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Arguably one of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s (CS:GO) greatest coaches ever, Wilton “zews” Prado, was rushed to hospital in Brazil after he suffered a heart attack.
Zews has since delved into content creation and NFTs after being mutually benched by Evil Geniuses on June 2, 2021, and eventually leaving. He had led EG to the BLAST Premier Spring American Finals in 2020, where they won the championship after defeating MiBR 2-0 to earn prize money of $160,000.
Zews, who was in Brazil when the heart attack happened, was said to have been taken to one of the most sought-after hospitals in the country. Reporting the incident via his Twitter handle, Zews said that 90 percent of an artery was obstructed but the doctors cleared it with two coronary angioplasty procedures. He ended his tweet by saying “hopefully everything will be OK,” as he remains hopeful of a total recovery.
The legendary coach has received an outpouring of support from the global esports community. Personalities such as Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella, Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski, Tarik “tarik” Celik, and Frankie Ward have all taken to Twitter to wish him a speedy recovery.
Zews was the mastermind behind Luminosity’s MLG Major Championship: Columbus 2016 Finals win against the Natus Vincere, securing prize money of half a million dollars for the Canada-based team. He also led them to the 2016 ESL Pro League Season 3 Finals and secured prize money of $200,000 after defeating G2 Esports 3-2. He was not quite so lucky at the Esports Championship Series Season 1 Finals, where Luminosity suffered a 0-2 loss to G2 Esports to finish in second place with a $125,000 payday.
During his time with SK Gaming, he led them to become the 2016 ESL One Cologne champions, stealing a win over Team Liquid to clinch a $500,000 prize earning.
After a short stint at Immortals, he took the reins of Team Liquid and spent over two years with the Nazgul-owned franchise. He also led them to four championship finals, winning one and placing second in three. While they became champions at the 2018 SuperNova Malta, they finished second at the ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals, Esports Championship Series Season 5 Finals, and ESL Pro League 8 Finals.
In October 2021, in an interview with esports historian Duncan “Thorin” Shield, zews revealed his intention to pursue content creation, as he shared his reservations about continuing his known coaching path.
After 17 years in the industry as a player and a coach, zews is regarded as one of CS:GO’s best coaches ever and a valued member of the community. He was voted “The Best National Revelation of 2015” by Games Academy in a Brazilian poll.
