Redemption for Brazil made in France

It is hard to know if anyone involved in their wildest dreams had imagined the direct consequence. In July 2006, MIBR were crowned world champions at ESWC in Paris. Ironically it happened in the capital of France the day after the French national team eliminated Brazil from the football world cup.

While it must have been an intense, emotional, and phenomenal experience, "cogu" looks back on it with his characteristic competitiveness.

- It made me feel like I wanted to win more and more events like that, he said of his brightest day in the sun.

Shortly after their biggest victory, Comargo left to follow his heart in the quest to fulfill one of his dreams. He traveled to the Middle-East to play football professionally in a team in sandy Qatar.

- My uncle coaches a team there. It was an extremely exhaustive experience. We had gym in the morning, pool in the afternoon, and practice sessions in the evenings due to the hot weather. At lunch the temperatures would hit 50 degrees Celsius.
His new career was ultimately cut very short. "cogu" sustained an injury to his leg and returned to MIBR with time to spare before the World Cyber Games in October 2006.

- I ruptured a muscle in my right leg. The injury would force me to stay on the sidelines for some time for it to heal and I would probably have to go outside Qatar to seek treatment. The health system there is not very good and during this time MIBR asked me to return to play WCG with the team, he says of his ominous return to action.

It took some time before he could get himself and his team back up to speed but 2007 has been a good year for MIBR. They placed first at SHG Open, fourth at ESWC and second at Gamegune before they were invited to travel to South-Korea for E-Stars. Then something happened and the team’s young star Lincoln "fnx" Lau did not show up at the airport for his flight to Asia. Controversy followed as the 17-year old was subsequently fired from MIBR.

- This was not the first time we had problems with commitment from him.

- We also knew that if he missed his flight this time and could not get to Korea then we would be in big trouble, Camargo explains.

He illustrates the hopeless situation by pointing to the added responsibilities of being one of the four invitees for the small but very prestigious event.

- Everyone misses him, we like him a lot as a player and a person, but we can’t afford these problems. When you are invited to an event the responsibility of showing up doubles instantly.

According to Camargo, "fnx" was given several chances to improve his juvenile behavior. His failure to show up for his flight was the famous last drop.

To quote MIBR’s owner, Mr. Paulo Velloso; "If he misses this flight he will never play for MIBR again."

Fielding a washed up and retired ex-gamer as a stand-in against some of the best teams in the world, added insult to injury. It was also a challenge to Camargo’s competitive spirit as well as a test of his leadership.

- I do not think we did bad, but we could have done better, he said looking back at their third place finish. One who saw the struggling Brazilians miss out on the final match by being handed the short end of the stick after an exciting three-way-tie following an impressive map win, and subsequent tied game against their nemesis Fnatic.

The Swedish squad is also the team "cogu" dislikes the most to face.

- Fnatic is the worst to play. They play more aggressive than aggressive should be played but I think "neo" from PGS is the best player.

At only 22, Raphael "cogu" is a hero to his loyal community; he is living proof that anything, despite geography and infrastructure, is very possible given the grit, determination, and motivation of a focused human being.

He doesn’t like to look to the past to bask in achievements and accolades though. The next win will always be more important than the last.

- So what does the future hold for MIBR?
- Surprise, surprise, surprise, he says in the first attempt at surrounding his persona in mystery.