MIBR take down China’s number 1 seed BLG, Verno world class

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MIBR surprised everyone at the 2025 VALORANT Champions tournament by defeating BLG 2-0. Andrew “Verno” Maust, a promising American player, had an outstanding performance on the Haven map, establishing himself as a key leader and player in Paris.

In a surprising turn of events at VCT Champions 2025 in Paris, MIBR defeated China’s top VALORANT team, Bilibili Gaming (BLG). MIBR, who hadn’t qualified for the Americas playoffs, showcased a dominant performance, winning the first map, Haven, 13-2, and ultimately taking the series 2-0.

Going into the tournament, everyone was talking about Andrew “Verno” Maust – he’d just joined MIBR from NRG and was the big new name. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from Erick “aspas” Santos since this was his first big international showing as the underdog, but Verno was definitely the player everyone had their eyes on.

Verno stuns in incredible Haven performance

Verno, previously considered one of the weakest players in Stage 2 according to analysts, had his best performance yet.

Playing on the Haven map, he had an incredible performance with a KDA of 19 kills, 3 deaths, and 3 assists in his team’s 13-2 win against BLG. This gave him a KD ratio of 7.0, which was a new record, surpassing the previous best held by Tyson “TenZ” Ngo.

Verno’s performance is especially notable because he’s the sole in-game leader, making all the strategic calls himself.

Coach FRoD explained in an interview after the match that Verno is now leading the team. They decided to make him the in-game leader after the second game of the Split because he expressed a strong desire to take on the role.

We completely support Verno and are working with him daily to help him refine his skills and deepen his understanding of the game. He already has a strong grasp of it, and we’re confident in our decision to stick with him.

Verno played incredibly well-so much so that we saw a surge in views on our article about his VALORANT settings during his match! And he had extra support with his mom cheering him on from the audience.

MIBR doesn’t tilt, dominates second half on Corrode

BLG quickly won the first map, putting pressure on MIBR in the early stages of Corrode. BLG’s key player, Wang “whzy” Haozhe, started to perform well, and they finished the first half with a 7-5 advantage, boosted by Haozhe’s impressive 4K (four kills in one round) in the 12th round.

MIBR demonstrated impressive resilience and took control in the second half. While aspas led the team in kills, Verno’s strategic scouting and positioning were crucial. Aspas also achieved the only Ace of the match in round 15, and newcomer Cortezia proved his skill with some excellent Operator plays.

Statement win

Wow, MIBR really pulled off something amazing with this win! Everyone thought the other team was a sure thing, but MIBR proved they’re a force to be reckoned with, and I think they’re officially in the running to win it all now. And Verno? He was incredible! This felt like a breakout performance for him, and I’m hoping it’s the start of something special for both him and the whole team, especially after they struggled a bit in Stage 2.

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2025-09-15 18:11