he wanted in the upper bracket final, and on Friday he got his wish.
For both teams, Korea means something different
FURIA or Sentinels will be one win away from a trip to Korea after Friday, and both teams were honest about their desire to head to League of Legends’ global hub.
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FURIA made a trip to Korea in November 2025, but was left short-staffed. Support Gabriel “JoJo” Dzelme was unable to attend due to financial reasons, leaving the team to navigate the experience as a group of four and play primarily solo queue games.
Winning the Copa América would send FURIA to Korea in June, coinciding with the Mid-Season Invitational, where they could face the best teams in the world, who will be there for the event. Machado logged approximately 500 solo queue games during the November trip, reaching the challenger level, the highest rank available.
Even with those memories, Machado said winning the Copa America would simply ensure that the entire team can come together and have quality games as a unit in Korea.
“It’s a safety net,” Machado said.
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For the Sentinels, the prize carries a different weight. A win would give Chou his first experience in the world’s toughest solo queuing environment, while also giving the four Korean players on the roster (Eon-young “Impact” Jeong, Yoo-jin “HamBak” Ham, Min-seong “Rahel” Cho and Jae-hyun “huhi” Choi) a trip home.
“They can show us around and we’ll get good food,” Gilmer said. “It’s going to be a really good team experience.”
Paul Delos Santos covers the fighting game community and Riot Games ecosystem for The Sporting Tribune and Inside Esports, a newsletter published every Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe at insideesports.media.