Could MIBR Become the New VP?

Picture this: a once-world beating side fabled for its longevity and unique outlook on the game keeps defying the odds and reinventing itself, climbing back to the top over and over again after many considered them past their peak. Of course, the Polish side’s eventual collapse was so sad and spectacular that even their old detractors wished they could once again show a modicum of their old excellence – one has to wonder whether the Brazilians are now on the same path.

According to sailor folklore, it’s a bad omen to change the name of your ship – and one has to wonder whether the entire MiBR project and the restoration of the ex-Luminosity roster is weighed down by some sort of a Counter-Strike curse. The struggles of the NA-infused lineup are well documented, and there’s a good argument to be made that YNk’s coaching tenure also didn’t help things that much if you consider that the team’s only title win in that period came at their very first event against inferior opposition at ZOTAC Cup Masters. Not good enough.

The new-look old-fashioned MIBR side made some waves at the Katowice major, growing steadily into the event after a catastrophic start against a makeshift Cloud9 side. Since then, it’s been embarrassment after embarrassment, both at WESG and on home turf at the latest BLAST Pro event. The indignities continued in Shanghai as the Brazilians only recorded a win against Panda, a team so bad they should be considered endangered species themselves. Losing nine out of ten games never makes a good impression, even if a decent chunk of them happened to be best-of-ones.

What’s next? Unlike VP, FalleN’s teams never managed to elicit a response by re-jigging their in-game roles – coldzera’s catastrophic IGL stint serves as a good example of this –, and it truly feels like they’re running out of quick fix opportunities. They now have a coach as well, a lineup they used to excel with: it’s excuses they’re running out of.

In fact, one has to wonder when their star in-game leader’s powers come into question – FURIA and many other teams show the impressive depth of the Brazilian scene, and it truly feels like overwhelming changes need to be made if MIBR are expected to challenge again for top-tier titles.