malbsMd on G2's new structure: "It feels like if I die I have a purpose for dying"

G2's Guatemalan rifler feels he is thriving under the leadership of sAw and huNter-.

G2 undertook an extensive overhaul of the team in the recent off-season, bringing in two new players and a new coach as they rebuilt following the departures of Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač and Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov.

On paper the new squad held promise, and they are beginning to deliver on that promise, having impressively taken down world No. 2 Spirit on their way to securing a LAN finals appearance in BLAST Open London.

"It felt good," Mario "⁠malbsMd⁠" Samayoa told HLTV when reflecting on the aforementioned victory over Spirit, during which he turned in a commanding performance. "On Mirage I was getting farmed by donk, but then I don't know, I feel like I just managed to come back."

G2 and malbsMd are starting to thrive in their new constellation, and the Guatemalan rifler is quick to credit his new IGL and coach for their contributions, praising Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač for "giving me really good space" and Eetu "⁠sAw⁠" Saha for his "creativity."

With a playoff bout with FaZe on the horizon, malbsMd sat down with HLTV to talk in-depth about the new G2, the difference in structure and style compared to the old iteration of the lineup, and his team's upcoming playoff campaign.

Listen to the interview here.

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First of all, what's it like to be in the playoffs again?

It feels good. It's been a long time but I'm just so glad that we've made it here, and even better after beating Spirit.

Tell me a bit about that Spirit game, because they were one of the favorites for the event and everything, and you're the one popping off. How did it feel to beat them?

It felt good. On Mirage I was getting farmed by donk, but then I don't know, I feel like I just managed to come back. Then I was hitting my shots, focusing on the game, and that was it really.

The last time we interviewed you, you were saying you were starting to enjoy the game a lot more again. Is that continuing in this new G2 do you feel?

Yeah for sure. Now it's even better, and I just feel like… I'm playing better overall and it feels like SunPayus came and gave us a really good AWP for the team, and also huNter- is doing really good as an IGL and giving me really good space. It feels really good.

Tell me about the space in the team, because MATYS coming in is quite aggressive as well. Has that helped take the pressure off you a little bit, having someone that aggressive alongside you?

Yeah, but I always like to go first anyway, so I don't mind… I'm always this guy that is trying to go first, when I'm low, when I'm full HP, I always try to go further than my teammate just so they can shine, you know? And also I like to be aggressive. It's a mix of both, that I want to shine being aggressive, but I also want people to get good kills trading me.

There were a few positions teams early in the team, for example you were playing Ivy at some point on Train. What has the process been like, integrating people and getting the positions right, so that now you're all in good form again?

The Ivy thing was kind of an experiment that didn't go really good (laughs), in practice I was like "I cannot do this, I hate Ivy," so we switched it again. With Dust2 Long, I think just CT rotator on Dust2 is really hard, and huNter- is going a good job with it. I think on Dust2 I just play better as CT on Long, I always did, and I always played my whole career on Long. On the other maps I just have these impact positions where I can talk the CT with SunPayus and huNter-, just so I can have better impact.

What's huNter- been like as a captain? Obviously he knows you well and what you like to do, has that been a big help rather than having a new in-game leader come in who doesn't know you at all?

Yeah I think so. He knows, well everyone knows this but he knows it better, that I like to be really aggressive. He can put me in these kind of roles and strats for just running in full-W and I wouldn't mind, because there's some players that don't like that really. He knows that I can do whatever he wants. It's good that he trusts me and I trust him, so it's a really good relationship I would say.

You've praised sAw already a few times that I've seen, but specifically what has he worked on with you? What's impressed you about sAw?

It's just the mentality he has for the game, and also his creativity. For example he has one strat, and off that one strat he can take three or four more. So he fakes, or just variations of the same strat, it's just insane creativity I would say. It's really good.

Do you think G2 are a more tactical team than before now?

Yeah, our playbook is crazy (laughs).

Do you think it helps you having that kind of structure? What's it like being the aggressive, creative player in a team that's more structured, compared to when you had to come up with more stuff yourself?

It's good. I don't know how to compare it really because I'm just this kind of guy that holds W, I don't know how to say it so it doesn't sound bad… I don't know. It feels like if I die I have a purpose for dying, and if I kill it's because I had a really good purpose for going in. I have good support flashes, I have everything set of what reactions can happen if I die or if I kill, that kind of stuff, so it's really good.

Is it more about having a thought behind every round, is that what you mean?

Yeah, like having plan A of course, and then B, C and D.

In terms of the brand value of G2, we all know it, but it is different now with who's left the team. How are you finding that? Because it's almost more fun in a way to be a bit more of an underdog sometimes. Are you preferring that, less pressure almost?

I've always been the underdog my whole life, then just last year I was the big guy. I think it just feels good, and it's even better now that we have stage rookies. Maybe we don't feel the same pressure and they're gonna be just chilling, playing like they're at home. So it can be good for us, and hopefully it is.

I wanted to ask about facing FaZe in this quarter-final. It's two really fun teams with exciting styles of Counter-Strike, and feels like a winnable match for you. How are you feeling going into that?

It's good. They just made changes, we also just did. Their changes were more recent. It's really doable, they just lost a really big voice in EliGE and just got a rookie, so maybe it's better for them because of their system, or maybe worse because had a better voice or something. I also don't know jcobbb, but he's a rookie so you cannot really expect a big voice in him.

It's the first arena with a new team, so how much of the experience from last year is going to help you personally now?

It's good, I have two BLAST trophies under my belt, so maybe I can get the third one (laughs).