s1n: "Playing with five German nationals is something that would be cool"
M80 have so far experienced a tough 2025. After beginning the year playing with k1to as a stand-in, the team have struggled to find their form, and now head into the BLAST.tv Austin Major following a disappointing 0-3 exit from PGL Astana.
Ahead of the Major, which will be a home event for three of their players, we spoke with M80's captain, s1n, to discuss the team, the German scene, and what it would mean to play in front of his adopted home crowd.
"k1to did some stuff that showed a different vision for anchor positions"
PGL Astana was a rough event for the team, what went wrong over there?
I think that the tournament started off with a strong opponent in NAVI, but we still played under own expectations, it was two blow out maps and not the best start to a tournament.
Then we went against a VP that isn't at it's peak, so we expected more there, but again, apart from our map pick we had two not great maps, which was again, disappointing.
The last game, which was against G2 with a coach and a stand-in, the fact we couldn't convert it there is disappointing and also a low point.
We can only look up from that event.
You said there that you started with a tough opponent in NAVI, but do you feel like if you were getting to play these LAN events more that you wouldn't be looking at them as more difficult? You've picked up some big results in the past.
Oh yeah, of course, it goes both ways. Consistency in attending the top teams will help us with that first pressure, it's this thing where we're back at big tournaments which is a huge opportunity, so we want to win. But it's also time that we realise that we're there in that moment and we have to seize the opportunity.
It would help, but we need to show that we deserve it, that we deserve the points and the invites. That we can regularly beat these guys.
Photo: Stephanie LindgrenIs it also difficult because of the fact you have to go back to regional NA competitions and the level you play there is much lower?
I would say that when we go back to regional events we have to switch gears and play a different way. Not only are the official games a different level, but the practice just isn't that good.
The teams play different at that level, and the biggest downside is the unwilling habits it creates. You have to fight it and stay true to your own game, but that's hard because you have to play simpler against this level of opposition.
How do you fight against the creation of habits?
It's mostly on to individuals, and in officials it's more about staying calmer and letting the game come to you, we don't have to find the most strategic answers in those regional competitions.
Let's talk about the year as a whole, how are you feeling about the season you've had prior to Astana?
Honestly, I would say that we had a lot of ups last year, but this year hasn't been the best. We also started the year with a stand-in period because of reck's injury, but overall, it's not been the best so far.
The pinnacle and chance to make it right was to qualify for the Major, which we've done, so it now all depends on Austin and how we make it right there. It's a huge opportunity, if we make good at the Major, everything prior is forgotten.
It's a huge chance and we're going to seize it.
Photo: Stephanie LindgrenYou mentioned the stand-in period with k1to, has that had a lasting effect over the season?
It meant that we got to work with our full five a little bit later and had to start finding ourselves as a team.
But also, I think it was actually individually helpful. For our anchor players, k1to did some stuff that showed a different vision for those positions, it wasn't bad that we got a great player to join our team.
Looking at the German scene, BIG have been struggling this year, are you surprised to see them struggling?
I've played with three members of the team, including the two new pick ups, at the start of my career. I can say that they're all great talents, the biggest prospects we have in Germany, and I'm glad that they got the chance in BIG.
I think they made the right decision to pick up these younger players and bet on them. But I also saw that they changed their coach again, so maybe the consistency in their philosophy is a point why they struggle.
You're going to be focused on M80, but do you ever think about being in a full German team again?
Playing with five German nationals is obviously something that would be cool, I wouldn't rule it out, but like you say, I'm focused on M80 and I'm looking to grind.
The nice thing about us Germans is that we always love to compete in German events like IEM Cologne, so it was cool to have that fire re-lit when I realised we were playing the Austin Major with an American team. It's obviously not quite the same, but it's home soil for the US guys. It's similar in that way.
Photo: Stephanie LindgrenHow much extra motivation does the prospect of getting in front of a home crowd bring when you get to these kinds of events?
I think this would be great for us, especially with the hype around this Major and the fact it's in NA. It's going to be huge, and I can only dream of the support that our team would get if we were playing on the stage. It adds huge motivation.
You enter the Major in Stage 2, which leaves you with a lot of CS to play to get in front of the crowd, what will be the key thing to get there?
I think we're coming off a low point in Astana, so we've had some heavy bootcamping time to fix our map pool and make our strong maps clear.
After that, it's about going step by step through each game and betting on those strong maps. We have to perform and show up on them, and then anything can happen. It's only 6 games that we have to win to make it to the arena and we have to be ready as both individuals and as a team.
What are your goals for the Major? Is it solely playoffs or is there a decent result that's less than that?
Realistically, showing that we can compete with every team at this event would be nice. If we make it to the next stage, that would be huge, and I just don't want to go down like we did in Astana.
If we manage to compete, I'll be really happy, but I think it's a must. I can't say that we want to reach the next stage and just be happy, though, I want to make playoffs with the guys.
