Lake: M80 play improved despite poor results

M80 began their fall season by qualifying in North America for BLAST Open Porto but then finished last at BLAST Bounty Season 2 and the Esports World Cup in Paris. The roster lost 2-0 to Aurora in the Paris elimination match.

Mason “Lake” Sanderson said the team has improved in communication and tactical play, but that small individual errors have cost them in key moments. He described the problems as “much more micro than macro,” citing defaults and several post-plant situations that went against the side.

Sanderson singled out rifler s1n for strong in-game calling and credited assistant coach Luca “Munstur” Ioanițiu with helping the squad address both macro structure and individual execution. Munstur has been compiling review materials for players and working to reduce instances of teammates talking over each other.

The addition of Munstur has allowed head coach Rory “dephh” Jackson to shift responsibilities, the team said. Lake noted improved in-game communication in Paris and attributed that to the new assistant coach’s work on routines and in-round calls.

M80 plan to return to North America to prepare for BLAST Open Porto at the end of August. Sanderson acknowledged practice quality in North America will be lower but said the team will focus on consistent preparation. The squad also intends to play more LAN events, including iBUYPOWER Masters, to build match confidence and collect qualification points for the Major.

M80 sit ninth in the Americas rankings, with nine teams from the region set to qualify for the Major. Sanderson said the team has completed roughly half of its required LAN wins and expects further LAN results to increase both confidence and ranking points before the October cutoff.

As an example of missed opportunities, Sanderson pointed to a match against G2 that he believes could have gone M80’s way if not for small individual errors. The team plans to address those micro mistakes in practice and review sessions ahead of upcoming events.