On June 23, 2018, Immortals announced the revival of iconic Brazilian brand MIBR. As MIBR’s founding partners, Tinder and Betway formed a partnership with Immortals. A roster of prominent CS:GO champions and players will carry the weight of the MIBR name. Since 2015, Immortals received support from investors like Lionsgate, AEG, the Milken Family and Steve Kaplan. With these new strategic partnerships, Immortals are now also backed by MIBR brand partners Razer, K-Swiss and Mountain Dew.
In 2003, a father believed in his son’s passion for Counter-Strike and invested in a group called MIBR. MIBR worked toward their goal of winning the Counter-Strike championships for Brazil. The team became a cultural sensation, inspiring Brazilian gamers everywhere. Since then, MIBR carried Brazil’s name well, dominating the scene with first place at events like the Electronic Sports World Cup in 2006, Dreamhack Winter 2007 and ShgOpen 2007. However, in 2009, MIBR disbanded, and with them, the nationalistic dream died. Until this day, Brazilian players who wanted to play for MIBR turned abroad for opportunities.
MIBR competing in 2013. Photo Courtesy of ESPN
The revival of MIBR means the rekindling of this lost dream. MIBR’s new team for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive includes only the best of players.The star roster includes Ricardo “blotz” Prass, Marcelo “coldzera” David, Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo, Fernando “fer” Alvarenga and Jacky “Stewie2K” Yip. Leading the roster is coach Ricardo “dead” Sinigaglia and General Manager Tomi “lurppis” Kovanen. The team will be relocating to Los Angeles to fully take advantage of Immortals campus to train and practice. On July 3-8, MIBR will play their first game at ESL One Cologne.
Immortals is a global esports organization that sends teams to compete in prominent esports like Rainbow Six: Siege, DOTA2, and Super Smash Brothers. Based in Los Angeles, Immortals also own LA Valiant, a contender in Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch League. Unlimited in scope, Immortals competes in the mobile esports Clash Royale and Arena of Valor. By participating in these different esports, Immortals stick to their founding value of dedication to fans and player well-being.
Immortals logo. Photo Courtesy of Immortals.
Although full of passion, Brazil’s esports scene so far remains largely ignored. Through the acquisition of MIBR, Immortals hopes to help foster esports growth in both Brazil and South America. According to Noah Whinston, CEO of Immortals and MIBR, “The MIBR brand creates a direct link to Brazil’s national pride and sports and entertainment culture. We are eager to invest in the Brazilian esports scene and to create a platform for the region’s amazing professional esports talent to continue to excel and dominate.” By acquiring MIBR, Immortals are in the perfect position to create an esports team based on the strength of Brazilian heart and passion.
Since its launch in 2012, Tinder is the social app for meeting new people. Every day, people from all over the world swipe right to connect with others. The app is simple to use and user friendly. When two people are interested in each other, a simple swipe creates opportunity for conversation. Tinder’s global influence spans 190 countries around the world. In only 24 hours, Tinder matches 26 million pairs. To date, Tinder has matched more than 20 billion pairs. Less than four years ago, on December 2014, no one paid to use Tinder. Since then, Tinder is among the top 5 grossing non-gaming apps globally, with more than three million subscribers.
Tinder logo. Photo courtesy of Tinder
Tinder gives MIBR a missing social aspect. “We know that gaming is a passion among many of our users all over the world, and we are excited to be the first dating app to enter the esports space with Immortals as our partner,” said Levi Nitzberg, Tinder’s Director of Global Business Development. “Tinder’s global presence and highly engaged user base provides us with a unique platform which, just like esports, brings millions of people together to connect over shared interests.”
By working with Tinder, MIBR hopes to bring the CS:GO fans of Brazil together through opportunities based upon Tinder’s premium subscription services, Tinder Plus and Tinder Gold. MIBR offers exclusives for subscribers of either service. These offers include chances to meet the team, exclusive VIP after parties following major CS:GO events, limited edition merchandise, video content through a newly established “Tinder Gold Club”, and a chance to pre-purchase exclusive co-branded MIBR and “Tinder Gold Club” merchandise.
“We’re excited to work with a brand like Tinder that shares our vision for MIBR as an indigenous Brazilian brand with global reach and appeal for players, sponsors, content creators, and fans,” said Ari Segal, President & COO of Immortals and MIBR. “MIBR competes around the world and will win around the world, and will be a truly multi-national fan base. Tinder provides a portal to bring those fans together wherever the team might be and offers unique opportunities to connect over a shared affinity for Counter-Strike, gaming, and both digital and out of home entertainment.”
Betway provides the best experience in sports betting, casinos, bingo, and poker. Since Betway’s launch in 2006, the company hired a team of 1,000 qualified people to keep up with growth. They now operate a lot of regulated online markets. They also hold licenses in the UK, Malta, Italy, Denmark, Spain, Belgium, Germany and Ireland. The company is based in Malta and Guernsey, but has support from London, Isle of Man, Stockholm, and Cape Town.
The new MIBR jersey reveal. Photo Courtesy of MIBR
Betway differentiates itself by providing excellent customer service and informed betting experiences. Not only do they offer first class entertainment, Betway also ensures a safe and secure environment. Betway has a lot of influence through memberships in industry-related organizations like the Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS), the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) and Professional Players Federation (PPF). In addition, they donate to BeGambleAware.
In the past, esports betting has been a topic of debate. However, the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) leads to more opportunities for esports betting to expand. Perception of esports gambling is changing. According to Segal, “Establishing Betway as a founding sponsor of MIBR delivers professionalism and legitimacy to the esports gambling market in a way that most other names in this category could not. We are excited by the opportunity to develop new esports fans through this unique channel.”
The goal seems to be to connect CS:GO fans with MIBR through exclusive content. “Esports is an extremely important part of our portfolio, and through the sponsorship of MIBR we will continue to cement ourselves as a significant part of the CS:GO community. We always strive to give back to esports fans by bridging the gap between the event and betting slip by producing great content and exciting markets in which fans can play,” said Anthony Werkman, CEO of Betway.
Featured Image Courtesy of LoL Esports.
You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Vi!
