Lake: "My individual level is the highest it has ever been but I'm still not where I want to be"

Of all of the players that have come through the NA scene in recent years, Mason "Lake" Sanderson has perhaps had the most rapid career progression of them all, going from a relatively unknown with teams like Unjustified and Carpe Diem to be a bona fide star with M80 in a few short months. With that, Lake is in a prime position to earn a spot in the Major on his first try, with Lake and M80 currently one win away from making it to the Perfect World Shanghai Major.

Following M80's win over Legacy last night to climb up to a 2-1 record at the Americas RMR Dust2.us' Jeffrey "Mnmzzz" Moore had the opportunity to speak to Lake about the win over the Brazilians, Lake's thoughts on his form as a rookie in the tier-one scene, and the changes to his life after being called up to the big leagues, among other topics.

To start, can you walk us through that 4k pistol round on the CT-side that set the stage for M80 to take down Legacy 13-5?

So at the beginning it was an A stack pistol and we were waiting for it. They did some mid pressure and we had slaxz- walk through A Main so we weren't really too worried about A or Mid at that point and we knew a Donut play wasn't going to happen.

So we decided to stack the B Site, we rotated in and got into the backline area before they were able to push us. Then we had a few people die, I think it was a 3v5 or 3v5 there and the bomb had just been planted and they were just looking for kills.

We had slaxz- on the flank from Cave or T Spawn so we were trying to play for the flank but at the end s1n swung Long and died with the kit and smoke so I picked that up and after that me and reck went for a peek Long and I traded him one for one.

They decided to put me Short and I killed one and then the second guy whiffed on me with four bullets and then had to reload so I was in a 1v2. I killed one on the flank and had a kit and a smoke so I knew I had time on my side so I took a peek short and the guy jumped away towards Long so I walked up and I knew the Long guy would be holding the Pillars guy for contact.

I honestly didn't think he'd swing me there because time was low but he thankfully did because I absolutely shit on him and then I knew the Pillar guy was going to play scared after he didn't peak me so I faked noise and walked around the other side and killed him and had time to stick.

That was a big misplay from them there, do you think the Legacy squad was nervous facing off against M80 after ECL? Do you feel you had the mental edge in this series?

Yeah for sure, we came into that game with full confidence, it was like another ECL match honestly. We had BOSS which was just another ECL match but apparently we like to lose to them.

But that's in the past and not a big deal, but for sure we had 100% had the mental edge [against Legacy], we were 100% ready and we knew the maps we were going to potentially play so it came down to confidence at that point.

You have been in great form at the RMR thus far. How are you feeling about your individual level in Shanghai?

My individual level is the highest it has ever been but I'm still not where I want to be. I'm improving at a decent rate but I'm obviously not the player that I want to be in the scene. I really want to make a name for myself and obviously I'm still young so I have time to do it and I'm really trying to put my name out there to try and make a splash in the big EU scene.

What do you think have been your most important areas of growth while learning the game under your M80 teammates?

Honestly how I think about the game, because I had a very NA style of thinking. Having dephh who IGL'd in Valorant and CS with a German IGL/AWP, it's very good to learn from those three, but also reck and Swisher they have their own individual things to teach me and the way they think about the game differently.

It's always good to absorb things from five different people with five different ways of thinking about the game. Overall it's made me develop and really think about the game, when I joined the team I was doing a lot of different things and I'm really trying to mix into my game certain things to do here and there.

I've been trying to put a lot of thought behind my game which I don't think I did much of before coming from North America but now I've had this international experience and I think I'm starting to come into my own.

Your addition has really paid dividends are one win away from making the Major. For you it would mean making the Major on your first try, how are you feeling about the possibility of this insane achievement?

I haven't really thought about it too much. It will be something after the fact that I think about a lot as a career path, seeing where I ended up from where I came from. If I make the Major it will have a big impact on my self esteem to see that I was able to do it on the first try with this team.

Honestly I haven't been too nervous about it, but I'll probably think about it more as the day goes on and probably try to imagine being at the Major after my first RMR ever. Other than that I don't think I'm the type of person who looks too heavily upon that and just tries to win the matches as best as possible.

You've achieved a rapid rise through the ranks in a very short time. Have you ever had a pause for thought about how much your life has changed in just a few months?

Life has been really fast-paced honestly, we're always doing something and we're always keeping busy but sometimes maybe a month I think, "wow I could be doing schoolwork right now instead of living my dream."

On the flipside I think, "wow what the fuck am I going to do after esports, I have no idea. Am I going back to college or what?"

What's the support system been like for you while making these rapid changes in your life?

I live with my Mom and my Grandparents. My Mom was pretty questioning about it because the first tournament I had was in Saudi Arabia with M80 and it was a week's notice.

I started talking with M80 the week prior to roster lock for EWC so when I told my Mom this team was interested and if I joined I would leave in a week she was wondering if it was even real. She didn't really understand and she's starting to understand more.

A really funny quote that my Grandpa said when I told him that I was going to start doing this full time, he said "I'm surprised you can get that far away from the tit," and it was a pretty funny joke. He's just a funny old man.

My family for sure supports me, my Mom and my Grandma will watch my matches most of the time. They will always send me messages before and after the games which is nice but they support it fully. My Mom always just tells me that I'm going to go back to college when I'm done with it but we don't know when that will be.

Do you think they were awake tonight to watch you beat Legacy?

My girlfriend and my Mom's friend watched it. My Mom was in bed but she texted me after her friend told her we had won and told me she loved me. That was really it, but if it's an easier time zone for her she'll definitely watch.

She watches all of our ECL games.

How's the fan experience been for you thus far, is it your first time having fans approach or notice you?

At all of the events I have been to, the presence hasn't been too crazy. Nobody was really there for me at EWC, nobody was there for us at EPL and there wasn't a crowd, but for sure at Atlanta there were a lot of fans and it was a different experience as that was my first time playing on a stage with a crowd.

Honestly during Atlanta I was a bit nervous but now I'm kind of used to it in a way and the fan interactions are a bit normal. I've taken pictures with a few fans that camp outside of the hotel.

We had a guy come and give us some gifts, some Chinese cigarettes and chopsticks as a cultural thing. It was a pretty cool experience and we took some pictures with them before going back to our room.

You did mention having some nerves in Atlanta, do you feel more ready to manage those nerves for the Major?

I really am excited and I know there's always a big fanbase here for CS2 in China and just big fans of video games in general. It's a big part of them here, we've been playing PW DMs and stuff and just getting surrounded by a bunch of people in a DM saying hi is always pretty funny.

I hope for a crowd and I'm looking forward to it when we make the Major. Playing in front of that big of a crowd would be a dream come true.

M80 are set to fight for a spot in the Major tonight as they take on domestic rivals Complexity in a thrilling Bo3 at 02:00AM.