MOUZ's xertioN: Team Was Never Mentally Present at StarSeries Fall

MOUZ's in-game leader Dorian "xertioN" Berman acknowledged a disappointing performance at StarSeries Fall in Barcelona, where the team was eliminated in the lower bracket by FURIA after a three-map series. The exit came following an opening loss to NRG and a lower-bracket victory against Natus Vincere, with all three opponents successfully picking Cache against MOUZ.

"We never showed up in this tournament really as the MOUZ that we know we can be," xertioN told HLTV after the loss to FURIA. "Mentally we were not present in StarSeries Barcelona." The team's in-game leader took responsibility for the underperformance, noting that despite significant preparation work leading into the event, the execution fell short.

Cache emerged as a particular weakness for MOUZ during the tournament. xertioN, who is relatively new to calling on the map, explained that Cache demands precise individual play and coordination. "It's a map that requires a lot of fine attention to detail from players individually, especially on T sides," he said. "It's a map where we need all of the players to activate themselves in some way, and control the defaults in their areas. And I think we have yet to kind of accomplish that."

The in-game leader acknowledged his own learning curve on the map. "At the same time, of course, I'm a new IGL, and I've also never played Cache, so definitely there is also some experience side to it," xertioN noted. He credited the coaching staff for their work in teaching the team the map's nuances. "I think we're still pretty confident about the philosophy of it, but we have yet to execute it properly in the game."

MOUZ brought two younger players into the roster, and xertioN discussed the challenge of integrating them while managing their confidence. "It's always a bit hard to find a balance between giving too much input to a young guy," he explained. "You also want him to feel confident and comfortable. At the same time, there are also some steps that xelex and PR have to take to get to the level of the more veterans that we have on the team."

The team's disappointing showing at StarSeries comes after a grueling schedule. xertioN suggested that insufficient practice time and potential overuse of rest days may have contributed to their mental state at the tournament. "I think it was maybe due to the lack of practice. I think that it kind of got us out of the rhythm," he said. "We will have to review if maybe we had a bit too much off days going into the tournament, or maybe it was just right because we also had basically four weeks on the road before it."

Despite the early exit, xertioN framed it as an opportunity. "Maybe it's a good slap in the face to have at the moment that we have a bit of an earlier exit, and we also have a bit more time to practice now," he said. He added that the team plans to learn from the experience heading forward. "We will have some learnings from the IGL and the coach side, and yeah, we will do better next time."