Lelis

Rodrigo "Lelis" Santos (born November 24, 1996) is a Brazilian-American professional Dota 2 support currently playing for Team Nemesis. At 29 years old, Lelis has been a professional Dota 2 player for over a decade — one of the longest-serving Brazilian players in the international scene, with four TI appearances, 12 tournament wins, and a career that has taken him through SA, NA, and Europe without ever really slowing down.

Career

Lelis started in 2014 with The House is Down in Brazil, grinding through SA regional events before SG Esports picked him up in 2017 – his first real international exposure. ESL One Hamburg 2017 was the debut on a bigger stage. Then paiN Gaming, where the team became a consistent SA qualifier, and he grew his reputation as one of the better supports the region had produced.

The move to Quincy Crew in 2020 was where everything clicked. Multiple BTS Pro Series titles, ESL One Thailand, and then TI10 — a 9th-place finish in front of 2.7 million viewers, which remains the biggest moment of his career and over 40% of his total prise earnings in one tournament. The Nouns chapter followed from late 2022, where he stuck around long after other players left, grinding NA qualifiers until the org suspended Dota operations in late 2024. Two more TI appearances – 7th-8th at TI12 in 2023 – kept the career moving forward.

2025 was the standing year. Jigglin' with MinD_ContRoL. MOUZ briefly. OG as team captain alongside Stojkov, where he said in an interview that NA was dying and many players had migrated to Western Europe for better opportunities. OG disbanded five weeks later. He's been in the scene the whole time — no dramatic gaps, no retirements, just keeps showing up.

Team Nemesis signed him for the current roster alongside 4nalog, Jabz, Jaunuel, and rubikon155.

Playstyle and Reputation

Lelis has played both support and offlane across his career but has settled into position 5 for most of the last five years. Rubick, Clockwerk, Keeper of the Light – heroes that require timing and game sense rather than mechanical dominance. He's a captain type, the kind of support who communicates, organises the draft conversation, and keeps the team structured under pressure. OG signed him specifically as team captain, which tells you how experienced players around him read his role.

Fun Facts

His nickname, LESLÃO, means "Big Lelis" in Portuguese.

He said at TI 2024 that NA Dota was dying. Nouns folded months later. Into The Breach disbanded. He was right.