In their first match at iBUYPOWER Masters, Immortals came back from a 9-15 deficit on Cache against FaZe to win 19-17 in overtime.



steel doesn't feel 100% ready yet

We managed to grab their newest addition and in-game leader Lucas "⁠steel⁠" Lopes as well as the coach Rafael "⁠zakk⁠" Fernandes for an interview. We found out why Immortals decided to make a change, what they focused on in the past week and how steel is adjusting in the team:

After a few disappointing results you changed zews for steel, why did you feel the need to change the in-game leader and why did you go for steel?

zakk: zews came into the team with some ideas from SK that he thought would work with our team, but in my point of view, Counter-Strike is like chess, you have to know how to use your pieces. But that style didn't work with us, so everyone wasn't happy playing that way, so we had to change to someone that could be an in-game leader and is a friend of us, and steel is a really good friend with everybody.

You haven't been in the top-tier scene for a while now, how has the transition been and how have you worked with the team in the past week or so?

steel: It's like a dream coming true again, playing with these guys, man, they're so cool, the team chemistry has been great so far. I just can't thank them enough for the opportunity they gave me to be playing with them.

As a new in-game leader in a new team, what have you done with the team in the past week?

steel: We are working really hard, we were practising like 10 maps a day. We were trying to learn a new metagame, we're trying to do new stuff. This tournament is going to be a test for us.

Do you think you're ready, on form?

steel: Not individually and not as an in-game leader. I'm learning about in-game leading again, because I wasn't leading in g3x, and individually I'm really far from my A game.

Talking about your first and only match so far, the big comeback against FaZe from 9-15 on Cache, what was the key to do that?

steel: I think we started coming back after lucas' round on the B site, he made a pretty awesome round, so I think that was the energy that was missing from us, so when he did that round, we started thinking about the comeback.

zakk: I guess that was some impact, that round... Maybe they realized that FaZe were pushing just the sides, they weren't using middle, and we were focusing on middle. So we just said to stand still, wait for them to come, because if they come they can't do anything, so we just waited.

What about the next game, the winners match against Renegades, what are the expectations?

zakk: I expect to win, it's always a tough match against Renegades, we already played them like 3-4 times this year and we never lost. But we're gonna study really hard tonight to know what we'll face tomorrow.

This is more of a qualifier rather than a tournament, are your ambitions more towards qualifying for Oakland or are you aiming higher than that?

steel: Actually our first goal is obviously to qualify for Oakland, but our second goal is to win this tournament. Like I said before, this is a test for us, a really good test. Our goal is to be champions here.