Into the Breach has been a cornerstone in the UK scene over the last year. Their rosters have boasted some of the best UK talents that are on offer, including Owen “smooya” Butterfield, Thomas “Thomas” Utting, and Cai “CYPHER” Watson. Whilst the team wasn’t able to keep consistent, they were at one time competing at a tier two level. This month Into the Breach announced that they have released their roster and are in talks with a brand new lineup, but whether that new roster would maintain a UK majority is yet to be seen.
UKCSGO’s Dafydd Gwynn had the opportunity to talk to Sam “SlayTheMinotaur” Macedonio to discuss what the CS division of Into the Breach is going to look like in 2023. The owner alluded to the new roster that they have in the works, stating that “Over 50% of [Into the Breach’s] salary budget will be on CS:GO alone in 2023.” He also discussed keeping a UK majority, the rumours of Endpoint being interested in one of their players, and affirmed that their academy project is still on the table.
What does the future of ITB CS look like?
It’s up in the air at the moment. We have a few roster options, one of which I’m particularly excited about. If it goes ahead, it’ll be very hype.
Are you going to remain a UK majority?
Tentative at the moment. I sincerely hope so, but if we can’t make it work, then no. Ultimately we need a top 40+ roster with the new salaries we’ll be putting out and resources, plus expectations of our 2023 sponsors.
If you don’t remain a UK majority, how will you keep your roots in the scene?
Good question. Even if we don’t maintain a UK majority, we’ll still find ways to contribute to the scene. I know endpoint is lining up some cool stuff, and there’s this player council with mezii and co. Unsure what their action points are but it’s cool to see. Feels like there’s legitimate traction in the scene currently, and I’m conscious if we don’t operate a UK majority we’re impeding on that.
Even if we don’t maintain a UK majority, we’ll still find ways to contribute to the scene.
In terms of keeping roots – as mentioned we’ll find ways, and it’s in part up to community feedback. We can continue our player MVP and sponsorships to UK LAN events, continue to fund tournaments (though this mantel is largely taken up by endpoint), and fund an entire squad to play epic/insomnia for us. Open to suggestions.
What was the main reason you released the previous lineup?
No flame to the guys I just think we stagnated a bit. There’s only so long you can see your roster yo-yo between rank 50 and 70 and feel it’s time for a change. Moreover, social reach was a factor – a requirement for our new sponsors.
Was the option of rebuilding around the ITB core on the table?
Because of reasons above, unfortunately not.
There were rumours of a move including one of your players and Endpoint but it never happened, do you care to comment? What stopped the move, if it was in the works?
Not my place to comment, I think. But you can probably guess who it was. Move stopped as they chose a different rifler, don’t think it went deeper than that.
What have you learnt from being in CS?
Bettors are really fucking salty, awful ass people, but are ironically the life blood of the tier 2-3 and beyond scene. Literally wouldn’t be there without them. See Dota.
Is CS a priority for your organisation at the moment?
Top priority alongside Dota. Actually, over 50% of our salary budget will be on CS:GO alone in 2023.
Previously, ITB was going to be making an academy project, is there any update on that?
Still looking for funding and sponsorship for this but still very keen to make it happen. I think it has legs, though it has been tried before several times. Needs a long-term partner who is interested in being a part of the scene’s development. Sponsors themselves are few and far between – one that’s emotionally invested and basically unicorns.
