Imperial Esports replace JOTA with LUCAS1

After a disappointing ESL Pro League S18 run, Imperial Esports decides to change its CS:GO lineup. As a result, the Brazilian organization sent Jhonatan “JOTA” Willian to the bench, and in his place, Lucas “LUCAS1” Teles as a substitute. Also, it is worth mentioning that Imperial will play LUCAS1 in the BLAST Showdown, and after that, they will decide the squad’s future.

There is no doubt that this is a very important and, above all, somewhat unexpected decision, as JOTA was part of the team for several months. However, looking at it from the point of view of results, it is a completely valid move. The team failed to make it out of the Play-In Phase at IEM Cologne 2023 and fell short in the ESL Pro League S18 Group Stage.

Imperial announce that LUCAS1 will play BLAST Showdown instead of JOTA

Through an official statement on its Twitter account, Imperial Esports announced that JOTA is sent to the team’s bench and, in his place, will play LUCAS1 as a substitute in the BLAST Showdown.

Comunicamos que o jogador @jotafps será movido para o banco.

We appreciate all his dedication and effort in competitions and training camps.
Together we write an important part of our history.

Com isso, @LUCAS1 will complete our time just in Blast, which starts on the day… pic.twitter. com/eKruxsHzNR

— Imperial Sportsbet.io (@imperialesports) September 25, 2023

As we mentioned, JOTA was in the lineup for several months, and, above all, he was one of the key pillars of the team when he arrived from MIBR at the beginning of 2023. Furthermore, JOTA maintained a 1.12 Rating during the season, according to HLTV, a really good statistic considering the team’s results. However, their performance declined slightly after the summer break, and their Rating stood at 1.06.

Imperial struggles in the post-FalleN era

We all knew this moment would come when FURIA announced Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo as a new signing during the summer player break. As a result, Imperial has struggled with different performance issues; right now, they have a big challenge ahead of them.

Imperial had a disappointing performance at the IEM Cologne 2023 Play-Ins, which exposed the lack of leadership in the team. However, the team gradually gained some confidence, and everything seemed to indicate they were “getting over” FalleN’s departure.

However, in the ESL Pro League S18 Group Stage, the team could not face three good opponents such as Fnatic, Apeks, and 5yclone. It is also worth mentioning that the team did not leave blank, as they got a great victory against 9z Team, who got their ticket to the playoffs as fourth in their group.

Teles brothers to Imperial’s rescue

Now, for those who are wondering, you are right. LUCAS1 is the twin brother of Henrique “HEN1” Teles, so we will have a reunion of the Teles brothers, who will undoubtedly be looking to rescue Imperial in the BLAST Showdown.

Besides the fact that they are great players and, above all, very experienced, the synergy they have inside and outside the servers can help a lot to this lineup that sometimes seems to lack identity. However, it is also fair to mention that this move marks the return of LUCAS1 to the CS:GO competitive scene after a little over a year out of competition.

Finally, we have the BLAST Premier Fall Showdown starting next October 4, 2023 and Imperial will debut against TheMongolz. There is no doubt that there is a lot of anticipation for this tournament, as we all want this popular Brazilian organization to shine again at the highest competitive level.

Header: Turtle Entertainment