dephh: “I’m pretty strict, but I also want to give the guys room to express themselves.”

M80 coach Rory “dephh” Jackson spoke in detail about his approach to working with the team between matches and during timeouts in an interview at the IEM Cologne Major 2026.
On his coaching style
I tend to stay in the background a bit. I don’t give many interviews. I’m not very active on social media. But I can’t take credit for what the guys do on the server. We recently brought on a new analyst, just for this event so far. And he’s been a huge help between maps; given the number of maps we have to play at the Major, it’s been really useful. But we have a strict game plan. We try to stick to it as much as we can. And we also ask the players during practice what they want to do. We want them to feel comfortable. So, I guess I’m pretty strict, but I also want to give the guys room to express themselves.
On working during timeouts
Even when I was still a player, I always talked a lot. So, I think it’s just carried over from the more than 10 years I’ve been playing. I really like timeouts when I can help out tactically. I much prefer that to timeouts where you have to be emotional and cheer the players on. So, if we’re in the flow and feeling the game, and I can help purely tactically, that’s when I consider myself at my best as a coach.
Right now, M80 is in Pot 1:2 of the second stage of the IEM Cologne Major 2026. Today, Rory “dephh” Jackson’s team is set to play a do-or-die match against Legacy—the game starts at 8:00 PM Moscow time.
Photo — PGL.


