In the EPL S24 semifinal early this morning, MOUZ defeated Spirit 2-1 once again to advance to the final. After the match, head coach sycone spoke to the media about his thoughts on this match and the grand final against Vitality.
Q: Congratulations. That decider map was incredible. How did it feel at the time?
sycrone: I feel like we were finally tested at this event, mentally, tactically, and as a team. We've played really well so far. I'm glad the third map ended this way. I think everyone has seen MOUZ collapse in moments like this 20 times, but this time we won and made it to the final. Now we have to make sure none of this goes to waste.
Q: Tell me about that difference. What you just said is basically what the casters are saying too, we've seen MOUZ lose this kind of match many times. What's the difference? Is it the timeouts, the new player? What made the difference?
sycrone: In my opinion, one of the most important things is that xertioN called a really, really great game. Sometimes tactically you get into a position with a good setup, but the round doesn't convert, but he stayed calm throughout, and as soon as spawn started he immediately kept calling with simple instructions, I think he pushed us forward enormously, honestly.
Spinx also played very bravely. You saw him contesting ramp timings very frequently. PR also delivered a masterclass performance. So there were many different factors, but especially xertioN's leadership when the score was close, Spinx daring to make plays instead of being passive, and PR having a great game.
Q: Talk to me about all those defuses in that stretch, because as the in-game leader, when you get those post-plant situations, you're doing your job, right? The key is staying strong mentally, because you made the right calls, you got the plants. How proud are you to see xertioN hold on?
sycrone: I'm very proud. We practiced a lot online. I even used a basketball analogy. Sometimes you have a great read on the situation, but you just miss a wide-open three, right? We bounce back. It's similar now, so he kept calling plays from the playbook based on what we thought Spirit was seeing, making slight adjustments. That was a great T side, and I'm really impressed with the way Dori handled it.
Q: Yes. donk had another quiet game. I think I saw seven maps this year where he was below 1.00, and that basically never happens against any other team. So what in your game plan and team style do you think makes this happen?
sycrone: One thing we've always tried to do is look at strengths and weaknesses, right? If one of their strengths is donk, and another strength is playing really good default map control with really good timing, we need to take that away from them a little bit. So we try to squeeze space. We try to make him less comfortable. We attack the timings he usually likes to play, and then you force them into an uncomfortable game, right? You want to do that while also looking at what our strengths are, it's a very delicate balance, but I think we did that really well in this matchup.
Q: I'd like you to compare PR and Jimpphat, because I feel the difference is huge in those anchor/lurk roles. PR feels more like an X-factor, he's very explosive. What is the different impact on the rest of the team of having this more aggressive piece?
sycrone: I think what you're saying now is very good. PR is more aggressive. He can also create chances and make little combinations happen around him. Jimi isn't as explosive, and the same goes for communication. I think with us, especially in the first year and a half, Jimi was super stable and reliable, and his stats were consistently very good.
With PR, maybe you get both ends at times, right? But he is also very young, so he can also develop into a very consistent player. That's the difference, more chance creation, more aggression, but there will also be lows, and there will also be highs.
Q: Yes. Okay. Next up is Vitality. This final matchup is familiar. With this new roster, will you approach it differently to avoid that classic 2025 ending?
sycrone: We're in a very different position now. Tomorrow will be a completely new matchup. Finally, we can play with our full roster, let's see how it goes.
Q: Okay. Let's also talk about performance. Did you expect the team to gel with those two young players this quickly? Especially after xelex joined — it's a new role for him and so on — it feels like things clicked faster than outsiders might have thought.
sycrone: We've always had a really good system. A lot of what torzsi, Spinx and xertioN brought to the team, even things you don't see on the server, right? A lot of it is in the culture, a lot in the way we work and operate. Also in communication, in energy. Of course, we would have landed in a pretty decent spot, but I think with two young players, it's a bit like an opportunity — what will the outcome be? Maybe we're also in a position where we need to take a bit of a risk to try to take a step forward.
We talked about it early on, and I also told the two youngsters that I gave xertioN, torzsi and others maybe two or three years to get to this point. Some took five years. I think for xelex and PR, they won't have that much time. So on the one hand, the three core players and I need to temporarily lower expectations, support them and keep them under our wing, while the two youngsters have to catch up quickly. I like to give patience and trust and allow them to fail, but this time it needs to happen better and a bit faster than before.