Photo: ESL

Since MIBR came to be, results haven’t exactly lived up to the hype. This resulted in changes that saw Jake “stewie2k” Yip, Tarik “tarik” Celik, and Janko “YNk” Paunovi leave the organization.

This, of course, led to an MIBR lineup that actually lived up to the name (Brazilian) and gave us a bit of nostalgia (Major champions). The former Luminosity and SK lineup that took the scene by storm had reformed under the legendary banner.

In an age of Counter-Strike dominated by Astralis, some fans believed the map pool of that team alongside their playstyle could be the knife that would finally cut deep enough to do more than just draw blood from the Danes.

After the first few weeks and events, hope was wavering. The squad dropped out of WESG in a loss to Windigo before a 0-5 run at BLAST Pro Series São Paulo where they took losses against ENCE, FaZe, Astralis, Liquid, and Ninjas in Pyjamas. Things didn’t get much better at the StarSeries i-League Season 7 finals either as the Brazilian lineup only managed to beat Chinese team Panda in their opener. Following their 2-0 victory over a relatively unknown team, MIBR would lose to Renegades, NRG and North to go home near the bottom of the pack.

Things looked a little better in Miami as the squad handed Astralis a 16-2 defeat on Overpass and bested Cloud9 16-6 while managing a 15-15 tie against eventual winners FaZe. They would lose that momentum in the opening ESL Pro League match against Luminosity but regain it with strong 2-0’s over Envy and Cloud9.

Now the MIBR we’re witnessing in Sydney is reinvigorating that dream. From the rough showing at São Paulo to the improved but still lackluster performance in Miami to the string of victories at EPL, MIBR is powering up.

While it’s still tough to look at their record or results and immediately see the light, it’s important to note the improvements we’ve seen in their gameplay and in turn results even in losses. A key component of this Brazilian roster was their confidence. The aggressive plays incorporated into their well-structured and synchronized tactics allowed for the Major champions to become the legends they are today.

A victory over Grayhound propelled Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo and company into a best-of-three against the Swedes of fnatic and they delivered. MIBR dismantled Freddy “KRIMZ” Johansson’s squad 16-9 and 16-4 on Overpass and Nuke respectively.

Watching this teams play develop, adjust, and progress as they find their new identity has been a struggle at times – however – witnessing their rise in confidence and in turn power, is a beauty in itself. MIBR may not quite be the Astralis killers fans were hoping they’d be right away, but they’re pushing that boulder up the hill slowly but surely.

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