Is siuhy's return the start of something great, or a cursed reunion?

They say you should never go back to a spurned lover, but perhaps this time it might work.

The much-coveted siuhy might've had his pick of teams in this off-season, but if rumours are to be believed the team he has - or will - opted to move to will be a familiar home.

While his atmospheric rise has come at GamerLegion, his loyalty to the players whom accompanied him to multiple WePlay Academy League wins seemingly was too much for to ignore, and he will have his shot at the spot it felt he was destined for a year ago.

For MOUZ, the embarrassment that washed over them as they watched their former academy product not only knock them out, but lead his gang of misfits to a Major final has been at least somewhat spared, as they have found the funds to bring him back.

But: will it work?

One step backwards two steps forward

How many hyped-up returns actually seem to work?

While there's little to suggest siuhy isn't a prodigy leader, it's almost too perfect. He was sensational on GamerLegion and MOUZ Academy, and he'll be with three of those teammates, and everything points towards it being a great move.

But nothing ever works like it should on MOUZ, for some reason.

Michal Konkol

siuhy is on the surface a straight upgrade to dexter, but much of the same platitudes were aimed at the dexter move back then. dexter has had some issues consistently fragging with the rest of his teammates, but he does have his pop-off games. siuhy is regularly one of the better players on GamerLegion, and even when he's not, his impact as a space creator and unwavering battering ram is always felt.

The adjustment period often needed by big IGLs seems like it might be shorter, too. It took him little time to turn GamerLegion into a threat, and he knows everything his teammates can do, bar frozen. But all of us know what frozen can do.

That said, it is an interesting piece of the puzzle for siuhy to work out.

Fitting in frozen

In theory it should be very easy to organise the roles. frozen replaces szejn, and the NXT roles stay the same.

siuhy's roles actually line up almost perfectly with dexter's on T side, but on CT side he has a decent amount of overlap with frozen, at least during his time on GamerLegion. siuhy's a versatile player, and can easily adjust to different roles, but we might see a bit of a drop off in terms of his numbers at first, at least.

Michal Konkol

Alternatively, we might see frozen get shifted around on the CT side. iM was a monster on CT side, and quite obviously the best player on GamerLegion, so we might see siuhy move frozen into those roles as the bona fide star he could be.

In practice, we could see one or both of them drop off from the monstrous performances we've seen recently. There's only so many kills to go around, after all.

Are they good enough?

While the NXT -> main team story is alluring, one thing does seem to go under the radar.

It's... an academy team. 80% of this team was an - albeit impressive - academy team in the last few years, and while they dominated other small fish, this pond could prove to be too big.

We've already seen torszi's impact drop off and JDC isn't as consistently solid in tier one play as he was in the academy, as one might expect. xertioN has found the step-up a bit easier, but he's also not the god-tier player consistently that he was back then.

Michal Konkol

siuhy could, and perhaps should, elevate these players. But is their ceiling just to be a serviceable tier one team, or to actually win events?

Realistically, the answer to that question doesn't matter. It's MOUZ' best shot at finding a winning roster, and they have to pray that they found diamonds all those years ago.

The up side

As has already been touched upon, siuhy is a legitimate upgrade over dexter - not just as an individual player, but arguably as a leader too.

When you speak to the GamerLegion players, it's clear they think he's a true leader of men, and he has consistently overperformed there and arguably with the NXT players too.

Michal Konkol

Individually, he's aggressive but with a bravado, an arrogance of a player that knows how good he is. He's not an IGL who goes in first to make room for his stars, he's the pointed end of a battering ram. He won't make space by running into, he'll make space by clearing you out of it.

When you look at the five players on paper, you see the forming of a difficult to beat CT side and a balls-to-the-wall T side, backed by the composure of frozen in the late round.

The big question mark, though, will be torszi.

The poisoned scope

torszi is not the first to fall victim to a drop-off in this MOUZ team. Like acoR before him, he came in as a swashbuckling, all-action sniper and was neutered, either by design or by a sheer lack of belief. When acoR left MOUZ, many believed his time at the top would be over.

But who was it who revitalised his career?

siuhy knows what torszi can do, and more importantly, torszi knows he has someone who believes in him. If siuhy can get out of torszi the same uptick in performance as he got from acoR, this MOUZ team becomes frightening.

Michal Konkol

There's a chance that torszi just isn't at the required level yet, or that he was and has lost his spark - in that case, perhaps MOUZ look to find another scope-wielding lunatic for siuhy to spin into a calm, domineering presence. Giving up on torszi just yet, though, is a fool's gambit.

He has mechanicical ability that is clear as day just by watching him, and he was probably the second best player in the academy league that has birthed many a tier one player. Under a new (old) leader, there's something in there that makes you believe he could turn it around and become the superstar AWPer MOUZ thought they were getting the first time around.

The conclusion

siuhy to MOUZ is a genuinely exciting move. The prospect of him returning home and winning with his old teammates is endearing, enticing and seems more likely than it ever did before. But perhaps it's that story that blinds us to just how tough it's going to be.

MOUZ aren't that close to being a genuine top team, and it's going to take a little bit more than goodwill and a rifle upgrade on the outgoing dexter to turn them into winners.

If anyone can do it, siuhy can.

Whether or not anyone can do it, though, is for you to decide.