B8 eliminate MIBR at IEM Cologne, reach 2-2 in Stage 2

B8 eliminated MIBR 2-1 in Stage 2 pool play at the IEM Cologne Major, advancing to a 2-2 record. The Ukrainian side won on Nuke and Ancient after dropping Mirage, and will face another 2-2 team on Tuesday for a place in Stage 3.

Mirage opened the series and MIBR built an early lead. Felipe insani Yuji led the Brazilian side in the map with strong early rounds while Carlos venomzera Eduardo and Breno brnz4n Poletto provided support. B8 narrowed the gap late in the half but could not reverse MIBR’s advantage on Mirage.

On Nuke, B8 took control with a dominant CT side. Danylo s1zzi Vinnyk’s aggressive AWPing applied pressure across the map, and Andrii npl Kukharskyi secured a four-kill clutch in a 2v4 to force a decider. The final map, Ancient, saw B8 focus on the map’s flanks while on the T side and close the series after switching to defense, reducing insani’s influence despite his high series numbers.

Individual statistics reflected the match flow. Insani finished the series with a 1.37 rating, 55 kills and a 98.5 ADR. For B8, s1zzi posted a 1.31 rating with 56 kills and an 86.8 ADR, while npl recorded a 1.20 rating with 53 kills and an 89.1 ADR. Dmytro esenthial Tsvirenko contributed a 1.11 rating.

MIBR entered the Major after a top-four finish at the CS Asia Championships but will leave Stage 2 earlier than they aimed. Klimentii kl1m Krivosheev ended the stage with a 0.91 average rating; his future with MIBR is uncertain as G2 are prepared to consider offers for the AWPer.

B8 continued a recovery that began after an 0-2 start to Stage 2. The team had earlier mounted a comeback against GamerLegion, rallying from 3-9 on the deciding map to win that series. B8’s next match is scheduled for Tuesday, where a win would advance them to Stage 3.