Grim on NRG's 12-0 Choke: "That was the hardest loss of my career"

In the 100th podcast episode of Half Time with K Bizzy, guest Michael "Grim" Wince spoke about NRG's devastating loss to BIG at IEM Cologne, which saw the NA squad choke a 12-0 lead in what would be their last match of the Major.

The former Passion UA and Complexity rifler says he felt confident in the team's chances of closing the game, until BIG hit 11. "I was like, 'Fuck, this might actually go into overtime,' and then it did." At this point, Grim was "trying to get everyone reeled in" and reassuring his teammates, but he admits, "People's mentals are just all over the place. It's hard to focus."

Grim laments NRG's lack of success on the T-side before saying, "That was the hardest loss of my career, for sure." He remembers Furia's Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo giving him a hug afterwards, and teammate Aran "Sonic" Groesbeek also offereing some advice: "He told me he's deleting all social media for a week or two" to ignore the "billion hate comments after that game."

Later in the podcast, Grim explains how being back in North America helps him stave off the burnout a loss like this might catalyze. "On Passion UA, we would just stay in EU and bootcamp the whole time." On NRG, however, players are "allowed to go home for a few days in between those events, with Grim noting this "extra time kind of makes a big difference in in your mental health."