mCe: "[The players] have enough respect for me as a coach"
After Rogue's opening match in Austin, we spoke with team's coach Matthew "mCe" Elmore about their performance here as well as his history in the last months since Pro League.
I wanted to start off talking about the match you just had against OpTic. You guys were up big, they had a little comeback, and then you managed to close it out. What are your feelings about that match?
We're really happy - we almost let it go at the end. However, we talked about anti-ecos - it was something we were scared about and we got a little giddy because we had the lead on CT. Our CTs have been notoriously troublesome for us. So we won the pistol, we were fine with it, and then we get eco'd, so it kind of started the downfall and we got the money drop.
We had a couple rounds that we guessed right - we were really prepared for them on everything, we just didn't execute, somebody missed a shot, or one round one of our players got giddy, we tried to get out of a numbers situation and we gave it right back to them. Overall, we took a pause, said "we're trying to hard, everyone's playing not to lose, we just need to focus, talk to each other, win" and I think we picked up two of the last three and finally put the game away.
Then I want to rewind back to the beginning of the Pro League season. How was the start of that season for you on Dignitas with the new roster with mitch?
I think it was tough regardless of how you come at it. Losing a player like [Snakes] and we have limited time to assimilate a new player into the team. We tried to change our style to be more ready to play pro teams and because of that I started to play bad, my attitude wasn't good, and everyone on the team - we were just struggling in general. It's a huge step to go from Mountain Dew League to Pro League anyway. I just don't think we were ready to be completely honest, it caught us off guard and we had to change too much in too little time.
You guys had also lost xCeeD and were without a 5th for a little while, and then eventually you were cut. How did that feel, being eventually removed?
At that point in time, there were a lot of internal issues on the team. My attitude was not good, I wasn't having fun. We were kind of all not in the best mindsets, we were losing. I felt like people weren't putting in the work they needed to and I was struggling individually massively. Something needed to change, unfortunately they thought I was the right move. I don't hold any feelings against them for it, but something at that point in time needed to change whether it was me or somebody else. They went with what they thought would get them out of relegation but unfortunately they weren't able to.
Now with coaching Rogue, what are the big differences between being a player and now being a coach?
It's night and day. I get to work with people that I really like working with. I was at first very worried, because as a player I don't have that much credence to a lot of the things I say. But luckily I talked to these guys in New York City when we were at MDL relegation one on one and a lot of my ideas got heard, so I feel like I have a lot of respect in the team in terms of - if I try to fix something they'll listen to me. They may not do it, but they have enough respect for me as a coach, as a player, as a mind to at least consider what I'm saying and I think we're moving forward. Obviously we just beat OpTic which is huge. It's only a BO1, I don't care, it's still a win. That's our first match with a new fifth as well.
Going into that with Rickeh. Was there a particular reason you guys got rid of gMd or was it just a matter of an upgrade?
I have mixed feelings on this. I really like gMd, I think our team really likes gMd. I think part of the issue was there were things outside the game that were going on. We still have Anthony on retainer - like he's still part of our team, so there is a chance he can come back in and step in, but it just depends on what happens. We're trying Rickeh and the problem is Rickeh is just a great player. He was available, he was free, we didn't have to buy him out. We started playing with him, comms, everything like that, his experience really helps our team.
We also have a serious double AWP threat which is pretty meta right now. For Anthony, it's unfortunate, because he's a great player, he did really well with us. Honestly, when we first switched I was scared because our results weren't there, but now Rickeh is starting to feel more comfortable and it's starting to show - we starting to play better as a team which is good. My heart still goes out to him, I love gMd.
Finally, what are your goals for this tournament?
I think my goals might be different from my team - I'm not sure. I want to put up a fight against every team we play. Win or lose, I just want to prove that we can hang with some of the teams that are here. Getting out of groups, everything like that, will fall into place if we play the way we can play. As long as we play up to our potential that's what I want. I don't care about results, but if we play as well as we can, the results will follow.
Rogue also played the winners match against Space Soldiers this evening and took the win, advancing to the playoffs with the first seed in Group B. They will play in the semifinals on Sunday.
