The battle to be second-best in South America has long been one of the most exciting battles in lower-level CS. It goes all the way back to 2020, when FalleN’s last hurrah in MIBR fell from grace, and any South American squad not named FURIA were forever condemned to being called a tier two side.

paiN, 9z, and Legacy have made repeated claims with deep runs at big events; Sharks and Gaimin Gladiators are taking a shot at the princehood here in Cologne, and we’ve been around long enough to remember those who came before.

RED Canids, Imperial, Fluxo, INTZ, TeamOne, 00NATION, GODSENT… the list literally goes on and on, and if you’re from São Paulo, we’re sure it’s very depressing to look at.

However, we are convinced that MIBR will be the ones to finally break through, for three key reasons.

First of all, last year they realised that as much as they’d like to, truly great AWPers are rarely made in Brazil. Taking in kl1m was a gamble, but he’s comfortably shown since signing on that he beats all the South America-based AWPers, bar molodoy.

Second, none of the other teams we listed have ever had a player like insani.

The first time insani stepped into a LAN event for MIBR was in the play-in of IEM Katowice 2023. The team didn’t advance, but he dropped a 1.27 rating over the event*. We’ve been believers ever since.

Third, with South American buyouts being what they are, you were never going to get FalleN, arT or biguzera to captain this squad. Eventually, it seemed the team were fed up with trying to find the next diamond in the rough, and bit the bullet to shop abroad.

LNZ is a perfect fit for this squad. His style on HEROIC was loose and exciting, but aside from tN1R, the pieces needed to capitalise on that freedom just weren’t there. With insani and kl1m by his side - and two other talented players with room to grow - the world is his oyster.

Calling for MIBR to make it out of Stage One should be a given, but we’ll go further - these kids will challenge for a playoff spot.

This is your last time to get on the train, or you’ll be left behind.