SyykoNT: "ECL pulled us back to NA when we should be out in Europe"

Don "SyykoNT" Muir has worn many hats over the past few years, going from an up and down coaching tenure in VALORANT for XSET and Sentinels, to taking the VP of Esports job with M80. But here are Fragadelphia x Tap 2, he got on stage and competed with the Sedated roster of players he put together.

With the focal point of M80's 2024 schedule on the horizon, SyykoNT spoke to Dust2.us about getting back into playing, and how the M80 Counter-Strike project has panned out just over a year since it began.

The full interview can be found below on YouTube, with key snippets from the interview underneath.

How do you feel about how the Sedated team you assembled performed at this event?

I think we came a bit below our expectations. We really hoped to get out of groups, however I think they gained some really invaluable experience. It’s something they’re gonna take back and do really well with. I mean this is a group of young kids; most of these guys are just 19 or 20 years old. Two of them I pulled out of ESEA Intermediate, gave them their first season of ESEA Main. I think overall they’re doing well.

Does playing regularly allow you to bring any insights back to the main M80 project?

I like to leave the coaching to dephh. I helped a little bit early on structurally as he transitioned into the coach role, but after a few months he’s been running the show. And I couldn’t hold a flame to what these guys do. But I think having a good understanding of the game and a lot of tac FPS experience helps me in scouting players and talent. This is just an exercise.

It’s been a fantastic couple months for M80. How is the rorg feeling internally about the program?

I’m really happy with where we’re at. I think I did an interview with you where I said this was a 2-3 year build with the aim of being competitive at the top level, and I think that we’ve kind of exceeded our timeline at various benchmarks along the way: qualifying for international tournaments, then getting out of groups at an international tournament. I’m really happy with the team’s success, especially after taking a big hit by losing Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa to G2. He was a key part of the team and brought a lot of firepower to the squad, but it’s a testament to the scouting ability of dephh and I to dig deep and find young talented players that we can develop.

We had a chance to talk to Dephh at Atlanta about bringing Lake on. What was it like to find him and bring him on from a managerial perspective?

It was tough. Like I said losing mario was a big hit, and those were some big shoes to fill, like size 16 clown shoes. And you’re expecting some kid to come in and try to fill those. So we’re looking at the talent we have, and we had to stick to domestic talent to keep our NA slot. We looked at a handful of players floating around that could play roles like that; I had conversations with guys like Justin "FaNg" Coakley and Danny "cxzi" Strzelczyk. But once Rory and I started really digging into the demos of Lake we saw just how much untapped potential there was in terms of raw mechanics. Being able to bring in someone who has the firepower, we just got to teach him to play the role and play off his teammates a little bit better, and he’s picking it up really quickly.

What's the mood in the camp ahead of the RMR in Shanghai?

I think the team's most excited to get back out to Europe. The ECL pulled us back to NA for extended periods of time when they should be out in Europe getting good practice, which is just the unfortunate reality of the ecosystem this year. Hopefully next year it will be a little different. Monday they're flying out to Europe to compete at Thunderpick then it's just EU bootcamp until China. Vibes are really good, and the general feel is like the calm before the storm."

M80 competes in the ECL S48 grand finals on Oct. 20 at 09:00PM before traveling to EU for the Thunderpick World Championship.