One of South America's best coaches announces region change: reasons and his future

Brazilian coach Igor kaffs Furtado announced that he will not work with South American teams in the new season. The coach decided to move to another region after four years during which his teams regularly competed at the biggest international tournaments.

According to Furtado, the decision is partly connected to recent events and the current state of the South American scene. However, the main reason is his desire to gain new experience and continue his professional development.

Now it is time for a new challenge. Not because South America cannot succeed, but because I really need some fresh air and new horizons. I believe this is necessary for me to become a better coach and a better version of myself.

Over the past few years, the Brazilian has worked with several top teams in the region. In 2023, he was an assistant coach for Evil Geniuses, before briefly taking charge of BOOM Esports. The main chapter of his career in South America is connected with HEROIC, which he coached from January 2024 to May 2026.

Under Furtado's leadership, HEROIC won PGL Wallachia Season 2, defeating Team Falcons 3:1 in the grand final. This victory became the first international LAN title of this level for a South American team. Later, the team also won FISSURE Universe: Episode 7 and finished 5th-6th at The International 2025.

In May 2026, the coach joined LGD Gaming together with former HEROIC players. The roster continued competing in South America and qualified for The International 2026 through the regional qualifier, where it finished 9th. In August, the coach's time with the Chinese organization came to an end

The decision to change regions came amid serious problems with match-fixing in the South American scene. Even before TI15, Furtado criticized the slot distribution and considered it unfair that South America received only one spot in the regional qualifier.

However, after ESIC's investigation into PlayTime representatives, the coach changed his position. In an open letter, he said that match-fixing was "killing the region," admitted that his previous demand for South America to receive two slots at The International was wrong, and suggested that the region could lose even its only spot in the future.

According to the coach, the problem has become so widespread that more than half of the teams in the South American qualifier playoffs may have at least one player connected to match-fixing. However, this is the coach's own assessment and not a statistic confirmed by tournament organizers.

One of the latest high-profile cases was the investigation into PlayTime at Esports World Cup 2026. ESIC banned Juan Vintage Angulo for life and suspended Osvaldo DarkMago Herrera for five years.

The commission found that Vintage was involved in an attempt to arrange a 0:2 loss for PlayTime against Team Liquid in exchange for financial compensation, while DarkMago failed to report information he had received about possible match manipulation.

In addition, ESIC continues its investigation into Santiago TaiLung Aguero, who previously played under Furtado. The player was provisionally suspended over suspected match manipulation and related betting activity during his time with LGD Gaming. A final decision in the case has not yet been made.

Despite the problems in the scene, the coach stressed that he still believes in South America's potential. He has not yet revealed where he will continue his career.

Earlier, Cyberscore reported that former Nigma Galaxy players will compete under the Conventus Stellarum tag at PGL Wallachia Season 9.