After magic defeated FaZe at FISSURE Playground 3 in Suzhou, MN spoke with MaSvAl about the match, the team’s performance on Cache, and sFade8’s role as IGL and caller. The player also discussed the roster’s rapid progress and their long bootcamps.
First of all, congratulations on the win! How did the match go overall? Cache is considered one of FaZe’s strongest maps, yet you managed to beat them there. Were you nervous at all?
There was not much nervousness. Overall, everything went according to our plan. We failed to finish some situations properly and there were some arguments, of course, but those are just normal in-game moments. We expected Cache to be either the third map or their pick, so overall everything was pretty clear to us.
— MaSvAl
I noticed that sFade8 does a lot of calling between rounds: Vitaly is usually the one talking while everyone else listens. What can you say about him as a captain and caller?
Vitaly is a very strong captain, really strong. He is the strongest captain I have ever played with. As for us being quiet, we are simply listening because he brings a lot of smart ideas that we need to pay attention to. There is not really much for us to add. We discuss some individual moments, but Vitaly handles most of the talking.
— MaSvAl
Over the last four months, you have improved very quickly: from roughly a top-60 VRS team to a stable top-20 side. You made the playoffs at EWC and, in general, you seem to reach the playoffs at almost every event. How did you manage to become a tier-1.5 team, close to tier one, so quickly?
Honestly, I think we fully deserve it because we practice a lot — really a lot. Especially sFade8, AW, and our coach. They barely slept during the bootcamp and worked extremely hard, and I am grateful to them for that work.
— MaSvAl
How much time did you spend at bootcamp in total?
If you add it all up, around four months in total.
— MaSvAl
From when to when was that?
Probably from January until that point.
— MaSvAl
Until May?
Yes, maybe even longer.
— MaSvAl
