MIBR eliminated by Talon Esports at VCT 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo
Many rumblings among players and analysts had viewed MIBR as one of the primary dark horses to make a championship run at VCT 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo. As both teams entered Haven, there was excitement brewing to see exactly how good MIBR will look in their debut performance. Instead, MIBR found themselves down the first map to Talon Esports 13- 8 as they were unable to keep up with Thanamethk "Crws" Mahatthananuyut and Panyawat "Sushiboys" Subsiriroj performances on Omen and Killjoy, respectively.
While things looked more promising for MIBR on Fracture, evident by their 10-7 lead over Talon Esports at one point, the series slipped from their control. Once Talon Esports garnered a five-round streak, they were ultimately able to put a stop to MIBR's chances at a championship run in front of the home crowd.
Immediately after, there were many questions behind MIBR's early exit from VCT 2023: LOCK//IN, with a primary question being if the pressure to perform in São Paulo crept into their mind.
While coach Matheus "bzkA" Tarasconi stated that the team felt “no extra pressure” playing in front of the home crowd in São Paulo, he did believe there was pressure in regards to another aspect of the tournament.
“I think we’re a very strong roster, but there’s no extra pressure for playing at home,” bzkA said before continuing. “But there’s a pressure of playing the first time internationally at an international event.”
bzkA compounded on this idea by telling media at the press conference that MIBR would “be even worse” if the tournament took place “with an international crowd at an international event” because of the higher level of play.
While this was not the international tournament for bzkA, who was the coach for reigning VCT Champions 2022 winners LOUD, it was his and the rest of the team's first international tournament under the MIBR banner. Regardless, bzkA maintained a positive mindset following the team’s defeat to Talon Esports. Instead, he was proud of how the players all communicated with each other on the server.
“Even if we lost the game, the attitude, the way we talk during the game, we did a good job,” bzkA said. “Results don’t always come and I just feel that the pressure was there for everyone at the tournament.”
bzkA closed out his statement by highlighting the entire MIBR VALORANT players and staff, where he made a promising statement for the team’s growth throughout the rest of 2023.
“I see five brilliant players and I see a very strong staff here as well, not just me. We have a really strong staff and players,” bzkA said. “I see that we can definitely take a trophy home in the long term.”
MIBR's run at VCT 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo has officially come to an end. The Brazilians will now look toward making a bounce back during the VCT 2023: Americas League starting on March 26, 2023. Meanwhile, Talon Esports will look to continue their strong form as they move forward into a match against Evil Geniuses in the round-of-16 on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2023.
VCT 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo, Group Alpha will take a momentary pause from the action tomorrow before making a return on Friday, Feb. 16, 2023. There, Group Alpha will transition into the round-of-16, where Americas NRG will take on EMEA's Giants Gaming at 9 am PST.
Sage got his start in esports as a volunteer writer in 2016 for esports organization, Dignitas. Since then, he has continued to work on his craft as a journalist and reporter for a number of established esports publications, such as esports.gg, Unikrn, Akshon Esports, Howla, The Player’s Lobby, Nerd Street Gamers, and most recently Dot Esports. Now, as a member of Esports Illustrated’s content team, Sage’s primary duties are centered around creating groundbreaking written and video content about the esports industry that impacts the community in a meaningful way. Sage graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and Informatics. There, he was a member of the Rutgers Esports Executive Board, both as the head of the fighting game community and a videographer/photographer for the Content team.