Maka: "We should have improved between [Majors], and I don't think we improved a lot"

Maka shared his disappointment at not being able to finish the first half of 2025 with a Major playoff outing.

After marching into Stage 3 of the BLAST.tv Austin Major with a 3-1 record in Stage 2, 3DMAX had their sights set on a spot in Major playoffs.

The Frenchmen kicked off Stage 3 in good form, rolling past G2 13-5, but 3DMAX faltered in a harrowing overtime match to Natus Vincere to end day one with a 1-1 record.

Matters were only made worse by a matchup against Vitality, as a crushing 2-13 defeat put 3DMAX on the verge of elimination. 3DMAX were ultimately sent packing from Austin at the hands of paiN, who climbed back from a 5-11 deficit to consign 3DMAX to a 1-3 record.

Read more

paiN eliminate 3DMAX from Austin Major

Shortly after his team's elimination from the Major, Bryan "⁠Maka⁠" Canda spoke with HLTV regarding the team's loss to paiN, his assessment of the event overall, and how the team has adjusted since incorporating Alexandre "⁠bodyy⁠" Pianaro into the lineup.

---

Commiserations Maka, eliminated from the Major. Not the result you would have wanted, and not in the fashion you would have wanted either. They came back from 5-11 down on Nuke. How are you feeling after that as a whole?

Pretty disappointed, to be honest. Drawing paiN in 1-2 was a good thing for us to get back some confidence, it was a 50-50 matchup. In the end there were some key rounds we didn't close or win, and it showed it. We didn't play our best CS and the mid-rounds and late rounds were really crucial this game. It feels really bad to lose this one.

Overall, what would you say about your Major run, how do you feel like it went?

We were proud right after we beat Legacy. We showed some great CS, until the NAVI choke. We choked against them on Inferno and we lost our spot in 2-0.

I would want to re-do the Major, maybe in 2-0 we have a better dynamic. CS is like this. Maybe more confidence, more composure during the games. In the end we had our backs against the wall and this is something that can be successful sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't work for us. We fell under pressure.

When you say you would have had a better dynamic if you went 2-0, what do you mean?

I mean the team dynamic, like each day you work and you try to improve small things. Even though you don't want to get too result-oriented, you want to win, and losing that game against NAVI was something a bit bad.

In the end we kept working, but on the other side, if we had won, it would have been really great for us for the dynamic we went with throughout the Major. As I said, being down 1-1 against Vitality is like a pain in the ass (smiles), and this is what it is.

The loss against Vitality yesterday was brutal, 2-13, did that come as a big blow to your confidence?

I can't say for the whole team, but for me I would say... it could be for the team. For me individually it didn't, but it's always the same. You play a game, you lose quite hard, 13-2, and the rounds were kinda hard to play past the halfway [mark] on T side on Nuke. Vitality is that kind of team that brutalize you really fast.

Last time we talked to you, we were talking about your season as a whole. It's been a little up and down, you've had some decent results but not great, some losses to FaZe even though you got revenge on them in Stage 2. Now that your season is done, how would you tie it together, what would you say about it overall?

I wouldn't say it's bad, but I wouldn't say it's good either. What we're aiming for is to be able to play matches and qualifying to playoffs, even playing playoff games. In the end, this season we just played one playoff game and it went really badly against FaZe in Bucharest. We didn't make it close to playoffs. This is at least what I aim for, so it's not good, but it ain't bad also.

We finished 1-3 in Stage 3, which is the same spot we had last year at the Major. We should have improved between, and I don't think we improved a lot. The meta is evolving, people are evolving, every team is really trying hard to get those spots. We have to work harder and find our steps for the next season.

You made this change midway through the season with bodyy, but as you said, the results still aren't quite there. What do you feel like is missing, or what do you think you might have to change going into the next season?

I really don't know. It's quite hard to say right after that kind of game. I'm pretty sure we will be able to find what's needed from the team to improve faster, or at least better, in the same way.

Adding bodyy was a great thing for the team, it helped us a lot. We don't know what we would have done with Djoko, but bodyy is a really insane player overall. When he finds his way to play the game, he's really good, and we need to find a good balance to be able to use bodyy, and also use the other players and me.

Even though I am the IGL, I'm also an AWPer, and I need to be able to perform. This is not something I'm missing, but I could be even more consistent. So finding consistency, I think.

Last time we talked to you about bodyy, you mentioned you were working to find the right balance with him, trying to figure out how best to work together. Has that dynamic improved over time, have you found more of a balance?

The duo we have with bodyy is improving. We showed some great things together. It's only four months in the season to be honest, that seems like a lot, but traveling a lot between tournaments, not being able to have a lot of rest and a lot of practice... we could have done better to improve in practices. bodyy helps me improve, and I think I help him improve, so we keep it like this and keep doing a good job.