Swisher: "Just being able to qualify [to the Major] was a huge win for us. We'll take it"

Dust2.us' Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey "Mnmzzz" Moore spoke with M80 rifler Michael "Swisher" Schmid after the team smashed InControl to reach the playoffs of FRAG 20.

Swisher went over their recent win at DraculaN, history at events in Atlanta, and qualification the IEM Cologne Major.

Find the video interview below, with a full transcription underneath. All questions and answers have been slightly edited for length and clarity.

How are you feeling about the day so far after you beat It's a Secret and InControl?

Pretty good. We're trying to get used to the monitors. I think they're like 27 inches. We're getting used to it, just doing the reps. They're just a little too big. You would never play on them ever and the stands are a little weird. But, you've gotta work with what you've got.

How are you feeling about your level of match fitness heading into the playoffs?"

We're pretty good. Coming off of DraculaN where we played pretty well, we had some good scrims. It's been a few days here in NA since we got everyone back in. We're pretty ready.

After a somewhat slow start to the year, did it feel good to get a trophy under your belt at DraculaN?

For sure. We were struggling a lot, even at the Journey event and the Roman Imperium Cup. We were like, "What the hell are we doing?" It was like rock bottom. Going into DraculaN and having the results that we expect from ourselves and almost a little more was a huge pat on the back to us.

It's telling us that we're on the right track to keep putting in the same work and we're getting where we want to be.

How are you feeling about the upcoming IEM Atlanta event?

We're excited. Another NA event, the last one of the season. We're excited and looking forward to that. The competition isn't the strongest of normal IEM events, so we're hoping we can take that for all of it and go into playoffs. Obviously, we're gonna have to see what happens.

It's gonna be weird that it's not necessarily an arena for the playoffs, it's gonna be inside the convention center. It kinda loses the IEM feel, but we're still excited for the event.

At the same venue, you won the DreamHack Knockout event. Is there some good luck there?

Hopefully. Originally, we ended up losing to Wildcard and BIG at ESL Challenger Atlanta 2024. Then last time around we beat BIG and won the DreamHack Knockout. Hopefully, some good luck.

Are you disappointed M80 was only able to get a Stage 1 spot at the IEM Cologne Major?

We were just happy to make the major, honestly. There was a time period there with our losses that we were thought, "If we don't step up, we might not get a spot at this major." That was not an option for us. Being able to just qualify was a huge win for us. We'll take it.

We've also said that we feel like Stage 1 can almost be a bit of a bonus. You come in hot, you get to play on the setups, get used to everything. You can play some of the weaker teams to get hot into Stage 2 and hopefully Stage 3, then go from there.

Who do you think is going to be your biggest challenger on the road to the grand finals here at FRAG 20?

Historically, we've had more of an issue with Passion UA, but it's a completely different team now. Besides that, Voca always plays well. All these teams who are playing decent; Wildcard has been playing good recently. Just the normal NA teams. We just can't take anything for granted and play our way.

M80 lost their quarterfinal match against Marsborne 1-2, but will play again soon in the Thunderpick World Championship NA Series 1.