coldzera: "Everyone [in North America] will need to step up"
After MIBR defeated compLexity 2-0 in the quarterfinals of the FACEIT Major 2018, we caught up with Marcelo "coldzera" David, to discuss the match. We also asked him about various topics ranging from communicating in English, his new coach Janko "YNk" Paunović, and the strength of the North American region currently.
You just defeated compLexity 2-0, how in general did you feel the match went? Easier than you thought, more difficult?
compLexity is a good team, they went 3-0 in the group stage. I think they were feeling the pressure a little, they are a new team, they haven't played on the stage much. I think when they came to the stage for their first match, especially Train, I think it was like a mind game for them. So they felt pressured and they didn't play their game.
On Inferno, they played better, we made a lot of mistakes as well, especially on CT side. We got lucky that fer and FalleN won a hard situation, and gave the game back to us.
Inferno was a bit sloppy by both sides, how did you guys manage to overcome that, did anyone do or say anything specific?
No, not really. On CT, the rotation wasn't great, so we played a little bit randomly. Our CT side was a little bad, we won the pistol and had the chance to win the first weapon buy, but tarik lost the clutch. After this, we played three more rounds badly, and compLexity played good. We gave too many gaps for them to play. But in general we played good, we had the game in control. I think we just lost a bad Terrorist round, so this round made us have a bad economy at the beginning. After we adjusted, we played better.
Looking forward to Saturday, you will play Na'Vi in the semifinal. How do you like the matchup between your two teams?
I like to play against them, they are a good team to play against. They play more contact, they don't have too many strats. They play more default, and these defaults are based around s1mple. I think it is going to be a great game, we have played against each other a lot of times, and it always is.
When YNk joined at the beginning of August, he talked about wanting to instill a culture in the team. How much progression have you seen from the team since then?
I think after YNk joined — he isn't a magician — the thing he brings is bringing the discipline back, so he makes us play more, and makes us really enjoy the practice. He creates new things, sees the problems we have and fixes them. So the most important thing he brings is discipline.
With the addition of Stewie and tarik you are comming in English for the first time, how has that been for you and the other Brazilian members?
In the beginning when we brought in Stewie it was hard, because none of us had spoke English in-game. When the situation was a bit chaotic, when we spoke in English, things happened too fast and we could not react so fast. It was a bit weird. But now, we've been playing together five months, so it is normal. Everyone can play and understand each other pretty well, and we don't have problems with our communication anymore.
After this event, you are in the position where you have to qualify for ECS again. What are your thoughts on those rules?
I think when you change organization, the spot needs to be with the players. Without the players, the organization can't play, right? So with the Major, for example, the players have the spot. I think it is the most important thing, because if we change organization because we should or we have a better offer, the organization shouldn't have this spot and bring in another roster to play. They haven't conquered anything — the players conquer everything.
Rogue and compLexity showed really good form here in London, what do you think this means going forward into the upcoming EPL and ECS seasons?
In CS right now, everyone can beat each other. That is why Counter-Strike is so nice to play, because you don't know what can happen during the game. I think inside the US we have good teams now, like compLexity, Rogue, Liquid, Cloud9. Now it is going to be really good to play the league. You can't really tell who will make LAN, and who won't. The leagues are going to be a great show in NA again, everyone will need to step up. The Finals will be a good show for everyone watching, because everyone is playing equally.
What are your thoughts on these other Brazilians coming to the United States such as oNe and FURIA?
I think it is a pretty nice, to see those teams and Luminosity playing. In Brazil, the scene isn't too big there, they don't have many qualifiers to play and get spots in events outside of Brazil. Right now, they are trying to follow the same dream as us, which is pretty cool. In the US, you have a lot of opportunities for organizations as well, maybe they play good and some organization will try to buy them. FalleN and fer played with KaBuM, then LG, then SK - so you never know, right?
Do you think there is a realistic chance we could see oNe make Pro League at the end of this season?
Of course, they are playing very good. We practice against them so many times, and they have shown they are rising up. So I think they probably have a chance.
With their victory earlier, MIBR have earned a day off tomorrow. Their Major campaign will resume on Saturday, with a semifinal bout against CIS powerhouse Natus Vincere.
