madss on TSM changes: "Our general manager felt it was time"

On day one of Fragadelphia x Tap 2, Dust2.us' Jeffrey "Mnmzzz" Moore caught up with TSM Impact's Marissa "madss" Dasta after the team's 2-0 victory against Sedated.

madss is competing with a mixed roster called TSM 2.0 that was thrown together for this event, after the sudden TSM Impact roster changes made last month. At Fragadelphia x Tap 2, madss spoke about what happened in the TSM Impact camp and what the plan is moving forward.

Pretty easy opening match for you overall, facing a mixed team with the M80 manager standing in. How do you feel overall about that series?

We’re feeling good, getting a little warm up in. Everyone’s kinda clicking, we’re all just having fun.

You’re not playing with the regular TSM squad, as it’s you, Lynn "Lx" Clarke, Austin "Austin" Meadows from Mythic, Andrew “pretzel” Davison, and TylerT69. How did this roster come together?

We bought a spot, but then other teammates couldn’t come, roster changes happened. So I asked Austin if he wanted to play; I know he’s a good player and a great IGL, and I figured I could leave IGLing in the dust for a little bit. Tyler, obviously he’s a good player. I didn’t know pretzel, but he’s another Austin recommendation.

So the plan was to attend with the whole team. Obviously, the team has gone through some roster changes, but was the plan to attend with Diane "di^" Tran and April "Bungee" Haight?

We had plans to try and come here before everything happened, but it all happened really suddenly. I didn’t want to waste the spot and I really wanted to play since it’s good experience, so I figured making a good mixed would suffice.

It was shocking to see Lucy "empathy" Verkaik and Phoebe "phoebe" Winter leave so suddenly. Now that some time has past, can you tell us what happened?

It’s all kind of a mess. They say one thing, but another thing really happened. Professionally speaking, it just wasn’t a good fit, things were happening, the chemistry was really off, they weren’t agreeing with the way that we were playing. Our general manager felt it was time to make a change, so we ended up making a change, and that’s why we’re running tryouts.

WIth di^ and Bungee, the team ended up with a mixed result in ESL Impact. What are your thoughts on that result, considering the circumstances?

Obviously we’re not where we want to be, but we kind of knew that using substitutes that haven’t played Counter-Strike in a while that have been playing VALORANT meant our results were not going to be great. Right now we’re more focused on our future and building a really good foundation.

And what’s their full-time status with the team?

Right now, tryouts are open for anybody. All the spots are basically up for grabs.

Has it been hard finding replacements for empathy and phoebe?

empathy is a great player, obviously her mechanical skills are amazing, but we lacked a lot of mental depth when it came to understanding when to make a play or when to do things. It just wasnt’ working out. Mechanical skills are awesome, but right now we’re focused on trying out individuals that not only have mechanical skills but are very capable of listening and understanding the game around them at the same time.

With the changes coming to 2025, there’s a chance we see TSM Impact invited to more mixed tournaments. What do you think of this opportunity and this challenge?

It’s a great challenge. Any time you’re capable of playing better talent and getting more official in is great practice. It will be great especially for the new squad coming in.

You’ll be playing for Team USA at the IESF World Esports Championship later this year. What’s the expectation for Saudi Arabia?

Last year we secured third place, and I’m pretty sure we have that in us again. There’s a lot of good European talent of course, and a lot of actual Impact rosters playing. But I think we can shoot for at least top five.

Your next match is against the Phoenix core on Penance, what are your expectations for that match?

They’re good players so we expect them to be well-rounded and fundamentally sound. We’ll try to surprise them with our mechanics and a puggy style. Should be fun.

TSM are hoping to come away with a good showing here in Philadelphia as they compete in the group stage today.