MnM Gaming, a British organisation (short for Molotovs and Marshmallows), first ventured into Rainbow Six esports last September with the acquisition of two separate rosters to compete in the Benelux Season 2 and Premiership Winter leagues. While the Benelux roster failed to make it to the LAN Finals and the Premiership roster finished the season in joint-third, a merged lineup was then formed for the DreamHack Winter 2018 LAN and fared somewhat better.
Comprised of FraO, neLo, and Prox from the Premiership lineup, Fonkers from the Benelux lineup, and Doki on loan from Vexed Gaming -- the team that defeated them in the Premiership semi-finals -- MnM took nine rounds off of Team Empire and took Mock-it Esports (later Na’Vi), a team which had just represented Europe at the Season 8 Pro League Finals, to overtime. These results, therefore, made this the primary lineup for the MnM Gaming roster.
The MnM Gaming roster at DreamHack Winter 2018 (via @MnMGamingUK)
Roster changes just prior to Season 9 of the Challenger League saw Prox replaced by the ex-Method and PACT player of Kendrew, with his teammate from PACT, Saves, joining shortly afterwards to replace the Team Secret-bound Fonkers. These changes were proved to be for the best, when the roster won their first ever LAN event in February at epic26.
Their success was then doubled when MnM became the British champions in March after defeating Team Secret in the Premiership Spring 2019 Season. The team then jumped from strength to strength, and ended up defeating the Challenger League favourites of Team Vitality to win Season 9 of the Challenger League and be automatically promoted to the Pro League.
Now, as this four-month-old roster enters the Pro League, the Ukrainian organisation of Natus Vincere (Na’Vi) has signed the team after dropping their Season 9 lineup on Thursday.
Na’Vi is best known for their CS:GO roster which was the first in the history of the game to win three major tournaments in one calendar year back in 2010. The organisation also has a significant history in Dota 2, in which they achieved three back-to-back grand-final appearances at The International from 2011 to 2013.
Na'Vi had signed the Mock-it Esports roster midway through Season 9 of the Pro League (via @MockItLeague)
More recently, Na’Vi entered the R6 scene just after the Six Invitational 2019 with the acquisition of the German lineup of Mock-it Esports. However, following their eighth-place finish in Season 9 of the Pro League and subsequent demotion to the Challenger League, the organisation has dropped this roster for their replacements in MnM.
SiegeGG spoke to Doki from the new Na’Vi roster to discuss the signing and their future as we head towards their Pro League debut in a few weeks time:
You have had quite a journey in Rainbow Six, from Vexed Gaming and now you are getting signed by Natus Vincere. Did you ever think this would happen?
How is your team preparing to deal with the expectations and pressure that comes from signing with such a monumental organisation?
When did Natus Vincere approach you to be signed? Did you have any hesitation?
Are you and your teammates going to be going full-time in Siege?
What was the lowest point for your team, and how did you recover from there to get to the Pro League?
How have you and your team grown since the ESL Premiership 2018?
When preparing for Team Vitality in the Challenger League Playoff Finals, a team with so much experience and skill, were you confident of the win from the outset?
Your debut season in the Pro League will not be easy by any means, with teams like Team Empire, G2 Esports, and LeStream Esport all being formidable foes. What are the key improvements your team is looking to make to be able to consistently face off against them?
In the documentary MnM: An Underdog Story it was shown that G2 Esports’ coach, Thomas “Shas[O]Udas” Lee had a lot of faith in your team. How close are you and your team with him, and how much did that support mean?
Are there any roster changes we are to expect prior to Season 10?
Is there anything else you would like to say to your fans?
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Natus Vincere’s next game will be next Thursday in the ESL Premiership as they face their ex-teammate of Prox’s new team, Who knows, with this roster:
Leon "neLo" Pesić
Ben "CTZN" McMillan
Jack "Doki" Robertson
Luke "Kendrew" Kendrew
Szymon "Saves" Kamieniak
Ellis "GiG" Hindle (Coach)