malbsMd: "I'm going to be the big site anchor"
Earlier this month, G2 shocked the world with their announcement of Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa, picking up the Guatemalan from his previous squad of M80. Just a few days after the signing, caster, arena host, and all-around talent Mike "DarfMike" Winnick released an interview with the young gun detailing his move to the European superteam. The two spoke about the process of getting signed, other options on the table, and what led to this blockbuster signing. The full video is available just below.
When the community first heard of the news, all eyes were on how G2 would solve the role clashes evident in the playstyles of NiKo and malbsMd, among others. With both being primary spacetakers and aggressive CT-side rotators, somebody would have to give up their preferred roles. malbsMd will be handed the short end of the stick, "I'm not going to be doing all my M80 roles in G2. Some roles I will, some roles I won't" malbsMd said to DarfMike.
"CT-side is going to be changing the most for me. I'm going to be the big site anchor, A site Mirage, A site Ancient, which is more of a hard anchor but not so much as other maps. It's going to be like 50/50. I'm not going to be playing those star roles I had in M80 on CT-side", malbsMd further detailed. He concedes that the hardest part of the transition to G2 will be "getting good at new roles", as the most recent time he played hard anchor positions was back with TeamOne over a year ago.
Nonetheless, he knew coming into G2 that he would be relegated in some roles. TaZ was very forthright about his new positions, with malbsMd replying to the coach, "I'm fine anchoring A on Mirage. Don't leave me jumpspotting van on B".
Speaking later on about the move to G2, malbsMd said that he never expected the offer. "I found out on May 29th. It was right after the Heroic game. I remember my agent messaged me and I was like 'are you trolling me right now or are you being serious?'". malbsMd revealed that he had another offer on the table from a top team, one that he knew was going to come and is "probably obvious", but had already planned to reject that in favor of staying with M80. Negotiations with that other organization stalled after G2's offer came into the mix, with the mystery team unable to pony up the same attractions as G2.
The interview ended with a few closing remarks, including DarfMike asking malbsMd what a successful first year under G2 would look like. "I want to have at least two titles under my belt", the Guatemalan optimistically responded. "I don't want to be expecting a lot from the team. I'm not going to say in this short amount of time we're going to win a Major. I'm being realistic."
The interview goes into further detail regarding the process of joining G2, living arrangements, and malbsMd's past, including a potential early retirement and offer from Evil Geniuses. Watch the video linked here for the full interview.
