Seleri: "It was best to take a break, and luckily I dodged a bullet of some random nonsense"

So I’ve been with MOUZ for a bit now, a little more than half a year. I thought we could have done pretty well with the first iteration, we also got close to qualifying for Riyadh, but didn’t have enough time to click as a team. There was also too much pressure because the roster was formed very quickly and specifically to try qualifying for Riyadh and TI.

The pressure was simply too high with the first roster and we ultimately fumbled.

The first roster was basically a mix of random good players trying to make it work, whereas this roster is made of players who genuinely wanted to team up. As a matter of fact, all four of them have already played together in the past, so the synergy and communication came very naturally.

The transition has been better than expected, to say the least. It took us some time to get used to each other in the beginning. It was a rough start because we ran into some unexpected hiccups. For example, we had zero days to scrim before we played our first qualifier.

Honestly, and I think I speak for everyone when I say, we’re very happy that we managed to qualify for almost everything. And to be even more honest, for the Blast Slam IV qualifier, we didn’t have time to practice, but we got invited, and we still managed to do really well.

Overall, we’ve done our best, but we’ve also been a bit lucky, and we’re all very pleased with how things have gone.

The most unfortunate thing at Blast Slam IV was that we didn’t have much time together because of visa issues. We hadn’t played with MidOne for a while before the tournament, and we only had one or two days of practice together before it started.

Even then, we came very close to reaching the finals, so I think we still did a good job. But this time, what we really want is to feel fully in shape together. The main goal this time is to reach the finals and continue with momentum.

This roster mostly came into existence because of MidOne and ImmortalFaith – they really wanted to make this team happen.

I personally wasn’t sure at the start of the season whether I wanted to play, but ImmortalFaith really pushed for the team, and he wanted to work with me for at least one more season. So I thought, “Okay, let’s give it a go.”

The others genuinely wanted to play together; MidOne wanted to make a comeback, and BOOM and Yamich wanted to team with him, so the three of them basically made the core happen. As for Crystallis, it was a bit more random, but I’m very happy we ended up with him as our carry.

He’s my Dutch friend, and I’ve never played with him on a team before, so it’s really nice to finally do that. That’s basically it.

I wanted to play with these guys, and there’s no doubt about that. What I wasn’t sure about was the travelling. There’s a lot of travel in Dota, and travelling isn’t exactly my favourite thing.

I was contemplating whether I wanted to deal with all the extensive travel. Fortunately, this team is very understanding and open, so I can manage my schedule and make sure I don’t travel too much. Next season, we’ll plan a schedule everyone agrees on, and if necessary, maybe skip a tournament.

That said, I’m very happy and excited to be here.

I just wasn’t happy in the team anymore. Everyone on the team can confirm that it simply wasn’t the same atmosphere anymore. It didn’t feel like the same team we all joined originally, and that can happen when you’ve worked together for a long time without many breaks.

Moreover, it just wasn’t enjoyable enough to play in the team anymore. Of course, it’s still work and it doesn’t have to be fun every time, but you do need some level of enjoyment when you’re spending so much time together.

It was the best thing to take a break and I don’t regret it one bit. And luckily enough, I dodged a bullet of some random nonsense altogether.

I think Quinn made a really good decision. I don’t know how long it was weighing on him, and people don’t usually decide to retire overnight, so of course he must have thought about it beforehand.

But I think he’s happy now, and I’m really happy to see him happy. You know?

I already saw him at the last Blast, and it was great to see him again. I think he’s having a good time, and hopefully I’ll see him again soon.

0:6 in the TI finals. I definitely learned a lot from it. I don’t know if it’s something you can truly “avoid,” but I definitely don’t want to repeat it.

I think even Crystallis agrees to it because he also went 0:3 in his finals. So our shared goal is simple: Win at least one game in the TI finals, and from there, we’ll see where it goes.