MIBR shocked the VALORANT world at VCT Champions 2025 with a 2-0 sweep over BLG. American rising star Andrew “Verno” Maust delivered a record-breaking performance on Haven, cementing himself as both a leader and playmaker in Paris.
MIBR stunned the VALORANT world in Paris with a dominant upset over China’s top-ranked team, Bilibili Gaming (BLG), at VCT Champions 2025. The Brazilian squad, who didn’t even qualify for the Americas playoffs, came out swinging with a ruthless 13-2 win on Haven before closing out the series 2-0.
This was Erick “aspas” Santos’ first international event in an underdog role, but the spotlight was firmly on American rising star Andrew “Verno” Maust, who joined MIBR from NRG in March.
Verno stuns in incredible Haven performance
Verno, who analysts had labeled the third-lowest-performing player of Stage 2, delivered his best showing yet.
On Haven, he finished with a staggering 19-3-3 KDA in the 13-2 victory over BLG, posting a 7.0 KD ratio that broke the KD record previously held by Tyson “TenZ” Ngo.
Verno's individual performance is even more impressive considering he is also the in-game IGL, and isn’t splitting calling duties with anyone else.
"Verno is full in control," said coach FRoD in the post-map interview. "After the second game of our Split, we made the decision to swap him as the IGL because he was really wanting to do it.
"We're all in with Verno, full faith. We're working with him every day to try and improve his calling, his understanding of the game which is already at a high level. We made the decision and we've not looked back."
Verno's performance was so impressive, even our article on Verno's VALORANT crosshair and settings got a spike in activity in the middle of the match. Plus, Verno had the family buff with his mum in the audience.
MIBR doesn't tilt, dominates second half on Corrode
BLG brushed off map 1 to give MIBR a real test on the first half of Corrode. BLG's star player Wang “whzy” Haozhe showed signs of life, and BLG entered the second half with a 7-5 lead off the back of a 4K by the 22 year-old in round 12.
However, MIBR showed incredible grit to ride the wave and dominate the second half. Verno's recon and lurks could not be understated, despite team-mate aspas bringing in the kills. Aspas got the only Ace of the series in round 15, as rookie Cortezia showed his worth styling on the Operator.
Statement win
With this victory, MIBR not only shocked one of the tournament favorites but also announced themselves as true contenders on the global stage. For Verno, it was a career-defining performance and may mark the beginning of a new chapter for both player and team after an underwhelming Stage 2.
