Mauisnake on Gizmy joining 100 Thieves: “This transfer will definitely revitalize the careers of not only rain but also device.”

Mauisnake: You have no idea how much faith I have in Gizmy. I started watching Monte’s games around the beginning of this season, and I think he’s the future. I’ve talked about him many times on Snake&Banter, but I don’t think I’ve done so here, so I’ll take this opportunity. I believe that if he does end up joining 100 Thieves—which should happen very soon—this transfer will definitely revitalize the careers of not only rain but also device. This deal is exactly what 100 Thieves needed to break into the top 25 teams in the world rankings. I’m still not entirely sure that the roster will take its final form after this change, but I have no doubt that in a few months, Gizmy will be able to take the team to the level I mentioned earlier.

kassad: I have a little story about Gizmy that I’d like to share. Toward the end of my time at BLEED Esports, my analyst—who now works at NAVI alongside B1ad3—and I tried out this guy based on a recommendation from CYPHER. He was at the Monte academy at the time, and we liked him right away. Why was that? He stood out for being incredibly talkative—which is great for a captain—and he gave a lot of calls and communicated constantly at the start of rounds, in the middle, during breaks, and so on. We wanted him specifically when we were missing an IGL, because you could tell right away that he had a lot of potential. Of course, he lacked experience at the time because he simply hadn’t been playing CS at a high level for long enough, but for you, as a coach, getting a player like that is a huge stroke of luck. Gizmy always listened to you, did his job, asked questions when necessary, came up with different ideas, and spent a lot of time on the server. We worked with him for a few weeks and really wanted to buy him out; the amount at the time was thirty thousand dollars. We finalized the deal and agreed on his salary, but then the guys from Monte unexpectedly refused to complete the transfer—perhaps because they’d heard somewhere about the “dark side” of BLEED’s financial practices. I don’t remember all the details anymore, but if I’m not mistaken, at a certain stage of the negotiations I even offered my own money and wanted to buy him out myself, but the Monte representatives refused.

Thorin: I actually have nothing against this project—at least now that the club has finally signed a decent, full-fledged captain. I think the team will truly become stronger from this point on. My main point is this: if device doesn’t start playing at an outstanding level, the roster will only be able to compete with mid-tier teams like Ninjas in Pyjamas—and nothing more. If the guys manage to at least rise to the level of the big clubs, we can consider that they’ve already done an excellent job. I don’t yet see a solid foundation for that kind of growth, since nothing has happened to make me fully believe in 100 Thieves. I like the Gizma signing; he’ll definitely strengthen the team. Perhaps in the future, the organization will sign another top-tier player, since the roster will need at least one near-star-level rifler to make serious progress.