madss: "Everybody on the team wants to push for mixed Counter-Strike"

ESL Impact Season 4 LAN Finals have not been kind to North American Counter-Strike, and with the changes coming into effect for the next couple of seasons, it seems like the scene won't be able to improve. Marissa "madss" Dasta, from FlyQuest RED, was not happy with her performance, despite being the top performer of the squad in Valencia.

Dust2.us' Gonçalo "GoncOak" Carvalho talked with the young rifler about the event, the expectations, ESEA Advanced and how mixed Counter-Strike might be the final destination for many top women playing in the Impact scene.

This has been a surprising early exit from FlyQuest RED. Yesterday was close against Fluxo Demons, but today was rough. What happened?

It just didn’t feel like people were on the same page, our communication was really off. It seemed like maybe we were too focused on the anti, instead of actually playing the game, so when they weren’t doing stuff we were expecting from the anti then we kind of just fell off and didn’t have a new plan, stuff like that.

You mentioned the comms, but I also want to ask you about the energy, because it seemed the team didn’t feel anything, not happiness nor frustration. What do you have to say about that?

Overall, we were all really trying to bring each other up, but at the end of the day, it’s really hard to do that when you are getting shut down. I think everybody was good with still believing and keeping the energy up but at the same time, it felt like maybe we are having a problem with self-confidence so everybody was a bit more quiet. We were trying our best to be positive.

Does that have something to do with the fact that you are the #1 team in North America and you are expected to perform on the international stage?

I think some of it has to do with expectations, not about what other people may put on us, just ourselves. We are the #1 NA team but we don’t want to just be the #1 NA team, we want to make a statement internationally and it really sucks that we can’t get across that line. I think it’s both ourselves and maybe the outside noise as well.

Yesterday, during the broadcast, the desk said that you are the glue of this roster. Is that something you agree with? What is your role within the team?

Normally, my role is just trying to do anything that GooseBreeder tells me to do, I try to be always the one that’s reliable, whether that be with my emotions or with what I’m supposed to do playing-wise. I think everybody has to be the glue, without one we wouldn’t be a team at all, and everybody plays a part. Energy-wise I try my best to be the glue, but it wasn’t as good in this event, I kind of lacked on it, and I fell off which isn’t a good thing for me, but I’ll try to be better in the future.

Let’s talk about the future. With ESL’s recent changes, was that an extra pressure factor, or did that motivate you?

I think it motivated us, we actually talked about it a lot like “show them why”, you know. I think that makes the loss a little bit more bitter, we had a goal in mind and we couldn’t successfully reach that. I, for one, feel like we kind of… it feels embarrassing for our region, we tried to show out and show NA that we can help prove a point and we didn’t get there.

Still about the changes, some days ago empathy did an interview where she said that she would contemplate coming to Europe full-time, and yesterday she even tweeted about it. Do you think that maybe, although it might not make any sense, there’s a possibility for FlyQuest RED to come to Europe?

I don’t see why we would because we never really have an issue with making the LANs and we still have one spot. If it came to a situation like Australia, where we don’t really have a chance [to qualify] then I’m sure everybody would be making that change.

Are you looking to have more bootcamps in Europe next year, with the support you have from FlyQuest?

Yeah, FlyQuest has been really great about wanting to support us in our journey to be a good team internationally and they seem very welcoming of the idea of doing EU bootcamps in the future.

Talking about some good stuff now, you have your mother here. Was she the only one from your family coming here?

No, my little brother, is also here. It’s them two.

How important is that to you?

It’s really important, especially when you have a LAN you may exit early. It’s nice to have someone there you can give a hug to and be able to lean on their shoulder when it gets rough. They are always there, win or lose, and that’s something I appreciate a lot.

What’s next for FlyQuest RED? This roster hasn’t changed since you, BiBiAhn, and Kaoday joined. Do you feel like you have hit your potential ceiling?

I feel like in Dallas we showed that we were capable of being a playoff contender team and I don’t think we hit our full skill ceiling but I do think it’s going to take some time and grinding out some things, but at the end of the day we are going to get there.

You have played in the last four LAN Finals, four seasons, and four appearances, but you are still very young. How much have you grown since Season 1 with Please Send Help?

Immensely, I can’t even begin to explain how much I have changed. Just my outlook on the game, piecing things together, being under pressure, being a rock for your team, hyping up the crowd, and making sure you are reliable. I have realized how important it is to be a reliable teammate and a reliable person and even if you don’t win, you get a bad loss, just being there for your team, trying to be honest about your mistakes and what you should be working on, and being very open is something that I have learned a lot in the past few years.

And how much has GooseBreeder helped you both in and out of the server?

Goose is like my big sister, she helps me out a lot, she showed me a lot about the game, even her connection with EliGE, he has given me points about the game so that’s been very helpful. There’s not another GooseBreeder.

You mentioned EliGE and I have to note that GooseBreeder and he have found themselves again with the transition from CS:GO to CS2. Does that influence from GooseBreeder and EliGE being around the team, finding themselves again, does that help you trying to reach that level that both of them have in NA?

Of course, it motivates me seeing EliGE do good at international events and how good [Complexity] are doing right now, not just in NA. It’s really inspiring because that’s what we want to do. Even though we are in the female scene, that doesn’t mean that one day, maybe, mixed CS might be a thing and I just want to be able to learn from people like that, who are very good at showcasing their skills and not just from where they are comfortable.

Let’s talk about playing mixed CS, because you also play in the ESEA Advanced division. How much of a goal is it to reach the ESL Challenger League?

I would say it means a lot. It would mean probably just as much as winning an Impact event, if not more. I think everybody on the team wants to push for mixed Counter-Strike and a lot of people think it’s a joke but I think there are a lot of girls, especially in Europe, who have a lot of potential in mixed CS.

BiBiAhn played for the male Australian team during IESF, GooseBreeder also played a Cash Cup in a mixed team with EliGE as well. Does that open new horizons to the team, new points of view?

Yeah, with BiBiAhn in IESF, when she was playing, everybody was so supportive of her. It’s a step towards the right direction, especially that the team was allowed to do that. It shows other men that if you give these girls a chance they might prove you wrong.

empathy also talked about how being labeled as an “Impact team” could be detrimental to a women’s team. Do you agree? Do you think that the Impact scene, in a way, has closed the door of mixed CS?

I think it should be looked at as more of a stepping stone. Maybe even having a door to qualifiers with mixed teams would be a good idea, so there are not as many repeating Impact teams, where you can have younger teams come in and play and they are not just getting dominated by a team that has been there for three years. What I think it is is a stepping stone, and not somewhere I’m going to be my entire career.