M80 have had a mixed start to the fall season. They first successfully qualified for BLAST Porto through the North American qualifiers, but then things took a sharp turn for the worse, finishing bottom in back-to-back exits at BLAST Bounty S2 and the Esports World Cup (EWC).
"Overall, I think we played better, even if that didn't really show in the scoreline," Lake told HLTV after M80's elimination in Paris. "I think our communication is better. The macro is better as well. s1n has been calling really well lately. What really hurt us was just those micro mistakes, but we're improving on that too."
The rifler praised the work of the team's new assistant coach Munstur since joining, and said M80 will have to return to North America to train in preparation for their next event, BLAST Porto at the end of August.
"We can only train in North America to the best quality we can achieve," Lake said. "I think the quality part is up to us, and then, yes, we just need to be prepared and make everything go smoothly. Keep improving, that's it."
Q: Lake, you lost 0-2 to Aurora and were eliminated from this tournament. First, share your thoughts on this match. I listened to the post-match interview with dephh, and he said the team made a lot of individual mistakes throughout the series.
Lake: Overall, we played okay. The team just kept making mistakes during defaults, a lot of individual mistakes. It's more of a micro-level issue rather than a macro-level one; it's not the fault of any tactics. We kind of blank out in crucial moments; many post-plant situations didn't go our way, which is unfortunate. We have to focus on these areas.
But, yes, we've had to focus on a lot of areas and keep working to improve, especially since Munstur joined. He's helped us a lot in that regard, but yeah, we just need to keep moving forward.
Q: After qualifying for BLAST Porto, the start of the season has been bittersweet for you. You lost in the opening round of the Bounty and have now been eliminated from this event without a single win. How do you assess the team's performance at the start of the season?
Lake: Overall, I think we played better, even if that didn't really show in the scoreline. Our communication was better, and our macro was better too. s1n has been calling really well lately. What really hurt us was just those micro mistakes, but we're improving in that area as well.
The game against G2 could have gone our way as well, but again, it came down to micro mistakes in that game, some small individual errors. It's really not a big problem. But we just have to really tighten those things up, and then we should be able to pick up some wins.
Q: You just mentioned Munstur, he was already on the team during the Major. JBa and Swisher both praised him when we interviewed them at the Major. What's it like working with him and dephh?
Lake: It feels really good. It has really taken a lot of pressure off Rory (dephh). There are more things Rory can focus on, while he can also share some of the load with Luca (Munstur). Luca focuses on macro and micro mistakes; he's putting together a folder for me showing me where I've messed up recently, which is nice. And he's really helped a lot with our communication.
He's been walking us through these issues one by one, because we have a big problem with over-communicating and talking over each other. So especially in this tournament, things are much better, and it's all thanks to him.
Q: Next is BLAST Porto, another major tournament. Will you stay in Europe to prepare for it, and what are your expectations for it?
Lake: I think, unfortunately, we have to go home first and then come back. You know, life in North America. But yeah, we can only train in North America with the best quality we can achieve. I think the quality part is up to us, and then, yes, we just need to be prepared and make everything go smoothly. Keep improving, that's it.
Q: After that you still have the iBUYPOWER Masters. Is the plan to play more of these second-tier LAN events, especially in Europe? Because you are currently ranked 9th in the Americas region, and only nine teams from the Americas can qualify for the Major.
Lake: Yes, of course. We plan to start playing some LAN events. Obviously, we're not particularly worried because we're currently ranked 9th. We're currently about halfway to our LAN wins goal, and especially with more wins and more confidence, that will only continue to grow. So yes, we'll definitely play some LAN events from time to time. Just to get our points up before October.
Q: It's also to build up some confidence, right?
Lake: Yes, of course.