MIBR Benches nicks After Brief Two-Month Stint Amid Continued Roster Revamp

MIBR Benches nicks After Brief Two-Month Stint Amid Continued Roster Revamp

Brazilian outfit MIBR has once again shaken up its lineup, announcing on September 8, 2025, that Nicollas “nicks” Polonio has been benched effectively immediately following the team's run in the ESL Challenger League Season 50 South America Cup 2.

At only 20 years old, nicks was brought in during the summer as part of the organization’s efforts to reclaim competitive consistency. He replaced Lucas “Lucaozy” Neves, who voluntarily stepped down after BLAST.tv Austin Major due to role overlaps with Felipe “insani” Yuji. Nicks had previously been in Fluxo’s academy setup and had shown promise, carrying a 1.03 overall rating across 226 maps in that stint.

However, his time in the main roster was short-lived. Across appearances at early tournaments—including FISSURE Playground 1, IEM Cologne, and BLAST Bounty Season 2—nicks posted the lowest rating on the team (0.79) and failed to make a positive impact on results, with MIBR winning just one out of six maps.

This marks the third roster change within a few months for MIBR. Earlier, they had benched long-time AWPer Rafael “saffee” Costa, reacting to a downturn in his form—his rating dipped from 1.07 to around 0.96 in 2025. In his place, MIBR brought in promising Russian AWPer Klimentii “kl1m” Krivosheev on loan from G2 Ares, signaling a shift toward leveraging international talent.

The continual adjustments reflect mounting pressure to perform. MIBR's 2025 campaign has been marked by disappointing finishes: 21st–24th at IEM Cologne and failing to qualify for BLAST Bounty 2025 Season 2 LAN finals. Meanwhile, the team has also been preparing for upcoming events like ESL Challenger League Cup #2 and the CS Asia Championship as they build toward the StarLadder Budapest Major .

At this stage, no replacement for nicks has been confirmed, leaving MIBR with a five-man roster of exit, brnz4n, insani, kl1m (loan), and coach jnt—as well as the benched pair of saffee and nicks .

Roster restructuring summary:

Change	Details
Bench: nicks	Joined summer 2025, benched after three early exits, 0.79 rating
Bench: saffee	AWPer with declining stats (0.96), replaced by kl1m on loan
Incoming: kl1m	A 19-year-old loan from G2 Ares with high ratings (~1.22), represents a strategic international addition

MIBR now finds itself navigating a critical phase: they must quickly establish cohesion and performance stability ahead of key tournaments. The inability to find consistent form has left fans and analysts questioning the team's direction, efficacy, and decision-making regarding player integration.