malbsMd interview: Journey to G2, anchor roles, learning from donk

One of G2's newest pieces spoke at length regarding the biggest step up of his career.

One of North America's top prospects in recent years, Mario "⁠malbsMd⁠" Samayoa has received an unparalleled opportunity, being called up to G2 amidst the removals of Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković and Rasmus "⁠HooXi⁠" Nielsen from the international side.

While calls for changes in G2's ranks have been loud and clear throughout 2024, the additions of malbsMd and Janusz "⁠Snax⁠" Pogorzelski have raised new concerns, chief among them the latter player's ability to call shots at a title-winning level and how each player will adjust to issues of role overlap.

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Stat check: G2 throws roles out the window

In a lengthy interview with HLTV, malbsMd discussed his feelings about transitioning from domestic North American sides to a top international team, the prospect of taking on anchor roles, and his response to those attempting to predict the future regarding his new team.

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malbsMd kicked things off by sharing his feelings of vindication after getting the opportunity to join a big-name organization like G2.

"Coming from a really weird country for esports, having to learn two different languages, become pro, having this opportunity makes me feel good. It actually means that everything that I went through and all the effort I put in was worth it," the young Guatemalan rifler stated.

"It was a really good journey, and I think that everything that happened in my career was just to learn and make me ready for this moment. I'm very happy that everything happened on this timeline, and I'm proud of it too.

"You can imagine how happy I am to see my dad almost crying because he got to talk to TaZ, for example [TaZ yells 'Let's go!' in the background, malbsMd laughs], or that he is super excited that I'm going to play with NiKo. It's an insane feeling that I really cannot describe."

Asked about his career journey and some of the trials he faced in his years in TeamOne amidst a crumbling pathway to the top in North America, malbsMd admitted that it was a labored path and one he likely made more difficult for himself.

"I think I made the path longer than I should have. As you know, I went through the Brazilian scene because I had no other opportunity in NA because I was not known enough. One day pesadelo discovered me in FPL and he was like, 'Yeah, we should bring this guy in,' and I got to learn Portuguese since then.

"I feel like if I had the opportunity before to communicate in a language I'm comfortable in, play my roles — aggro roles and not playing hard anchor on some maps — actually grow with it and get experience from those kind of roles, to change my roles in the future and have some experience knowing I'm good in my roles... Just as it's happening right now.

"I got the opportunity to play my good roles in M80, but I'm going to play big site anchor in G2 right now. But I know I can play good as the star rifler, so I can bring that knowledge into the big site anchor and learn from the other anchors while putting my knowledge from being a star rifler into that.

"I could have done a better path for me, but that's how it is. But I'm always grateful for getting to know the Brazilian culture, getting to know another language, which is not an opportunity that everyone has. It made me grow a lot as a person and as a player, so I'm thankful for everything that happened. All of the things happened for a reason and that's why everything brought me here."

malbsMd also took a moment to praise his previous team, M80, stating that he was "so close to retiring," but that the North American organization provided him with an opportunity to continue plying his trade.

He spoke about transitioning into more star rifler roles after Marcus "⁠maNkz⁠" Kjeldsen stepped back from active play, something he hadn't tried before, and laughed about how it has clearly paid off.

'"I've never done this before but I can try it,'" he said to the team when they proposed the switch. "It was worth it [laughs]. I never thought I was going to be such a good star rifler. I wanted to be the best in CS2 because I knew this game was going to be a really good opportunity for me, and when I saw donk rising up, I was like, 'Alright, let's study this guy, what is he doing differently?'

"I saw what was going on, I found out what he was doing, and I got to play like him. I got to understand what he does, how he moves, how he shoots, everything, and then I put it into my game and into M80's game. Then I destroyed everyone; nobody in NA had a chance against me other than fl0m [laughs]."

malbsMd elaborated why he thought he wouldn't be such a good star rifler, admitting that while he has always been an aggressive player, he didn't think he would adapt well to having so many duels and being such an impactful player across the map.

The Guatemalan rifler, like many fans, was blindsided by the offer from G2. After he had a stellar individual showing at the Americas RMR, malbsMd shared that he assured M80 Rory "⁠dephh⁠" Jackson that he hoped to continue with the team, knowing that offers were likely coming.

"Rory [dephh] came to me and he was like, 'Mario, you know you're playing super well, people are going to be watching you, they're going to be countering you, maybe you might get some offers in the player break.'

"And I was like, 'Yeah, I know and I expect it, but I'm not planning to leave you guys in any way.' But, everything changed in a moment. It's not every day that G2 knocks on your door. I never expected to get a G2 offer."

malbsMd shrugged aside the idea of buckling under the pressure and scrutiny from the public on his new team, referencing his time with TeamOne and 00NATION as a way to show he'd dealt with backlash before. "You don't even know how Brazilian fans are, like holy fuck," he laughed.

"If we lost one match, I was getting messages like, 'Oh my god, you fucking suck,' 'How can you be in this team,' even if I was dropping 30 in a map. It was ridiculous, and I'm expecting to have the same thing here.

"Actually, I'm not expecting it to happen because I want to win, but I know that if we lose those things might happen and I'm ready for that. Everything that happened in my career was preparing me for this moment right now. I'm a grown-up guy now and I don't feel hurt by any of those messages anymore. They might hurt, yeah, but I'm not going to let it get into my game life."

Later on, malbsMd elaborated by discussing how his goals have shifted from just making playoffs to now aiming to lift trophies, adding that this "was pretty motivating, because it means that I am one step closer to accomplishing my dreams."

On the topic of roles, the young rifler looked even beyond G2, stating that the ability to be flexible between roles would give him greater opportunities in the later stages of his career, giving him the chance to be an in-game leader or a coach rather than rigidly trying to hold onto his roles in the twilight years of his career.

He also admitted that while his experience as a solid star rifler will aid in his transition to new roles, time and understanding will still be a necessary part of the transition to his being an anchor again.

Regarding the difficulty of transitioning to these anchor positions, malbsMd believes that his time with Brazilian lineups will be a boon in that regard.

"Back then in Brazilian teams, we used to be very strong fundamentally, playing by the books. I feel like I get a good mixture of getting to do whatever I want and also playing by the books, knowing when to overpeek, knowing when to go back, knowing when to flash and repeek."

With a few days at G2's bootcamp under his belt, malbsMd was also confident when asked about how practice has gone and how he is adapting to his changes on the server.

"I'm not going to lie, I am doing well [laughs]. That's what I'm going to say. I am doing super well, even better than how I expected I was going to do. I'm even surprised by myself that I'm doing this good.

"There are some habits, like you get the opportunity to repeek in Connector [on Mirage], but you cannot do it when anchoring A on Ancient, for example. There are some habits I still have, but I feel like I haven't done many mistakes... I'm not perfect, but I haven't done as many mistakes as other people transitioning from a star player to an anchor will do. I feel like I've been doing incredibly well from the time I've had to practice these roles, and I'm actually surprised."

New roles was not the only novelty that malbsMd discussed in the lengthy interview, as he also shared his feelings on his brief time working with big names like Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov — who he described as "the best player I've ever seen" — and Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač, and how it has been arriving in a team with established names.

"It's been nice. I thought it was going to be more strict in a way, that they were going to not let me be as much of a free player as I am right now, but even with Snax, they trust me a lot. If I want to do a play, they'll be like, 'Okay let's do this,' and we adapt the rounds really well to what I want to do. It's been a really good experience so far."

Touching on the Bosnian rifler and the public perception of an egoistic persona, malbsMd was clear about his initial feelings.

"Whenever you see NiKo slamming his desk, he's mad at himself. From the days I've been here, he has never had any weird situations where he's showing up with an ego or screaming at somebody, or anything like that.

"He has never been toxic, so I think people are just exaggerating it. He has been super nice to me so i think it's just a lie. He's a really good guy and of course his experience is really good to have on a team."

When discussing those critical of G2's new lineup, malbsMd stood firm in his faith in the team. "I don't know why people feel like they can read the future, it's just stupid. If we get just a honeymoon period, and it happens that [NiKo] and [m0NESY] leave, it happens. What can I do?"

malbsMd concluded the interview by discussing his goals with G2, sharing that he hoped to be one of the top three teams in the world alongside his new teammates. But, with this in mind, the young rifler shared that he did not want to set " so many expectations and then get frustrated."

"I feel like my future is going to be bright with [G2]."