In an interview with Esports.gg about MIBR at LOCK//IN Brazil, jzz said that his team will become stronger thanks to having the crowd on their side.
MIBR is one of the Brazilian teams selected to be in the franchise league of VALORANT. The team's journey will start in VCT LOCK//IN Brazil. For the new season, only two players from the 2022 VCT remained on the team. In talks with Esports.gg, João "jzz" Pedro shared the expectations of Made in Brazil (MIBR) for the LOCK//IN event after these changes.
MIBR at LOCK//IN
After getting approved, the Brazilian organization went after the experienced trio of Vivo Keyd, Olavo "heat" Marcelo, Murillo "murizzz" Tuchtenhagen, and Matheus "RgLM" Rodigoli. These are three consistent and well-known players. Matheus "bzkA" Tarasconi also joined the roster as the winning coach of Champions 2022 with LOUD.
"BzkA brought a very nice experience alongside him, the Champions trophy," jzz said. "I and [Leandro "frz" Gomes] already had some synergy since we've played together, but the other three that came didn't. So bzkA brought [in] a new method and we are creating this synergy between the five."
According to jzz, the former LOUD coach will go for more and MIBR will be a team to keep an eye on this year.
"He didn't arrive with the thought of 'I'm a world champion'. He wants more, he wants to win another time," jzz explained. "He is with a fresh mind, so he will focus on this with this new team and roster. So everything changed for us. We're working on that to put up a challenge on the LOCK//IN."
MIBR's jzz wants a crowd boost
MIBR's jzz also told Esports.gg that the crowd in Brazil will be different compared to his experience in Chile.
"We are very excited," jzz said. "At the end of the last year, we played [in] Chile and the crowd was all against us with [lots of chanting]. So we already [saw] what [it] is like to play against another team's crowd. Now is the time to see how it is to play with our crowd. We're going to do our best to represent the Brazilians in the LOCK//IN."
MIBR will have another mission during the LOCK//IN event. LOUD achieved a lot internationally in 2022, and that squad was also dominant within Brazil. Jzz said he wants his teammates to show that their lineup will not be behind their local rivals. "We also want to show LOUD that we're not behind them. We're evenly matched."
LOCK//IN Brazil and jzz
To wrap up the conversation, jzz also shared that this is a dream come true as his first international tournament where he'll get to play at home.
"[It] is my first world tournament," he said. "For me, everything is new. Still, the feeling is a little bit different. I imagine because want it or not, we're the ones that are welcoming them into our home. So [it] is a little weird. Like, we were training and when we had a pause, we went to grab a snack and we were able to eat a Brazilian snack. Is all so different, but the mood is excellent because we're home and everything is easier."
The player also shared a final message with MIBR's opponents. "The five of us will get big with the Ibirapuera Arena noise. They're in our home, we're MIBR."
Stay tuned to Esports.gg for more VALORANT news and content. Check out our VCT LOCK//IN event page for interviews, results, and more all in one place.