reck: "we just kind of played out of our mojo"

M80 faced the worst possible exit at their home event, 0-1 to start and 0-2 to finish, exiting IEM Dallas in two days with not a single map win. It was certainly a let down for the American team, but they can still end the first half of the year with their chins up.

After their loss, Dust2.us' Daniel "Scoobster" Khurgin spoke with M80's Ethan "reck" Serrano about the event, s1n's leadership, and more.

Tough loss to Heroic, what went wrong?

It's hard to say what really went wrong. We had a game plan and we kinda just failed to put it into action. We lost a lot of anti-ecos too so that just hurts us and puts us on our back foot.

On M80, you have some teammates such as malbsMd and Swisher who are more well known than you, in your own words, whats your role on this team?

I'm more of an anchor/lurk player. We've kinda changed roles over time with different iterations of the roster. I'd say I've been playing anchor and lurk roles the whole time, though.

You spoke about changes to the team, that includes adding s1n to the roster recently. Adding a European IGL, how is he to work with and do you feel like you're learning from him?

I'd say s1n definitely came with a lot of knowledge, slaxz- too as well. I definitely feel that, maybe structured isn't the best way to describe it, but he has a clear way he wants to play the game and he teaches us it, and then we follow it. He definitely taught a lot, how to play different situations correctly, how to play the macro game correctly, and how we want to play it. I'm definitely learning a lot from him. He's a good IGL.

Is that different from previous teams you were on like ATK and prior to that?

Definitely. Even before ATK, I didn't really have a prominent IGL. I'm definitely learning a lot from someone with a lot of experience like him.

Would you say that's from having a full-time IGL whose been in this role for a while or is that European system that M80 has been looking to integrate?

I'd say its a mixture of both. That European system, that knowledge of the game from playing out there, helps him a lot. But I also think he's been doing it for a while now and he's learned from good people. I think it's a mixture of both that makes him really good.

Speaking of Europe, you guys have qualified to a lot of LANs this year, and because of that you've managed to spend a lot of time in Europe. Is the European time helping you guys advance?

I'd say European time is the most valuable. I think we learn so much out there. We gain pure confidence playing out there, being with that competition and being punished for our mistakes. We actually get to learn. When we're in North America, we can make mistakes and get away with it, just purely with our mechanics or ability ot play better team CS.

You have been qualifying to those events because you've been head and shoulders above your domestic competition, however you've struggled to translate that into success in international events, such as at EPL and here. What will it take for you guys to surpass that final hurdle and become competitive in an International landscape?

I think it comes down to comfort. We play differently when we come to LAN. At EPL, for example, that different came with more confidence, we were playing together better, and here, unfortunately, we just kind of played out of our mojo. I think we just gotta get more reps in. Get more comfortable playing in the system and more LAN experience.

Talking about that system that s1n has come with, would you consider it fully integrated already and it's just about getting reps or are there still growing pains?

I there's growing pains to an extent of us adapting to that system perfectly how he wants to, but I think the system is there and we just have to learn how to play to our best and as most comfortable as we can in that system.

Can you give 2-3 sentences to summarize s1n's system?

That's hard to say. I'd say his system is really free flowing. He lets us have our freedom, but he also has clear game plans and clear ways he wants to play specific rounds, especially on our CT-side. We have ways we want to structure the round so we can play it to our best and most comfortable.

This is your last LAN event for the first half of the year, how would you say your 2024 has been so far?

I think our 2024 has been pretty good so far. Domestically, obviously, we've been great, and internationally, we've been putting up mixed results. Unfortunately, we bombed out of this event, but I think our EPL run gave us lots of confidence and even this event gives us a lot of confidence going forward and experience to put forward to future events.