Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo believes that high expectations and a lack of patience prevented the international MIBR lineup featuring Jake “Stewie2K” Yip and Tarik “tarik” Celik from achieving greater success in 2018. Speaking during the official ESL broadcast at IEM Beijing 2026, the Brazilian veteran reflected on the team’s results and explained why the roster did not remain together longer.
The lineup reached several important finals and semifinals but struggled to match the achievements of the previous Brazilian core, which had won two Majors under the Luminosity and SK Gaming banners.
FalleN believes expectations were too high
According to FalleN, the biggest problem was the pressure created by the team’s previous success. After winning multiple international tournaments and two Majors in 2016, the players were accustomed to competing for titles rather than simply reaching the later stages of tournaments.
The captain explained that even strong results started to feel disappointing because the team expected to win almost every event. Despite reaching semifinals and finals against Astralis, the players questioned why they were unable to collect more trophies.
I think that team could have gone further, but the patience just wasn’t there anymore.
FalleN suggested that the constant expectations prevented the roster from receiving enough time to develop. Looking back, he believes the team had the potential to achieve more than its eventual results showed.
MIBR reached several finals with Stewie2K and tarik
The international lineup was formed in 2018 after Stewie2K and tarik joined the Brazilian core of FalleN, Fernando “fer” Alvarenga and Marcelo “coldzera” David.
The two North American players competed together at 13 events under the MIBR banner, recording several notable results:
- ZOTAC Cup Masters 2018 — Champions
- FACEIT Major London 2018 — 3rd–4th place
- BLAST Pro Series Istanbul 2018 — Runners-up
- ECS Season 6 Finals — Runners-up
- ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals — 3rd–4th place
Their only international LAN title came at ZOTAC Cup Masters in Hong Kong, where MIBR defeated Kinguin 3:0 in the Grand Final. FalleN also received the tournament MVP award.
However, the team repeatedly struggled against Astralis, who won both the BLAST Pro Series Istanbul and ECS Season 6 Finals against MIBR. The international project ended without another major championship victory.
tarik previously admitted MIBR separated too early
FalleN is not the first former member of the lineup to question how quickly the project ended. In an interview discussed by Dust2.us in October 2023, tarik expressed a similar opinion about the team’s potential.
We actually were pretty good on MIBR. I think we pulled the plug way too soon.
The American player highlighted that MIBR had reached several finals during their relatively short time together, suggesting that the roster deserved more opportunities to develop.
Years later, FalleN appears to share that assessment. His comments at IEM Beijing suggest that the team’s inability to meet its own expectations, rather than a complete lack of competitive potential, was a major factor behind the decision to move on from the international lineup.
