The Guatemalan rifler for G2 feels he is thriving under the leadership of SAW and huNter- .

G2 Esports underwent a major restructuring during the recent offseason, bringing in two new players and a new coach following the departures of NiKo and m0NESY .

On paper, the new roster looked promising, and they've already begun to deliver on that potential, impressively defeating world number two Spirit on their way to the BLAST London Spring Finals .

"It felt good," ⁠ malbsMd told HLTV, reflecting on the aforementioned victory over Spirit , a match in which he put in a dominant performance. "On Mirage, I got donk-ed for a bit , but then, I don't know, I felt like I just fought back."

G2 and malbsMd began to thrive under the new roster, and the Guatemalan rifler was quick to credit his new in-game leader and coach, praising huNter for "giving me really good space to play" and lauding SAW 's "creativity."

With the knockout stage matchup against FaZe approaching, malbsMd sat down with HLTV to delve deeper into the new G2, the differences in system and style compared to the old roster, and his team's upcoming knockout stage campaign.

Q: First of all, how does it feel to be in the knockout stage again?

A: It feels good. It's been a long time coming, but I'm glad we made it this far, especially after beating Spirit .

Tell me about the match against Spirit , as they were one of the favorites to win the tournament and you were the one who performed well. How did it feel to beat them?

A: It felt good. On Mirage, I got donk-ed for a bit, but then, I don't know, I think I just fought back. Then I was shooting well and focused on the game, that's it.

The last time we interviewed you, you said you were starting to enjoy the game again. Do you think that's still happening with the new G2?

A: Yes, of course. It's even better now. I feel like... I'm playing better overall. It feels like SunPayus ' arrival has provided the team with a really good sniper, and huNter- is doing a really good job as a caller, giving me a lot of room to play. It feels really good.

Q: Talk to me about the spacing within the team, as the addition of MATYS also means he's a pretty aggressive player. Does that help relieve some of the pressure on you, having someone as aggressive as you playing alongside you?

A: Yeah, but I always like to be the first one in anyway, so I don't mind... I've always been that person, always trying to be the first one in, whether I'm low on health or full on health, I always try to get ahead of my teammates so they can have room to make plays, you know? And I also like to play aggressively. It's a combination of the two. I want to shine by being aggressive, but I also want my teammates to get good kills by last-hitting me.

Q: In the early days of the team, there were some positional experiments, such as you playing the green pass position on Train. What was the process of integrating the players and adjusting them to the correct positions so that you are all in good shape now?

A: That position was kind of an experiment, and it didn't go very well (laughs). In practice, I was like, "I can't do this, I hate this position," so we switched back. As for A-Dragon on Dust2, I think it's really hard to rotate as a CT on Dust2, and huNter- is great at that. I feel like I just play better as a CT on A-Dragon on Dust2. I've always done that, and I've played A-Dragon my entire career. On other maps, I have these positions where I can make an impact, and I can negotiate with SunPayus and huNter- so I can have a better impact.

Q: How is huNter- as the captain? He obviously knows you well and what you like to do. Is this a huge help compared to a new leader who doesn't know you at all?

Yeah, I think so. He knows—well, everyone knows it, but he knows it better—that I like to play very aggressively. He can put me in these roles and strategies, and let me just push forward without a second thought, and I don't mind, because some players don't like that. He knows I can do whatever he wants me to do. He trusts me, and I trust him, which is great, so I think it's a really good relationship.

Q: You've praised SAW several times, but what specifically did he and you research together? What impressed you most about SAW ?

A: It's his mindset towards the game, and his creativity. For example, he'll have one play, and based on that play, he can derive three or four variations. So he can fake a play, or just have different variations on the same play. His creativity is just amazing. It's really great.

Q: Do you think G2 is more strategic now than before?

A: Yeah, our playbook is crazy (laughs).

Do you think having this kind of system helps you? What's it like being an aggressive, creative player on a more structured team, compared to before when you had to come up with more things on your own?

It's pretty good. I don't know how to compare it, because I'm one of those people who holds down the W key and dashes forward, and I don't know how to say it so it doesn't sound bad... I don't know. It feels like if I die, my death has a purpose, and if I kill someone, it's because I dashed forward with a really good purpose. I have good backup flashes, I have a whole set of countermeasures for what happens whether I die or kill someone, and that kind of stuff, so it's really good.

Q: Does this mean that there is a well-thought-out plan behind every round? Is that what you mean?

A: Yeah, like of course there's plan A, and then there's plan B, C, and D.

Q: As for G2's brand value, we all know it, but with some players leaving, things are a little different now. How do you feel about that? Because sometimes it's more fun to be a slightly weaker challenger. Do you prefer that? Is there less pressure?

A: I've been a challenger for most of my career, and only last year did I become a member of a strong team. I think it feels good, and now we have rookies on stage, which is even better. Maybe we won't feel the same pressure, and they'll be relaxed and just play at home. So this could be a good thing for us, hopefully.

I'd like to ask about the quarterfinal matchup against FaZe. It was two exciting teams with interesting playstyles, and it felt like a winnable matchup for you. How did you feel about that matchup?

A: It's pretty good. They just made adjustments, and so did we. Their adjustments were more recent. This is definitely winnable. They just lost a key voice in Eli GE and only brought in a rookie, so maybe this is a good thing for them because of their system, or maybe it's worse because they lost a better voice or something. I don't know about jcobbb , but he's a rookie, so you can't expect him to be a big voice.

Q: This is the first time the new lineup has played in an offline arena tournament. How much help has last year's experience provided you personally?

A: That’s great, I already have two BLAST titles, so maybe I can get the third one (laughs).

G2 will face FaZe in the quarterfinals of the BLAST London Open.