malbsMd on M80: “At the time, I really wanted to make the roster and become Swisher’s teammate.”
Team Liquid CS2 rifler Mario “malbsMd” Samayoa spoke on the Talking Counter podcast about how he received an invitation to join M80, shared his thoughts on the characteristics of players from different regions, and commented on his own personality traits as well as the best lineups of his former club.
On joining M80
Actually, when I was invited to M80, Swisher was the first to contact me. Initially, I wasn’t supposed to join the team, even though they really wanted to play with me. At first, they were considering FaNg. But then Swisher said something like, “malbsMd is so much better than FaNg, please, let’s take this guy.” After that, I messaged syykoNT practically every day asking if there was any news. At the time, I was desperate to make the roster and become Swisher’s teammate. This opportunity was vital; I dreamed of proving myself again, because at that point I was without a team, and I wanted to compete. We were supposed to reunite even earlier with the Bad News Bears, but I didn’t want to join back then. So we’d always wanted to play together. As soon as Swisher said a club had opened up where we could play, I immediately agreed.
On players from different regions and the first iteration of the M80 roster
I think South American players are crazier, in a good way—they’re real “party animals.” They’re louder, more energetic, that sort of thing. Back in those days, M80 had a pretty good mix of everything. The coach shared his wealth of experience, then we brought in maNkz, who was a European IGL, and later sniper WolfY joined us, who had also played in Europe. I think, in the end, it turned out to be a pretty killer mix of young North American blood and seasoned esports players from other regions. So, Swisher, reck, and I had known each other for a long time, back when we were playing practice matches together, while the coach, captain, and sniper gave us an alternative perspective on the game.
On the character and peak form of the M80 roster
As soon as s1n and slaxz joined us, we really started to come into our own as a strong team. Both of these players helped me play at full capacity. Thanks to the first one, I got a lot more space on the map, and the second one made a lot of plays in the middle of rounds and supported the team and the captain. Of course, I also tried not to stay on the sidelines, but at that time I still didn’t talk much during matches. Ultimately, it turned out to be a great combination: my teammates took the reins, and I could step in individually and offer something whenever the urge struck. It didn’t disrupt anything or get in anyone’s way. The two of them understood perfectly how to build the game around me, because I myself never really realized what that should look like—probably because of my personality. I’m not the type of guy who’ll talk a lot on the server and describe every detail; that’s hard for me.
Earlier on the Talking Counter podcast, Mario “malbsMd” Samayoa talked about how he got into Counter-Strike, reminisced about his time playing for 00 Nation, and shared his impressions of playing with Marcelo “coldzera” David.
Photo — Talking Counter.
Dan Kleiman
