Indonesian esports organization BOOM has announced this week that they have recruited João "Snowzin" Vinicius to their Counter Strike: Global Offensive team. João "Snowzin" Vinicius is 13-years-old and is joining the team as a backup in preparation for the Gamers Club Masters V, an online tournament that attracts some of the best teams in South America, happening July 30th through August 2nd with a $11,4000 prize going to the winner.
Snowzin is joining the ranks of increasingly younger professional gamers in the world. As teams scout for talent, they often turn their eye to young players with exceptional talent. In 2018, Team Secret recruited 13-year-old Kyle Jackson to their Fortnite roster. The same year, 16-year-old Joseph Saelee beat then world champion Jonas Neubauer at Tetris for the world title. The Guinness World Records states the youngest gamer ever signed professionally is Victor “Lil Poison” De Leon III, who signed an exclusive deal with Major League Gaming at the age of 4.
According to HLTV, BOOM players noticed Snowzin while steaming his performances in pugs. BOOM’s players think the youngster shows plenty of promise, and he is considered one of the best emerging players of CS:GO. For his part, Snowzin is excited to join the team, even if it is only for one tournament, and credits his success to his dedication to the game. According to AFKGaming, he has played the game for the past 3 years, ever since his uncle introduced him to it.
Snowzin will be in good company, as BOOM is currently leading the Regional Major Rankings in South America after a recent win at ESL One: Road to Rio. As of this writing, the team has won 3 tournament in a row and plans on winning this one, too. Other teams that will be appearing in the tournament include RED Canids, paiN, and Isurus. BOOM is utilizing this tournament as preparation for the ESL Pro League Season 12 that starts on September 2nd and may be hosted on LAN depending on the status of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Source: HLTV