MIBR frz on 2-1 upset over NRG in Americas League
MIBR had shown promising form throughout the VCT 2023: Americas League, but today was their first upset of the season. Throughout the three-game thriller, both NRG and MIBR battled valiantly as two maps went into overtime before MIBR was able to put the closing touches on a major upset in the VCT 2023: Americas League.
For Leandro “frz” Gomes, it was a mixture of “happy and relieved” following their victory against NRG in the third week of the VCT 2023: Americas League.
“I just feel happy and relieved that we closed out our series against NRG,” frz said. “I just feel great.”
The game plan was simple for MIBR, according to frz. Instead of focusing on NRG, a lot of the attention was placed on keeping a leveled mindset during situations they were on the back foot.
“We constantly motivated each other throughout the series,” FRZ said. “We were always saying that the game is 0-0 and that we just need to focus on the game.”
MIBR’s improvement since VCT 2023: LOCK//IN
Expectations were low for MIBR going into the VCT 2023: Americas League season because of their poor performance at VCT 2023: LOCK//IN. Since then, however, the team has pieced together strong performances in the Americas League. The biggest step towards improvement has been winning “easy rounds” to start.
“We have been focusing on not giving up easy rounds these past few weeks,” FRZ said. “There were situations where we struggled to win rounds with three to five people alive, so we have been working on being more solid in those situations.”
For some teams, the fixes can be quite simple. For FRZ and MIBR, it was all about nailing the “fundamentals” to unlock the team’s natural talents for VALORANT. Still, it is all a work in progress.
“We still have a ways to go when it comes to winning the rounds we should be winning,” FRZ said. “We are still losing eco rounds that we shouldn’t.”
MIBR’s performance against NRG was one of their best to date in the team’s time together. Now, they stand at a 2-1 record three games into the VCT 2023: Americas League regular season. Yet, the biggest thing that frz is happy about is that all the Brazilian teams are doing well in the Americas League with a collective 6-1 record.
“I’m really happy that all three Brazilian teams are doing good,” frz said. “I always knew Brazilian teams were really good, but for a long time, it was only LOUD performing. But lately, Furia has been really strong too, and now we are getting there too. It makes me happy.”
While all 10 VCT 2023: Americas League teams are all working together to represent the Americas stage internationally, frz admitted that there was something extra special about seeing both Furia and LOUD performing well. That regional pride is something that frz holds dearly, especially in his closing remarks to the Brazilian fans.
“Thank you everyone for supporting and believing in us. Every game, we are just going to give it our all, and we are just trying to get better and better,” frz said. “We appreciate that you are standing by us all in Brazil. We see all the messages out there. We love all of you.”
MIBR will move forward into the super week 2-1 as they look to continue their push for the VCT 2023: Americas League postseason. They will take on Leviatán and Sentinels in week four’s matches.
How to watch VCT 2023: Americas League?
You can keep up with the VCT 2023: Americas League by watching all the matches live through the VCT Americas YouTube and Twitch channels.
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.