Finally confirming months of rumours and speculation, it has been revealed that North American organisation Immortals has acquired MIBR, a popular Brazilian brand that had previously been defunct for over six years. The return of MIBR as mysteriously announced on June 7th, pointing towards June 23rd as to when things would be made clear.
As part of this announcement, Immortals also unveiled its new-found partnerships with location-based social app Tinder and online gambling platform Betway. These two brands have joined the likes of Razer, K-Swiss, and Mountain Dew.
MIBR has acquired the roster that formerly competed under SK Gaming, who will relocate to Los Angeles to train at Immortals’ headquarters.
- Ricardo “boltz” Prass
- Marcelo “coldzera” David
- Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo
- Fernando “fer” Alvarenga
- Jacky “Stewie2K” Yip
- Ricardo “dead” Sinigaglia (Coach)
- Tomi “lurppis” Kovanen (General Manager)
Noah Whinston, CEO of Immortals and MIBR discussed the acquisition in a statement, “Brazil is incredibly passionate about esports, and this acquisition allows us to foster further esports growth in what we believe is still a relatively untapped market in Brazil and throughout South America. 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.”
The deal with Tinder will see MIBR work alongside the app to connect fans of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive together through a series of both digital and live activations and campaigns – focusing on Tinder’s premium services, Tinder Plus and Tinder Gold.
Users of the aforementioned services in specific markets will receive special offers from MIBR “including opportunities to meet the team as they travel the world.” Other potential merits of the partnership include access to VIP after-parties after CS:GO Majors, limited edition merchandise, and video content through a new feature entitled “Tinder Gold Club”.
Ari Segal, President & COO of Immortals and MIBR spoke on the partnership with Tinder, “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. 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, a founding sponsor of MIBR, will have its logo placed prominently throughout the Brazilian organisation’s digital platforms, premium digital content, and other assets. Not only that, the Betway logo will firmly be placed on MIBR jerseys.
Anthony Werkman, CEO of Betway discussed being involved with the organisations’s return, “Betway is delighted to support the revival of MIBR and we couldn’t be more excited to be working with them in bringing CS:GO fans closer to the team 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.”
MIBR is an acronym for Made In Brazil, reflecting the organisation’s roots in Brazil and tendency to only house Brazilian players. MIBR competed in both Counter-Strike: Source and Counter-Strike 1.6 across its initial eight years of operation. The new-look, revived MIBR team will debut at ESL One Cologne on July 3rd-8th.
