With a 2-1 win, MIBR MIBR Brazil Rank #3 artzin Arthur Araujo xenom Eduardo Soeiro cortezia Gabriel Cortez nzr Agustin Ibarra aspas Erick Santos has eliminated LEVIATÁN LEVIATÁN Latin America South Rank #1 Demon1 Max Mazanov tex Ian Botsch kiNgg Francisco Aravena C0M Corbin Lee nataNk Nathan Bocqueho from Kickoff Americas. Now in the top four, they will next play against the winner of today's second elimination match, KRÜ Esports vs. LOUD. The loss means Leviatán will not earn Championship points and will return to the server until the conclusion of Masters: Bangkok.

Heading into the series, MIBR looked to win their first match against Leviatán, as the Latin American org has dominated the head-to-head with two 2-0 wins in official series, as well as two wins in the 2022 off-season. The elimination match also pit aspas and nzr , both Leviatán alumni, against their former org and eventual replacements.

In the map veto, both teams removed their respective permabans. Leviatán showed confidence, switching their map pick for the third time this event to start on Lotus, a weak map for MIBR. The Brazilian team looked to do the same, picking a map which both teams have floated but only MIBR has won, Pearl. The teams continued countering their opponents, taking away Abyss and Haven, historically comfortable maps for both teams. Split remained as the decider, a map which neither team necessarily favors.

Lotus was a strong start for MIBR, as they went up four rounds after winning the pistol and bonus. A C0M clutch and coordinated retake on A gave Leviatán two rounds, but the Brazilian squad denied a second clutch to stop the gap from closing. The teams continued the back-and-forth, sending the map to the halftime break at 6-6.

Demon1 had one of his best maps since joining Leviatán

The Latin American org eventually took the lead after winning the second pistol round, with Demon1 awakening to help his team reach double digits. Back-to-back clutches followed a tactical pause, tex and aspas finding success to set the score 11-7. Leviatán ended the map two rounds later, taking their pick 13-7.

“We improved a lot from what we showed against G2,” LEV coach Itopata said after map one. “I'm really happy we were able to show our true face on the first map,” he added.

The beginning of Pearl remained close, with Leviatán taking the pistol but MIBR keeping the game close with a three round streak. Demon1 carried over his performance from the first map, leading Leviatán to six points on attack. The back-and-forth kept the teams on equal ground heading into the latter half, with a chaotic round 12 going tex's way.

tex and aspas duke it out for the last point of the first half.

xenom was key in the second pistol, holding solo against a crunch to stabilize MIBR's post-plant. tex almost single-handedly tied the score at 9-9, finding a clutch and holding against a B execute. Leviatán's clutches were not enough, as MIBR stabilized to win the remainder of their attack rounds, ending their map pick 13-9.

MIBR had a solid start on Split, using a double-duelist composition to overwhelm Leviatán's defense. artzin and xenom were instrumental, with the former finding entries and multikills and xenom denying clutches to give their team an early lead. tex helped win three rounds in a row, forcing out MIBR's timeout ahead of a tie. An aspas 3K led MIBR to a 7-5 lead heading into the break.

MIBR's double-duelist was key in keeping them ahead on attack.

Leviatán avoided disaster in the second half, equalizing the score with a pistol and anti-eco despite MIBR reading the offense's intentions. Split mirrored the previous map, as a solid start on the second half for Leviatán was countered by MIBR's strong calling and individual performances, and the Latin American org was unable to convert rounds until their opponents reached match point. Looking to counter MIBR's advantage, Leviatán opted for faster-paced rounds to reach overtime. In the end, MIBR proved superior, closing out the decider 14-12 off the back of their duelists' heroics and eliminating Leviatán with a 2-1 win.

“Split was really hard on defense,” nzr said following their win. “The last round we found what we need to do to win.”

“aspas is the best player in the world and he always shows it,” he said regarding his teammate.

Now in the top four, MIBR has earned at least one Championship point, which will aid them on the road to Champions: Paris. They are also two wins away from qualifying to Masters: Bangkok, needing to reach the Kickoff grand final to qualify to the first international of the year. As MIBR nears the podium, the win represents a historic milestone, with this tournament being the organization's best-ever VCT placement.

“Our tournament starts now,” nzr added. “I think [our next opponent] is going to be LOUD,” he predicted. “But KRÜ is a team that can always come back.”

The Kickoff Americas top four will continue with the following matches: