Ex3rcice on 3DMAX's recovery after IEM Dallas: "We put in way more effort than we had been before"

Pierre "Ex3rcice" Bulinge of 3DMAX spoke with Dust2.us' Jeffrey "Mnmzzz" Moore after the French team qualified for Stage 3 of the BLAST.tv Austin Major.

Ex3rcice spoke about 3DMAX's uptick in form, their goals at this tournament, and bringing French CS back to international relevance.

The entire interview is available below in text or video form. The questions and answers have been slightly edited for clarity.

Locking in with a 3-1 record, a win over FaZe, everything is coming up for 3DMAX. How are you feeling coming off of that fantastic win over s1mple and karrigan who are real legends of the game.

We are happy because the last time we played FaZe it was a way different story. We got destroyed 13-0 and 13-1. We are happy that we beat them and we played great CS and as individuals.

We saw 3DMAX in America only a week and half ago having played at IEM Dallas. It's staggering how much the team has improved in such a short time. There, you really struggled. What has the team been working on since Dallas and do you think it paid off?

Yeah, we put in way more effort than we had been before. But to your point, we just couldn't find our A-game. We show at some moments great CS, but that's not enough to win games. But when we are at our strongest, we can beat any team.

With this win over FaZe, what's the team's expectations for Stage 3?

Our goal is playoffs. Stage 3 was a goal for us and now we've done our job. But we still need to show what we're able to do so we want to reach the playoffs.

Since Vitality got rid of the shox/NBK- roster and moved to an international squad, there hasn't really been a top French team. It feels like the French scene has retreated in a way. Being here at the major, how do you feel about the chances of brining a French squad back to relevance in 2025?

We've been grinding with the guys, especially at DBL PONEY since 2021. So it's been four years already. I guess we reached our full potential and that's why we're able to compete with top ten teams. I would say the new Valve Regional Standings are a good thing also. It's not about money anymore, when you're good you can play at events.

What would it mean to bring France back to relevance in CS?

Allez la France. We are happy, obviously, but I hope we can do even more.