MIBR sweeps G2 Gozen to reach the grand final

With a 3-0 scoreline, MIBR GC MIBR GC Game Changers Unranked srN Nicolas Niederauer sayuri Camila Obam Jelly Julia Iris Mel Melissa Souza jubs Juliana Oliveira has defeated G2 Gozen G2 Gozen Europe Unranked rezq Eda Naz Akçocuk amy Amy Lai Vania Aleyna Keskin Petra Petra Stoker mimi Michaela Lintrup , eliminating the former champions from contention and advancing to the Game Changers 2024 Championship grand final. MIBR will next face off against defending champions Shopify Rebellion, seeking Brazil's first-ever title at the premier Game Changers event.

The series was a rematch of an earlier game, where G2 Gozen defeated MIBR 2-1 on their way through the upper bracket. G2 is no stranger to Brazilian lineups, however, as they defeated Team Liquid Brazil in the 2023 upper bracket but lost 2-0 in the lower final.

In the map veto, G2 Gozen banned first, taking away their permaban and one of MIBR's better maps, Ascent. MIBR, meanwhile, opted to ban Split, a map which they lost 13-8 to G2 earlier this event. This veto left Abyss, which MIBR has played once since its release, and Sunset, which G2 has not lost in the last five months, as Gozen's picks. MIBR chose Bind, in which they've only lost once in the last two months and defeated G2 13-8, and Haven, where they boast a better record but have not played since August. Pearl remained as the decider map, only the second time MIBR has played the map in 2024 and the first for G2 this season.

Abyss kicked off the lower final. The international débutantes quickly shut down the attack's pistol round, but Gozen was quick to respond, winning the eco and anti-eco to recover from the pistol loss. MIBR recovered on the bonus round, taking the lead 4-3 and forcing out their opponent's timeout. G2 won their second thrifty to tie the score, and mimi punished a hesitant defense the next round, leading to a pause from the Brazilian squad ahead of round 10. The timeout helped MIBR adapt, as they tied the score and sent the map to halftime at 6-6.

The pendulum continued swinging in the second half, as Gozen broke the tie in the pistol round with a Vania clutch. MIBR regained the lead after testing the defense, slowly whittling down the opposition to set the score 9-8. G2 was quick to adapt, recognizing a fake in time to counter MIBR's game plan. An ult-heavy round 19 pushed MIBR into the double digits, and they took advantage of the eco round to extend their lead. MIBR kept applying pressure, switching sites and alternating pace to avoid round losses, closing out the map 13-9.

Bind, MIBR's map pick, started off well for the South American lineup. Their reads and early picks helped deny any plan from the attack and put MIBR up 4-0. It wasn't until G2's tactical timeout that they were able to get on the scoreboard, but their two round wins were not enough to break through their defense. srN was instrumental in the half, but sayuri's performance made the difference. Statistically, the in-game leader went to halftime with a 2.11 rating, 17-4 kill-death ratio, and a clutch under her belt.

The second half was more favorable for the former champions, thanks in part to their unusual defensive trap plays. Gozen was able to take four rounds in a row before an MIBR timeout was called. Despite their recent success, a misplayed round from G2 led to MIBR's first offensive round win and Gozen's own timeout to prevent match point. The round came down to the wire, with sayuri denying a 1v4 clutch from her Danish counterpart.

rezq and amy were crucial the next few rounds, their multikills supported by mimi 's Fault Lines. On the other side, srN and sayuri did everything to keep their team in the game, and a pause was enough to push Bind over the line, ending MIBR's map 13-10 and leaving the Brazilian representatives at series point.

MIBR continued their momentum for Sunset, taking advantage of their attacking half to take a pacey approach. sayuri confirmed the bonus round in her team's favor with a 3K, forcing G2 to play their second eco round early in the half. A timeout put Gozen on the board, but MIBR remained unfazed. Petra did her best to keep her team in the game, but Mel and jubs closed out their clutches to further extend their lead. srN continued their dominance for the last round of the half, completely taking over impossible duels to grant her team the site and an 11th round win.

In the end, Mel and srN sealed the final two rounds, ending G2 Gozen's run with a 13-1 win and qualifying to the grand final in their first international appearance.

In-game leader sayuri and srN were by far the standout players, statistically. srN led the server with a dominant 70 eliminations and 22 first kills, while sayuri scored the highest rating of the server at 1.51, ended +22 in kills vs. deaths, and won four clutches.

“I'm proud of my whole team,” jubs said after the series. “We are making history.”

The victory means that Brazil will play against North America for the GCC title for the second year in a row, with MIBR equalling Team Liquid Brazil's 2023 achievement. In a similar vein, G2 Gozen, the inaugural Game Changers champions, has been eliminated in third place for the second year in a row, this time on home soil. The organization will need another year if they wish to reclaim the trophy they first won back in 2022.

jubs was confident about their next match. “We're pretty comfortable with this streak of energy,” she said. “It's going to be a very good game for us.”