Immediately following the conclusion of ELS One Cologne, a flurry of speculative articles appeared regarding the future of MIBR, including the chances they may bring a second player from Cloud 9 in the form of Tarik, or maybe lose their star player.
With the ability and legacy the team possesses, any move affecting them has the chance to shake up the scene as a whole, but it looks as though there is no hope left for the team in its current form to regain their status as the world’s best.
Since the latter half of 2017, the Brazilian team has been in crisis, but in truth their five man unit has had problems for a lot longer than that. The likes of fnx, felps, boltz and Stewie2k were all removed or brought in to solve problems with team chemistry, and all have a different way of playing that the team failed to incorporate.
It is possible to claim they have worked out how to make boltz work, but constant speculation that he will be replaced does suggest that they are still searching for the perfect fit.
It may be that the magic has already gone though, and there is no such thing as a solution to the problems MIBR are facing. Some experts have suggested the genius of FalleN can save them, given time, but FalleN has long had the reins of the team, and has led them here. The loss of TACO was his first time allowing one of his core four to leave, and since then there has been no real sense of the team knowing where they go next.
The problem seems to be within the group, more than anything else, and that may have led to the removal of TACO, and the subsequent dramatic decline. Stories have always circulated about the inner workings of a tempestuous group, and even with the amiable support player left there was a lot of focus on his unhappiness in the group. It may be that some members of the team are more difficult to work, and that has taken a toll on their performance in-game.
Light at the end of the tunnel
Now, it seems like there may be an end in sight, but the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train. Rumours are circulating the coldzera may be on his way out of the team, with strong links to Team Liquid and fluttering whispers about a possible move to FaZe Clan, meaning the team would have to continue with boltz and their new signing, or replace two men from the current team.
It would mean s1mple leaving a team on the rise to join in the bailing on a sinking ship
(There is another, more crazy scenario that could occur, but probably won’t: When the team tried to complete a move for s1mple and flamie, the result of the conversation was a no from Na’Vi, that suggested a yes was possible in the summer of 2018. It would be unexpected, but it is possible that move could still happen, although at this point it would mean s1mple leaving a team on the rise to join in the bailing on a sinking ship, and who would ever think that was a good idea?)
In some ways the loss of coldzera would not be the tragedy it appears, with his ratings trending consistently downward since a peak in May of 2017, and with the ink only recently dried on his MIBR contract the money they team will receive if he does go should allow them to rebuild at least.
However, the concept of MIBR, the brand Noah Whinston paid so much money to acquire and plaster across the world’s former best team, has to be considered on its last legs, if not already dead in the water.
Some would say this is a result of Whinston’s obsession with entertainment over excellence, an avowed position which would certainly explain breaking the bank and putting a load of faded stars on massive contracts. Regardless of that, a Virtus.pro-style reinvention is required at this point if his investment is to be considered a good one, and instead it looks as though the team is eating itself from the inside. Likewise, if you consider that few, if any teams have spent as long as then-SK did at the top of the game, then it becomes almost inevitable this is the end of the road for the Brazilians.
There is a chance they could reinvent themselves elsewhere of course, but that will depend on their hunger, and we’ve seen the effect a long and lucrative contract can have on players at the aforementioned Polish team. If not, the road for FalleN, fer and maybe coldzera to the top is a long one, and one they have already travelled, meaning the journey will be nowhere near as thrilling this time. For the scene, it will be a sad moment when we accept the end of this era, but a gap at the top means space for new gods to arrive.
