fnatic move past MIBR in ESL Pro League S17 opener

The European combine picked up their first win of the group stage following a clean 2-0 win over MIBR.

fnatic inaugurated their ESL Pro League Season 17 Group A run with a commanding 2-0 victory over MIBR, sending the Brazilians down to the lower bracket of the triple-elimination group following a confident 16-7 victory on Ancient and a 16-12 showing on Overpass.

The victory will be a significant confidence booster for fnatic, who struggled at IEM Katowice, their debut event of 2023, by bowing out in 9-12th place following regrettable losses to both Vitality and Complexity. The squad appeared much more tuned in this time around, however, with a particularly noticeable upswing in form from Dion "⁠FASHR⁠" Derksen. The Dutchman posted a modest 0.83 rating across nine maps at IEM Katowice, but starts fnatic's campaign through EPL Season 17 with a much-improved 1.28 rating to his name, a welcome sign as the team aims to reach the playoffs of ESL's flagship league for the second time running.

MIBR suffered greatly from an unusually quiet Henrique "⁠HEN1⁠" Teles. The Brazilian marksman sat at the very bottom of the scoreboard with a lacklustre 21-38 K-D differential and 0.69 rating, while his inability to come alive on the AWP-heavy map of Overpass proved costly in attempting to force a Vertigo decider. The squad will need to work on their faults in the server if they're to have any chance versus IHC in the lower bracket, where the Brazilians and Mongolians are set to clash on Thursday at 12:30 .

The action between the two teams began on Ancient, MIBR's pick, and a map fnatic were still untested on over the past three months. The Brazilians enjoyed a solid start to the series, with sublime fragging output from the in-game leader of Raphael "⁠exit⁠" Lacerda (12 kills) allowing his team to sit pretty with an opening 5-3 lead on the T-side. MIBR struggled to build on this initial burst of success, however, and posted just one additional round on the board by the half's end, unable to break through fnatic's malleable defensive line which continuously stayed one step ahead of the Brazilian quintet.

fnatic remained in control once it was their turn to attack, with perfectly executed site takes coupled with consistent round-on-round impact from FASHR enabling the international mixture to completely run riot. MIBR managed to add one round to their tally midway through the half thanks to a triple kill round from Matheus "⁠Tuurtle⁠" Anhaia, but were otherwise outmatched time and time again by a vastly superior fnatic, who went on to close things out 16-7 to send the series to Overpass.

Any chance of MIBR getting back into the game was quickly discarded once Overpass got underway. The Brazilians nabbed the pistol round on the back of a triple kill from Felipe "⁠insani⁠" Yuji, but were unable to hold back fnatic's Desert Eagles in the ensuing round to allow the European combine to go 4-1 up on the T-side.

The remainder of the half was an all-out slugfest; fnatic were the dominant force in the server, but guerilla-style fighting with pistols and other low-investment purchases from the Brazilians enabled the side to remain hot on fnatic's heels. Whilst William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman's men eventually triumphed and sported a nine-round half by the interval, heroics from insani — including an ace in round eight and a 1vs2 clutch in round 14 — kept MIBR in contention to give way to a recoverable three-round deficit at halftime.

MIBR launched their recovery at the beginning of the second half, overturning fnatic's victory in the pistol round with a three-round spree to sit just one round down, 9-10. The Brazilians continued their upward trajectory heading into the last straight, but an eco round triumph by fnatic at 11-12 ended up being the turning point. The European ensemble strung together five rounds on the trot thanks to a stalwart hold of the B bombsite and a rejuvenated showing from Freddy "⁠KRIMZ⁠" Johansson, halting MIBR's comeback attempt in its tracks and closing out the series with a map to spare, 16-12.