S1n Discusses M80's Progress After Victory Over NAVI
M80 captain Elias "s1n" Stein reflects on the team's performance at BLAST Open Fall 2026, highlighting a crucial win against NAVI and lessons learned from a close loss to FURIA.
Elias "s1n" Stein, captain of M80, reflected on his team's recent performance at BLAST Open Fall 2026 in an interview with HLTV.org. Despite a narrow loss to FURIA that sent the squad to the lower bracket, s1n expressed satisfaction with their progress and highlighted a crucial victory over NAVI as a major confidence booster for the German roster.
The match against FURIA was a close contest that ultimately ended in disappointment for M80. The series began on Cache, where the teams played a tight game that went into overtime. Although M80 started strongly, they lost several key rounds and fell behind 0:2 before eventually losing the map. s1n praised his team's effort on their first official match on the map but admitted they should have closed it out after gaining a significant advantage.
"It was a really fun game. We had some great rounds, and honestly, I'm very proud of the team," s1n stated regarding the Cache encounter. He emphasized that while they played well on both sides, the key moment came when they lost a huge lead, noting that reviewing voice communications would be essential to understand exactly what went wrong.
However, the mood shifted positively following their earlier victory against NAVI. s1n described this win as "huge" for the team, especially after a long period without a significant result. The defeat of the Ukrainian giants gave M80 a renewed sense of belief in their ability to compete at the highest level.
"The victory over NAVI was huge... After yesterday, we even felt that perhaps a new era was beginning," s1n explained. He noted that this win demonstrated once again that M80 are capable of being a tier-one team, provided they step up in key moments.
Looking ahead, s1n identified the main difference between his squad and top-tier teams like FURIA as individual confidence in decisive situations. He believes that while tactical preparation is solid, players must take more responsibility individually to win when things aren't going perfectly.
The next challenge for M80 awaits them in the lower bracket against Aurora. The teams previously met at the Esports World Cup in Paris, where M80 suffered a 9:13 defeat on two maps. s1n admitted that match left unpleasant memories but expressed confidence that their recent wins have restored their morale.
"With a few pistol-round victories and renewed confidence, I think we can approach this game with our heads held high... and beat them," s1n said, looking forward to avenging their earlier loss against Aurora in the lower-bracket final.
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