MIBR zekken after surviving elimination: “We proved to ourselves that we can win any game”

MIBR have endured anything but an easy road since the beginning of the VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Americas Stage 2 Playoffs. Yet, through the setbacks, Zachary "zekken" Patrone believes the team has finally found their identity and the way they want to play VALORANT. After surviving an intense elimination match against Evil Geniuses, they now face an even greater challenge.

The road ahead is long, the stakes are higher than ever, and every match brings them one step closer to their goal of qualifying for VALORANT Champions 2026. THESPIKE spoke with zekken about the team’s performance, strengths, and confidence as they prepare for their next match against LOUD.

VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Americas Stage 2

MIBR

2

X

1

Evil Geniuses

Lower Bracket Round 1 of 4, Best of 3 - August 30, 2026 - 12:00AM

16

Lotus

18

13

Sunset

10

13

Haven

9

MIBR

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

aspas

1.32

276

76/61/12

+15

1.25

76.7%

174.6

29%

54%

13

11

zekken

1.13

225

62/58/23

+4

1.07

76.3%

140.6

25%

44%

7

9

Verno

1.01

202

55/46/18

+9

1.20

79.2%

131.3

23%

55%

6

5

Mazino

0.90

170

45/55/30

-10

0.82

77.4%

118.5

20%

53%

8

7

tex

0.78

153

46/53/17

-7

0.87

63.6%

117.5

33%

46%

6

7

Evil Geniuses

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

zerona

1.15

242

68/60/18

+8

1.13

72.0%

162.6

28%

67%

14

7

supamen

1.02

200

56/55/25

+1

1.02

81.8%

131.5

35%

47%

7

8

Paincakes

1.00

181

47/50/39

-3

0.94

86.7%

124.6

32%

67%

4

2

dgzin

1.00

219

59/63/17

-4

0.94

74.0%

128.6

23%

44%

12

15

bao

0.71

160

43/56/19

-13

0.77

69.9%

115.6

27%

20%

2

8

Escaping elimination

Despite the overtimes and the back-and-forth series, zekken remained composed throughout, often laughing and keeping the mood light. For him, these are the matches that bring out the best of his training, experience, and mindset.

THESPIKE: How does it feel to keep the lower bracket run alive? After such an intense series, with all three maps being decided by incredibly close scorelines, what’s going through your head right now?

Zekken: "I feel relieved. It was very stressful, obviously, because the games were very close, but those are the most fun games to play, in my opinion. So I was very happy to play a close series, and I'm very glad that we won."

THESPIKE: In one of the preview videos, you mentioned that EG is known for bringing different ideas and creative approaches to the game. Do you feel MIBR was able to counter those ideas effectively?

Zekken: "I think so, especially on Sunset. They played the Viper comp, which is quite uncommon in America. I think we did a good job of countering them there. On Lotus, they played something out of the norm, and we did our best to counter it, but it was a very close back-and-forth game. I think we went to four overtimes or something crazy like that.

We did our best, but we didn't really have much to work with, and they played well there. Then on Haven, they played a pretty standard composition, with Phoenix, which is what most people are playing. So there wasn't anything too crazy to counter there."

Finding a way through overtime

While playing through an 18-16 overtime sounds exhausting, zekken embraced the chaos. Even without coming away with the win, he saw the map as an opportunity to draw on his experience, stay composed, and simply enjoy the stage.

The crowd only added to the excitement. With every play, the arena erupted, turning an already intense battle into an even more memorable experience for him.

It was really fun, even if we didn't win. I enjoyed playing those close overtime rounds and hearing the crowd every single time they ran it back. It's awesome, honestly. I really love it. It gets my heart beating pretty fast. But to be honest, that's why you play. To have people get excited, to have yourself get excited and play a fun game. So those are my favorite kinds of games, when the crowd gets really excited like that. It was great.

However, despite winning the series and showcasing how MIBR want to approach the game, there are still small details to clean up before they can reach their full potential.

I think our identity definitely showed today. We showed how we view the game and how we want to play the game. But there are still small things that we did wrong and adjustments that we need to make. It was a close game, but we don't want it to be a close game. We want to beat people decisively.

Every match can be the last one and MIBR zekken is still not ready to let this run go. In the Lower Bracket, every match can be your last, but this time, the pressure hits even harder, as every series could be the final one of the season.

It definitely feels different because the pressure and the stakes are much higher than usual, especially considering it's the last of the year. If you lose, you're done, but pressure makes diamonds. You make good plays, you do crazy things. It makes for very good value.

Next goal: Brazil

Arriving in Brazil with one goal in mind, to fight for the VCT Americas 2026 Stage 2 title, has been one of zekken’s biggest ambitions. As a fan of Brazil, its community, and especially its food, he is determined to take the team as far as possible and finally bring a victory to the organization, something he has yet to accomplish.

THESPIKE: What do you think is MIBR’s current biggest strength?

Zekken: "I think our ability to problem solve in the middle of a round is our biggest strength. In this meta, there will be one big fight and then after the big fight, it's like a 2v2 or a 3v3. And I think in those situations, we do a very good job.

We slow the game down. We know how we want to work the map and find the picks on someone if they're isolated. The meta right now makes for the really big brawls and really big fights. But after the big fights, I think that's where our strength lies.

THESPIKE: How much confidence does a win like this give you going into the next match?

It gives a lot of confidence knowing that we can show up in the important moments when it gets close. We proved to ourselves that we can win any game from any position. We lost every single pistol today, so we can win from all kinds of positions. Even if we're down, keeping the strong mental, I think that's really important. And I think that's something that we're going to take from today and keep going.

THESPIKE: What has this experience taught you about yourself as a player so far?

I think what it taught me is that I have more mental strength than I thought. There's been a lot of pain, suffering, hard losses, and being sad that comes with that. But every single time, both for me and the team, we always come back. We always get better. We always go on to the next hungry and ready to win. So I think the resilience and the mental strength, that's something we got from this.

VCT Americas 2026: Stage 2

MIBR returns to the VCT Americas stage to face LOUD on August 30. The winner will head to Brazil to continue their fight for the title and a spot at VALORANT Champions 2026, with MIBR needing the tournament run to secure qualification as they do not have enough points to qualify through the standings.

For all things VCT-related, make sure to stay tuned to THESPIKE.GG as we continue to update you with the freshest game and esports news.

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