Iberian Soul ended the first day of the Esports World Cup qualifier on a positive note, beating FKOMAR 2-0 without losing a single round, after losing their opening series to 6666.
While the second match was underway, Gentle Mates confirmed that they were exiting Counter-Strike after a year-long association with the Spanish team, leaving Alejandro “alex” Masanet’s troops once again on the lookout for a new home.
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Official: Gentle Mates leave CS
In a quick post-match interview, alex admitted that the team has found it hard to stay motivated and focused since losing Gentle Mates’ support, though he expressed hope that they will be able to find a new organization “soon.” He also said that the team will most likely have to go international to fill the void left by Antonio “MartinezSa” Martinez’s departure.
A quick 2-0 victory to end the day, but let’s talk about the first match. Were you disappointed with the way things went down?
Yeah, it was really hard for the team, for the environment. I don’t think we’re at the level we want to be. Even though we’re practicing hard, I would say we’re still not good as a team, so I expect these things to happen. We just need to get better.
While you were playing, Gentle Mates announced they were letting the team go. How would you describe your time with the organization, and was it disappointing how things ended?
It’s a tough conversation, I would say. I just want to thank them for the time we had. Nothing else. They wanted to quit CS, and we had nothing to say, right?
You’re now back to where you were a year ago, and last time it took you eight months to find an organization. What impact has this had on the players, the atmosphere, and the confidence levels?
Right now, we are in talks with some organizations, but I think this is affecting us mentally. When you don’t have a club to play for, you need to pay out of pocket to come to this kind of event, so it’s hard, it’s hard mentally. I think that’s another thing we need to solve sooner rather than later, because it’s really hard to focus on the game without any organization. But we are in touch with some, and I think everything will be fixed soon.
You’re now playing with CRUC1AL as your fifth player and djL as coach. Is that temporary, or could they stay on the team?
Daniel is our coach officially. Joey is helping us; we told him this will be the last event he plays with us. We need to see how things are going, to see if we need to do something different. I think he’s giving his all, and I’m very, very grateful to him. We just need to find a balance, I would say, because we’re not even really playing as a team, more like a mix. I think we need to focus on that.
A few months ago, when we spoke at the Roman Imperium Cup, you were in a good position to reach the Major. Now you don’t have an organization. What does the future hold for the team? Are you still planning on staying a fully Spanish roster, or considering going international?
The problem is there are no AWPers in Spain, just SunPayus and Martinez, and both of them have a team. So it’s really hard for us to find an AWPer, and I think in this game a good AWPer makes the difference. So yeah, of course we’re forced to play internationally.
But as I said, it happened so fast: when Martinez left the team, we didn’t have any time to prepare. We had an event, a Stake tournament, and we needed to play with someone, which is why we chose Joey. Of course, we’d like to play with a Spanish roster, but I think it’s going to be really hard.
Is SunPayus an option, or not at all because of contractual issues?
I don’t know about his situation, but of course he’s an option. But I think he’s going to keep playing internationally.
