xertioN: "We're ready to take the next step"
Despite benching their IGL at the start of the year and moving an unproven Brollan into the role, MOUZ have been one of the best teams in the world in 2025 and pushed the World's number one, Vitality, to their absolute limit.
They also won their first arena playoffs back at PGL Cluj-Napoca, and although they've since suffered some big losses to Vitality and Falcons, they're back after a little break to do some real damage in Texas at both IEM Dallas and the BLAST.tv Austin Major.
Ahead of the Major, we sat down with xertioN to discuss MOUZ return to action, his newfound ability to frag in the biggest games, and what it would mean to lift a first Major trophy.
"I feel like at times we lack a bit of effort"
You've played a lot of events already in 2025, but it's been a good year for you so far, did you expect to do so well given what happened with the lineup at the start of the year?
Well, it definitely has been a lot of events already, but it feels like this season flew by fast, we're getting into the last two tournaments now.
In the beginning, we knew that switching in Spinx would definitely benefit us, but we didn't know it would come so quickly. Now we've had some tournaments to lose a bit we've learned from it, so we're ready to take the next step.
You mentioned the losses that you've suffered recently, what have you taken from those losses? Has it made you even more hungry to win?
Definitely, when you lose so many times to one team like we have with Vitality and now Falcons, it definitely motivates you. But, I don't think that'll be what makes us win the games.
It's going to be more about in-game details, whether that's utility, aim, communication, how we play certain rounds, stuff like that. For us to take the next step, we need that hunger, but we also need to put in the work. Coming into these events, I hope that we did that, but we can only test it when the games go live.
Photo: Stephanie LindgrenWe spoke to torzsi ahead of BLAST Rivals, he said then that he feels like you're now close to Vitality. Since then, the rivalry with Falcons has emerged and you've taken a couple of losses to them, so which of the two teams do you think you're closer to beating?
I think with Falcons it's a much closer affair at the moment. They had our number the last two times, but the first time was a lot down to mentals. We didn't show up mentally for the Melbourne semi-finals and we had a good talk about that afterwards.
In terms of who we're closer to beating, Falcons may have beaten us twice but I don't think they're a different level to us, we're at the same level, we're all following Vitality. But that said, even if we don't beat Falcons, it doesn't mean that we can't beat Vitality, because that's not how CS works.
In terms of yourself, you're now a very experienced player but there's always been a narrative about you struggling when it comes to the biggest stages. That seems to have gone away this year, so what's changed in your opinion?
It's tough to pinpoint it, but I feel like even towards the end of last year I didn't have that many problems on stage. For me, it was never really about the arena or the fans, I enjoy that environment, so I've never felt like it harms me because all of us players are grateful for it. It's what we work to play for.
For me, it was more about how we played in those moments, both as individuals and as a team. This year, I'm much more comfortable with how we play as a team and in my role. I think that I've improved on a lot of maps to make sure that when I get to those games, I don't play horribly.
It's a lot down to confidence as well, once I start thinking that it's more about how I prepare and not the stage itself, I've been able to continue to play well.
You skipped PGL Astana and are now heading into IEM Dallas, how important was it to take that break?
With or without Astana, we didn't have much off-time since the start of the season, so I feel like we're maximising our schedule pretty well. You just need to pick and choose if you're a team that goes far in every event, you can't keep playing them because it's not good for you. That's why we see a lot of teams skip events.
I think everyone has a different situation, though. We're in a situation where we just have to start winning games and titles. That's why we chose to skip Astana.
With IEM Dallas, what kind of result do you need to build up the required confidence for the Major?
The confidence we need is just in each other. We've shown that we can play to a really high level as a team, we're really strong individuals and all of us can shine, so it's just about clicking in the right moment.
It's a tough task, it's not been done many times before, that's why winning a Major is something that everyone wants to do.
Photo: Stephanie LindgrenLooking ahead to the Major, what would it mean to win in Austin?
It would mean a lot, no player will tell you otherwise. But for me, it's a step in my career. I want to win it a lot, but it's not something I want to define me. It's tough to tell you how I would feel in the moment, but it would feel great to have put all that work in during your career and have it pay off.
MOUZ will enter the competition in Stage 3, how does that effect the preparation going into it when there's so many teams to prepare for?
I think there's a lot of benefit to being in the early stages. You get to be in the studio earlier to see how it feels, you're in Austin earlier so you get to adjust to the timezone better, but there's also benefit to having the extra practice days.
You can choose either or, but personally, I'd rather be in Stage 3. You're one step away from the playoffs, and that's a universal goal for most teams to reach. Of course, only one team can win the Major, though.
We're going too bootcamp beforehand, see how Dallas goes and work on what we need to work on from there. Hopefully we'll improve our map pool in Dallas, so there's a lot of balanced work ahead of us. It's the last push of the season, we'll give it our all as always.
What will be the key thing to actually go on and win the Major considering those recent losses to Vitality and Falcons?
I think we know how to put the work in and what has to be done, but it's more about doing it. I feel like at times we lack a bit of effort outside of the server in some ways. That's something that we must get better at because teams like Vitality and Falcons are always hungry and work non-stop. It's super impressive.
I think we also work hard, we just sometimes lack the extra percentages in terms of the effort prior to games to fix little details. Going into the Major, we definitely will need to have that, which is something that sycrone is helping us keep on top of.
The most important thing will be that we all peak at the same time, but once you get to those playoffs, when it gets to the final, every one of us will play good because that's what we rely on as a team. We've shown it many times before, we're yet to show it in winning such a big event like the Major, and I'm looking forward to trying again. Hopefully we can manage to do it this time.
