MAJ3R on qualifying for MDL: "It's important for us and for the Turkish community as we have been through a rough journey"

We spoke to Engin "⁠MAJ3R⁠" Küpeli after Sangal secured promotion to ESEA MDL Season 36 Europe to find out about the team’s development in 2020 and what's next for them.

Sangal will look to hit the ground running in 2021 with their promotion to the European division of ESEA MDL Season 36. The Turkish side, currently ranked 63rd in the world, confidently dispatched Movistar Riders in the Advanced league's grand final to cap off an unbeaten run in the double-elimination tournament.

"It means a lot for us, we want to bring a Turkish team to the top of the scene as we did in the past,” MAJ3R told HLTV.org. “I had to leave them last year and it hurt me a lot inside. Coming back to MDL and having a chance to be in Pro League and prove ourselves again is important for us and for the Turkish community as we have been through a rough journey."

MAJ3R targets ESL Pro League in Sangal's next steps

The team initially struggled to reach the heights they set their sights on when joining Sangal in April, as MAJ3R’s troops missed out on ESEA MDL Season 34 Relegation and lost the ESL Turkey Championship Winter title to Boca Boston. In response, Sangal released inexperienced youngster Anil "⁠FURIOUSS⁠" Bozdogan and picked up Ömer "⁠imoRR⁠" Karataş, who had played alongside Ahmet "⁠paz⁠" Karahoca and Engin "⁠ngiN⁠" Kor in previous iterations of Turkey5 and in the ex-Space Soldiers team that competed in ESL Pro League Season 9.

The 20-year-old has proved his worth with a 1.21 rating since his arrival in September,setting Sangal on a new path. MAJ3R described his addition as making the team "more complete" as well as allowing the other members to "step up more and feel more comfortable in their roles."

The veteran IGL has high hopes for Sangal, but believes it will take a lot more work to get the team where he believes they should be. "Creating a system and creating chemistry takes time, with Space Soldiers it took 1-1.5 years to be really good and to start having good results," he explained. "I feel really good individually and as a team and we’ll give everything we have to get back in the scene."

With the 2021 season set to kick off on January 18, MAJ3R has clear ambitions ahead: "Our goal is to be a better team day after day and get ready for the next step - Pro League. And of course to get invites to some tournaments where we can show what we have." Sangal have no new events on the horizon, but will be eager to prove themselves once ESEA MDL comes around in the new year.