MIBR knock Evil Geniuses out in Malta, advance to last chance bracket final

The Brazilians will face Monte again, this time for a spot in the playoffs.

MIBR's hopes are still alive at ESL Pro League, where they were knocked down to the Group B last chance bracket following losses to ENCE and MOUZ. They have shown a high ceiling, however, taking a map off of Marco "⁠Snappi⁠" Pfeiffer and his men, as well as beating MOUZ the first time the two teams met.

MIBR absolutely smashed Evil Geniuses on the North American team’s map pick, Ancient, to kick off the series. Felipe "⁠insani⁠" Yuji and company won the first two rounds on the CT side, dropped the first gun round with lesser weapons, and then went on an absolute tear.

The Brazilians chained thirteen rounds, eleven on the CT side and two after the switch, to take it 16-1. Rafael "⁠saffee⁠" Costa was his team’s lowest-rated player with a 1.30 rating, while insani topped the board with a 1.79.

Evil Geniuses came alive on Mirage, able to play their first earnest CT side, and dominated on the defense. A massive 10-1 lead provided some safety before they slowed down late in the half, letting MIBR win three of the last four.

The North Americans then gave up a 5vs3 in the second pistol round, and what felt like an early blunder could have eventually become a killing blow. Evil Geniuses could not get on the board in the first seven rounds, which brought the map to a stalemate, 11-11, before an ace by Jadan "⁠HexT⁠" Postma put his team back ahead.

Horns remained locked until the thirtieth round, after which a double overtime ensued. MIBR, in it to close out a massive comeback and take the match, failed to come through as a 21-18 lead off the back of a strong CT side was enough for Evil Geniuses to send the series to Nuke.

Unlike Mirage, it was the terrorist sides that set the pace on Nuke. Evil Geniuses’ knife round win didn’t pay off as MIBR won the pistol round and although close early on, they ran away 10-5 at the half.

Evil Geniuses won a second-round forcebuy after the switch, which gave them an economic advantage early on their T side to put in enough rounds to bring things back to even.

Like Mirage, Nuke went to overtime, this time all the way to triple OT, making this marathon series hit the four-and-a-half hour mark by the time MIBR put the final nail in Evil Geniuses’s coffin, closing the map 25-22.

Date	Matches
ESL Pro League Season 18
10/09/2023	Monte 21:30 MIBR	Match

MIBR’s fought-out victory means they are now one match away from the playoffs. After their marathon series against Evil Geniuses, the Brazilians now have to face Monte.