MIBR zekken: "We want very badly to play in Brazil"

MIBR secured a spot in the VCT Americas Stage 2 playoffs after defeating ENVY, overcoming a first-map loss to complete the comeback. The result capped off a period of improvement for the Brazilian organization, which has found more consistency after making changes to its leadership and settling on a clearer identity in recent weeks.

In an exclusive interview with Sheep Esports on Friday, August 21th, Zachary “zekken” Patrone reflected on MIBR’s recent turnaround and the impact of Roberto "Mazino" Rivas taking over the in-game leadership role from Andrew "Verno" Maust.

The American also discussed the team’s double-Duelist setup, his own increased leadership responsibilities, the postponement of the Esports Nations Cup (ENC) and MIBR’s ambitions of reaching the playoffs in Brazil.

Zachary “zekken” Patrone: “I’m feeling very good, very relieved and glad that we had good mental fortitude today. We lost the first map, but we were able to come back, so it’s a very good sign for us and something I’m very happy about. Feeling very good.

zekken: Our form and the way that we want to play is just finally coming together, and now we have some results to back it up. We’ve been trying to find our identity and how we want to play for a long time, and we finally locked it in towards the end of Stage 1, going into the EWC playoffs and then the start of Stage 2. Now we have our momentum, we have our footing, and we feel very good and very confident about how we play.

zekken: I would say that Mazino has better natural leadership qualities. He’s the kind of guy who, if we’re doing something wrong, will be like, “Yo guys, stop this. We’re doing it wrong, we need to do it this way”. So, he’s more likely to confront the team and be very direct about our issues, and he also is calling quite confidently. When he first switched over, it took some time for him to find his confidence and find how he wants to call, but he has found his footing now, and he’s calling very well.

zekken: We’ve been feeling very good, and individually I feel good as well, especially playing agents that I’m very comfortable on. We have two of the best Duelists in the world, and we need to play and have us be comfortable, be aggressive, be willing to fight and showcase our skill. Leaning into the double duelist has been very nice for us, and we’re very comfortable with it.

zekken: It’s definitely tough news, but there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s just tough news. We just have to take it on the chin and maybe next year, hopefully, I can represent the USA.

zekken: I see it as really important. Both Mazino and I, and the whole team in general, are putting a big emphasis on leadership, keeping a good mentality, and having a direction. Even if we’re losing, if we know we’re doing the right things, we’re going to keep pushing forward and stay confident. We’re much better now than at the start of the year at being able to lose a round or even lose a map but still maintain the confidence and still be able to put the foot on the gas, play aggressive and play well. We talked a lot about our psychology and how we wanted to be more confident, being more willing to impose our game on people, and I think it’s helped us a lot.

zekken: I don’t know if it affects how I play necessarily in the game, but for how I want to come into the match and as a team, we definitely have a lot more effort for the pre-game, what we’re doing before the game and how we want to be together. I think it translates into the in-game well because we feel more like a team, as a collective, when we’re in the game. We’re doing everything together. But I still do my same warm-up. I still try and get my deathmatches and things like that, so I’m not really sacrificing things to have good leadership. We’re still doing our routines and things.

zekken: I think it’s on my mind and it’s on everyone’s mind. We want very badly to play in Brazil in the final stages of the playoffs. We haven’t had a home crowd yet this year, and we want to be able to hear the MIBR fans and see the passion of everyone there. It’s on our minds. We’re very excited, we hope to be able to perform well and make it there.

zekken: I’m confident that we can make it and compete for a spot there. I think that we’re in good form, and that we’re going to show up well.”