After a hard-fought victory against Astralis, MOUZ advanced to their first Grand Finals alongside PR, a match in which they needed eight match points to secure the win.
Nevertheless, Spinx remains optimistic about their performance in Malta.
"We won the semifinals. This is our first tournament, our first finals," he told HLTV after the victory. "We had plenty of good opportunities and could have taken these two maps faster, but a win is a win."
He also talked about his new, more passive role, his current form, and his expectations for the grand finals between MOUZ and Spirit.
Q: Congratulations, you finally completed the task and advanced to the grand finals. Are you satisfied with your performance in this match?
Spinx: Of course. We won the semifinals, and this is our first tournament and our first final. Regarding our performance, I think we played really well on Dust2 and Mirage, even though we could have done better. We had plenty of good opportunities and could have closed out both maps faster, but a win is a win. On Ancient, we couldn't really build momentum, but I'm just glad we managed to bounce back and play better on the second map.
Q: This was another very close match, just like the one against 3DMAX. Why do you think that is? Is it simply a matter of building chemistry with the two new players on the server?
Spinx: Yes, I think our CT side still needs to be a bit better. PR and I were on B site, and I felt we handled a lot of situations really well, it's just that sometimes we couldn't secure the kills... At the end of the day, that's just CS. You can put yourself in good positions, but ultimately you have to hit a few headshots. I think we could have closed out the match earlier. But then again, we learn from it. We'll see what we can do better next time, that's it.
Q: For you personally, you've recently shifted to a more passive role. Do you think you need to make a change? Because over the past few months, you haven't been the Spinx we're used to.
Spinx: Yes, of course. I don't know if it's about getting back to the old Spinx or whatever, but it's just about finding a good form to help the team. I feel that if I play better, maybe our recent results would be a bit better, and playing better is my responsibility. It's the responsibility of the entire team, all of us, the five of us.
I don't have much to say about that. I think the team just played really well in today's match. On the T side of Dust2, I clutched a 1v3, but besides that, I had about three other kills, which is pretty good. When you're coming back from behind, you might just be able to trade a kill, but when your teammates are the ones getting the kills, that's also great.
Q: I'd like to ask about the T side on Dust2. As you mentioned, you got three kills, won a 1v3, and also secured a triple kill at mid doors during the pistol round. But you went 12 rounds barely seeing anyone. How does it feel to have so few engagements on certain maps?
Spinx: Yes, I think it's not easy for any player. For anyone who plays through an entire half, only sees three CTs, and only dies twice, it's a bit tough. It's really hard to stay in the zone, stay focused, maintain frequent communication, stay precise, have a high impact, and so on. But I think that final 1v3 definitely helped me.
Sometimes that's just how it goes. Sometimes if you're more of a passive player, and your teammates just rush the site and secure the kills, what can you do? But it's a good situation. If you win that 10-2 with only three kills, it means your teammates did an outstanding job.
Q: When you joined MOUZ, you mentioned being excited to take on a more proactive role, but that seems to have faded a bit, as you're in the same position you were at Vitality. Is this just based on the team's needs, or is it something you hope will change in the future?
Spinx: No, I don't think about future changes. I only focus on what the team needs right now, and this is exactly what we need at the moment. It's fine to play a bit more aggressively or passively... Of course, everyone wants to feel engaged, everyone wants to have fun on the server, keep getting kills and stuff like that, but you always have to put the team first.
My role wasn't all that bad either. I could have played better, and maybe then we wouldn't be having this conversation, but that's okay. We did quite well. The first tournament, the finals, that's what matters most.
Q: As you said, you've had a great run in your first tournament. You made it to the finals, but facing Spirit tomorrow will be a much tougher test. It's also a BO5 final, which will further test your map pool. Do you feel ready to face a team like Spirit?
Spinx: Yes, I think we can take on anyone. It's the CS2 era now, and at this event you'll see that those top teams didn't qualify. Of course, that was online, and there's a big difference between online and LAN finals, but yes, we can definitely do it.
We are very confident. I think it's also a very good experience for the guys, as it's the first Grand Finals for two of them. We want to get revenge on Spirit, who have beaten us multiple times over the past year, so we have a lot of good things to show. We are enjoying this moment.