crying for a tier 3 tournament is crazy work
It's not the highest tournament she can play. Mimi could easily play for a top tier-2 team. And with the IGL market being weak in EMEA, she could even tryout with a tier-1 team
But money in G2 is too good and she's already a Redbull athlete, so why bother competing in a higher level when you know for sure you will dominate in a tier-3 circuit, while you stream and get money. There's no reason for her to compete in higher levels
I like mimi as much as the next person, but "easily play for a top tier-2 team"? You must be cooked. She's a good caller in GC, but during the Spotlight Offseason tournament, she even said that she was learning IGL stuff from Valyn like quicker calls. Mechanically though, she is still immortal 3 (check her tracker) which is a notable difference at the highest level of competitive Valorant. Her decision-making would get exposed hard in Tier 1/2.
She makes good money at G2 with the Red Bull sponsorships, but she also is content with pursuing GC trophies because if she goes to Tier 1/2, there is no guarantee that she can even play at an international. You're risking starting from the bottom and being at the mercy of harsh waves of criticism and potential misogyny due to her being the only female in the scene when there are radiant ranked grinders who wanna go pro.
First, putting zeek in there is insane. I know he might be a bit washed and GoNext trolled their ascension run, but zeek has the capability to play for a Tier 1 team. The other players have hit radiant and gone well above the minimum threshold at their peak. They look mediocre because they're outplayed by better teams, systems, strats.
You're overrating mimi quite a lot to say she could replace players who have truly grinded out ranked and refined their mechanical ability a lot. I'm not saying this to be rude about mimi, but if she doesn't have her calling, she is basically worth nothing to a Tier 2 team given there are more mechanically proven players who can learn how to play to a stratbook. And even then, her calling is probably not as fast or precise on the micro details and decisions to make midround compared to Tier 2 IGLs. She might do some stuff right, but it is a bigger gamble taking her if I'm being honest.
Most people would cry, be frustrated, disappointed, etc. if they lost a chance to win a trophy despite being so close. It takes a lot to put up a calm, honest front in a press conference after a huge loss regardless of competitive tier, what game or even discipline you partake in. When you care to be the best at something that's within your reach, the emotions hit harder.