MAD Lions has started off the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational with a bang, routing PSG Talon in what was supposed to be a contentious match between the two strongest teams in Group B. Instead, MAD shook off a surprising level 1 play and immediately took over the early game and never looked back on its way to a sub-30 minute victory. The team was able to snowball the lead AD carry Matyáš "Carzzy" Orság's Tristana, who ended the game with a KDA of 9/1/9.

Following the conclusion of the first day of MSI 2021, Carzzy spoke to Inven Global about defeating PSG Talon, the current level of his individual play, and MAD Lions' relative strength in Group B. 

Congratulations on your first win of MSI. Did the one-sided nature of your win line up with your expectations heading into the match? If so, what were the key factors in taking down PSG Talon so convincingly?

To be honest with you, I expected the stomp. We are playing really well together as a team right now, and I think that we are peaking at the moment. We still have a lot to improve on, but we are playing the best we have ever played. I was expecting the clean stomp.

Humanoid's Realm Warp into the PSG Talon's fountain to get you and the team in for the final kill was quite the finale on top of an impressive win. Was that something you guys had practiced, or was it spontaneous?

*Laughs* I don't think you can really practice that. Humanoid was just like, "Let's kill him in base. I will ult us there." That's how it went.

PSG Talon caught you off guard at level 1, but you not only bounced back almost immediately, you also gained a huge lead despite the first two minutes of the game. How were you able to recover so quickly?

I mean, we were expecting that they were going to invade us, but we left two seconds before they came. We kind of got zoned from the wave because I had to recall, so I missed like three minions worth of experience, which is not the worst. It was still fine, and once we hit level 2, they misstepped into the river and we just killed them because they weren't supposed to be there in that moment.

You expected this win to be a clean stomp, which it was, but PSG Talon is slated to be your strongest competition for 1st seed in the group. Did PSG underperform today, or is MAD Lions simply that much stronger than the rest of the group?

I definitely think that they were kind of playing under their normal level. I might blame it on them having to play with a substitute, you know? Their first game was kind of rough on them, but I think that they are a better team than what they showed today so I am excited to play them again when they're in a better form.

MAD Lions has been externally evaluated by many as having a bot lane that is a weak point. Do you feel like you disproved that today and made a statement with your performance?

I think I am playing a lot better at the moment than when I played before, even though I think that I was playing quite well in our first two series of the LEC Summer Playoffs. The only rough series I had was in the finals, and Steven "Hans sama" Liv was just playing better than me that series.

I am a much better player now because we are scrimming teams like DAMWON KIA and RNG a lot, and that helps us improve a lot faster.

AD carries representing Europe at past international events are decorated veterans like Martin "Rekkles" Larsson and Luka "Perkz" Perković during his three career splits in the bot lane. Do you feel extra pressure as the European AD carry at MSI 2021 to match their respective legacies?

I don't feel any pressure at all because I think that we as a team can become one of the best European teams as well, so I fully trust in us. I think we even have a good chance at winning this entire thing.

It's hard to imagine a better first step towards winning it all than today's win. Thanks for the interview Carzzy, is there anything you want to say to the MAD Lions fans?

I would like to thank all of the people supporting us, and I hope that it is going to continue.

All images by: Michal Konkol for Riot Games