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MAD Pad: “It’s the best mood we’ve had all year”
MAD Lions are currently on the brink of Worlds elimination. Their only win so far in the Worlds 2023 Swiss stage came against the now-eliminated Team BDS and they failed to claim victories over NA sides NRG and Cloud9, perceived to be among the weaker potential opponents so far in their run. They face crashing out of the competition altogether if they fail to beat China’s Weibo Gaming in a best-of-three series – their toughest matchup yet.
Ahead of the series Esports.net spoke with interim head coach Patrick “Pad” Suckow-Breum, currently stepping up to the position for the duration of the tournament. Despite the struggles so far, Pad remains optimistic. He’s excited at the chance to face a team like Weibo and insists that the team are in good spirits.
Credit: @MadLadPad | Twitter
Esports.net: What’s the mood like within the team given the 1-2 start to Worlds?
Pad: The mood it really good honestly. I think the main preparation for Worlds was honestly about striking a balance of reconciling with the fact that we haven’t been able to find a way that all players want to play this year, throughout the year, and that’s been a big point of tension for everyone involved.
So moving into Worlds, figuring out ways of how we can meet in the middle since we haven’t been able to find our way to play one particular style of League of Legends. I think we’ve managed that really well. I think we’ve managed the relationship between the players at Worlds better than we’ve done all year long.
So obviously being 1-2 sucks. But with that being said, I think that — it might sound a bit weird — but mood-wise, it’s the best mood we’ve had all year.
What do attribute the 1-2 start down to?
I think that in general, Mad Lions have struggled in the past with being favorites. We obviously faced two NA teams, and going into those series, we were considered favorites – at least by EU standards and by ourselves.
We were expecting to win both of those games. I think that we didn’t manage that very well and haven’t found a good way to play as favorites yet. I think that going into the Chinese [Weibo] series we are the underdogs, it’s home territory, it’s how we won both of our championships back in 2021. So I imagine you’re going to see a genuine version of MAD Lions.
Credit: LoL Esports
Lee Jones: On the broadcast you gave the impression that NA teams are underrated, at least by those in EU.
Could you elaborate on that?
I think that when you look at the NA teams that attended Worlds, I think that there was a pretty clear gap between the four of them. I think that Cloud9 had some issues versus NRG in the finals of LCS… but I think that C9 especially have really good fundamentals. I think they have super strong lane phase, I think they have a good neutral approach, I think they have a high emphasis on neutrals and a pretty clear-cut set-piece approach on those.
I think that NRG, when they are allowed to play heavily towards top side and are unlocked, I think that the champion pool is deep enough to be able to play for Dhokla. So I think when they are allowed to play that specialized style, they are really good. Similar to the way that BDS is good in Europe.
For Team Liquid, I don’t have much of an opinion because we ended up not playing them. But at least for the two NA teams that we did end up playing, they would be able to do fine in Europe. I love rivalry, I come from football myself, I love Liverpool. But for me, my rivals are in EU and I don’t need to s*** talk NA. They’re good, they’re not bad.
Lee Jones: You won blue and lost on red side, which have 77% and 23% winrates respectively in the Swiss stage.
How much of MAD’s fortunes have been impacted by side selection?
Pad: I think it’s playing a massive part. I can’t go into why as much as I would like to, at least not yet. But I think it’s a mixture of the meta, which is a big part.
But it’s also a lot of the stronger teams who have been on blue side. I think the favorites of the tournament, or those who are classified as top four/six, have been having a lot of blue side games. Which makes sense because they’re higher seeds.
Read also: LoL Worlds Picks and Bans: What will the Meta be like?
Lee Jones: You’ve stepped up as interim head coach in Mac’s absence, you’re return to the role after the early days of Phelan, MnM and Tricked.
How have you found being a head coach again?
It’s very different from back then because in the ERLs very often the head coach is everything. The head coach is the manager, he’s the assistant coach, he’s the analyst, and he’s the head coach. But moving into Worlds as interim head coach, I’ve experienced how it is to be a head coach with all of those roles to delegate. I think Mac has done a wonderful job of preparing me for taking over this role for Worlds. I think in the past I’ve struggled a lot with not delegating properly and overworking myself to the point where I don’t function.
But with the support staff we have here — Achuu and Zeph (assistant coaches), Orome (positional coach), Aagie (analyst), and our lovely manager Eric — I think that all of them have basically made my job much easier. It’s still hard being a head coach, it’s a lot more people talk, it’s a lot more in the moment decisions, but I’m quite decisive so I don’t mind that. It’s certainly different, but it’s good.
MAD Lions reacting to their draws. | Credit: MAD Lions LoL
Do you want to go back to being a permanent head coach?
For sure yeah, eventually. I’m patient, I’m going to keep developing as a coach. I think I’ve done a good job developing from ERL head coach to LEC assistant coach and also strategic coach. I’m not in a rush. I want to make sure that I do things well, that I develop on my strengths, but also make sure that I find ways around my weaknesses or make them not weaknesses anymore.
“I’m not in a rush to be a head coach, but I definitely see myself as one in a couple of years.”
How have you found prepping for matches in the Swiss stage given that you often have little time after finding out your opponents?
That process has again come down to delegation. On these day I have my side selection at 23:00 or 23.30, and that’s usually after a 14-hour workday. So after a 14-hour workday I’m not going to be able to sit down and scout at a proper level. If I sit down at 23.30 and I start scouting for my opponents, I’m going to miss things. So Mac and Orome, who are back in Romania and UK, have been a massive, massive help for this. When it’s 23:00 here, they’re like six or eight hours behind so they have the whole day to start prepping.
So making sure that I found a healthy balance of doing my own scouting in the morning, but delegating the majority to Orome and Mac has been super helpful and the only way to deal with it, honestly.
Lee J0nes: Weibo next then..
How are you hoping that one’s going to go?
Great. Wonderful. I’m so f****** excited. I’ve been waiting the whole year to play Asian teams, and now we get to do it. We’ve only played Korean teams and historically, since I’ve been with MAD Lions, Chinese teams have been our most even scrim opponent at international events because we play similar League of Legends. Obviously some of the teams like JDG have had an edge on us in team fighting at times, but it’s always been the most fun to play.
I’m super excited. We get to play with Xiaohu who we have taken a lot of inspiration from over the years. It’s just great. If you’re not looking forward to these kind of games, when are you going to be looking forward to playing League of Legends?
Read next: Deft and Adam discuss Dplus vs. BDS duel, rest of Worlds 2023
