Crimsix And Hydra Discuss NYSL Bouncing Back From The Brink

What a day of Call of Duty. On a truly historic opening, the first four matches of Major IV were some of the most exciting and gripping series of CoD the league has seen all season. Three map fives, two reverse sweeps, and a stellar upset to cap off what was truly a great day for any fan of the game.

Particularly, it was the home team in front of the home crowd that truly was the capstone for everyone in the King's Theater and online. The New York Subliners, with Champs on the line and a theatre full of fervent supporters, who had never won a match at a major this season, with nothing but a handful of CDL points keeping them in the running, pulled off the impossible. Against the Minnesota RØKKR, the Subliners clawed back in a series that went the distance, pulling off a legendary reverse sweep to earn that sweet first major victory, and unbelievably keep their Champs dreams alive.

After that glorious win, Ian "Crimsix" Porter and Paco "HyDra" Rusiewiez, sat down with the press to share their thoughts on their clutch comeback against Minnesota.

Following a brutal start to the series and going down 0-2, Crim and Paco shared some information how the team regained and shifted focus for map 3.

Crimsix: "We had a huddle".

HyDra: "We were just not locked in for maps 1 and 2. We know we're just better than them, and we know how good we are in Control. And after that [map], it was just like, I guess a snowball... So, like, we knew they were good on Control, but since we 3-0ed them and on the last round we held the worst point for like 2 minutes, we knew we were just better than them."

Crimsix: "Once we did like the impossible to win that map, I knew the series was over, you know? The only way we lose is if, like, we just significantly mess up. If we don't, if we keep playing like this, how we did in map three, we were going to win."

Hydra: "The whole energy was different from map 1 to map 3."

Crimsix: "Yeah, we got pissed, like a good pissed. Not like a, you know, mad at teammates, pissed. You're like, mad as a team that you're-"

Hydra: "That we're getting sh*t on."

Crimsix: "Yeah, exactly."

In response to whether or not some of that anger specifically came from Eli "Standy" Bentz's smack talk to the Subliners and the crowd after Map 2, Crimsix said, "Yeah, that's why I flipped them off. I actually really like Standy, but not today… Yeah, no, today actually, we beat them, so I really like him. Thank you".

One of the standouts for the Subliners was Matthew "KiSMET" Tinsley who went on a tear through the RØKKR throughout the whole series and finished the match with an overall K/D of 1.07, and huge amounts of impact on the game. Crim talked briefly about what it was like to play alongside him as KiSMET got fired up mid-match.

Crimsix: "He went from like whispering. I remember after map two, I'm like, go check your Astro command centre, check your mic volume because I can barely f*cking hear you. And then he checked it and it was on full volume already. So, he probably thought in his head like, f*ck, I need to get way louder."

"And then right when he started screaming, shouting, I was like, 'oh my God.' Like, I felt an extra aim assist. You know, when he started shouting, I was like, wait, these guys [RØKKR] are actually terrible all of a sudden!"

"But when I'm on a team and I see someone do that, like, then I start believing it, you know?"

HyDra: "I was locked in. I could believe anything. I was on, that was me."

Crimsix: "You were sitting there like, I'm that guy right now, I need to be that guy."

HyDra: "Eh, we did it together."

Everything is on the line for New York in this tournament, and there's no better place to do it than the home crowd. Crim and Paco shared what the event has been like so far for them.  

Crimsix: "The venue itself is incredible. I know that there's a reason why we don't have events in New York. It's like it's just too expensive, you know, I've been playing 13 years or whatever it is… And to finally be here in New York, you know, I've been all over the place… like, I've never played here. So, it's actually so cool that we're here and it's actually crazy because I'm sitting here looking at like, we play for this city, you know, and it's absurd to think about."

HyDra: "Yeah, this is the most beautiful venue I've ever played in, like by far. Even though I've played maybe five or six events, for me, it is crazy to play here just to represent New York. I'm kind of proud of all of that."