MIBR upset MOUZ to earn first EPL victory

Felipe "⁠insani⁠" Yuji averaged a stellar 1.37 rating to power his team to a win over MOUZ in their Group B opener.

MIBR picked up their first ESL Pro League Season 18 victory after upsetting MOUZ in a three-map series. The Brazilians overpowered their European counterparts on Vertigo (16-9) to get the series underway, but were then handed a lopsided defeat on Inferno (7-16) in response. In the end, a 30-round affair on Mirage (16-14) was required to get the job done and enable Raphael "⁠exit⁠" Lacerda's men to record their first win in Malta.

The Brazilians owe a lot of their thanks to insani, who ended proceedings with a 1.37 rating to his name to carry his team to victory. The 19-year-old was particularly potent on the CT-side of the Mirage decider, where he posted a 2.05 rating and 123 ADR to spearhead his team's recovery from their initial 6-9 deficit at halftime.

The international roster now move forward to the Group B upper bracket semi-final in Malta, where they will play ENCE on Thursday at 19:30 for a chance to guarantee a spot in the playoffs.

Date	Matches
ESL Pro League Season 18
07/09/2023	ENCE 20:10 MIBR	Match

The series began on MIBR's pick of Vertigo, and it didn't take long for the Brazilians to stamp their authority on the map. The South Americans, powered again by a stellar individual showing from insani (17-9 K-D, 105 ADR), raced to a commanding 10-5 lead by the end of their T-side effort. From there, MIBR continued to sit firmly in the driver's seat, brushing aside a short-lived four-round spree from MOUZ to post a 16-9 scoreline on their map choice and send the series to Inferno.

MOUZ stabilized once play made its way to their map pick. Ádám "⁠torzsi⁠" Torzsás and David "⁠frozen⁠" Čerňanský both put up solid T-side halves and combined for 25 kills to help spearhead an 8-7 scoreline in favor of their team. The European cohort didn't look back from this moment on; a dominant game plan decimated whatever the Brazilians threw at them, enabling MOUZ to post a flawless eight-round CT-side and convert their pick, 16-7, to force a trip to the Mirage decider. So dominant was MOUZ's CT-side that Jimi "⁠Jimpphat⁠" Salo ended up posting a rare 0-0 K-D ratio for the entirety of the second half.

The outset of Mirage was one defined by bitter back-and-forth battles for control, with both MOUZ and MIBR struggling to nurture healthy economies after letting advantageous situations slip away. While it was the Kamil "⁠siuhy⁠" Szkaradek-led squad who came out on top at halftime, sitting on a 9-6 advantage, MIBR hit sixth gear once on the offense. The Brazilians conceded just five rounds throughout the entire half to march onwards to victory, 16-14, and complete the upset.