torzsi: "It's also nice to take revenge versus Heroic"

Heading into the IEM Cologne Play-in, there was a very real case to be made that MOUZ very well could have missed out on qualifying for the main stage, considering the international squad's lackluster results throughout 2022. But, ultimately, MOUZ dispelled these concerns, narrowly taking out paiN in their opening match, falling to Heroic, and then beating out TYLOO to move on to the next stage. Once in the main stage, MOUZ came running out of the gates, putting up a tremendous effort against Natus Vincere in their opening match. Although they fell to the CIS squad, MOUZ showed there was still life to be found in the team.

Today, MOUZ further proved they are still a team to be reckoned with, as they eliminated the Danish powerhouse of Heroic in a revenge match to keep their run alive. Star AWPer Ádám "torzsi" Torzsás sat down with Dust2.us' Liam "Slevo" Slevin after the upset victory to discuss a number of topics, including the win over Heroic, the transition from MOUZ NXT to the main squad, and his thoughts on teammate Jon "JDC" de Castro.

How are you feeling after the big win over Heroic?

I'm feeling really good to continue the lower bracket, and it's also nice to take revenge versus Heroic, so everything is really good right now.

In terms of this match, I don't think many people would have had you guys as the favorites. Even with the addition of jabbi, Heroic is a very consistent team. How does it feel to take down one of the bigger names in the tournament at this stage of the event?

We have three rookies, right. They are playing these tournaments for years, and I'm here for half a year; we are a really young team, and they are together as four for years. They just had the change with jabbi, and I think it played a big role because jabbi doesn't really play the same role as refrezh, so I think someone may be uncomfortable in some roles, so that's why we could win this game. I can't wait for the next game in the lower bracket, and I hope we can make it to the playoffs.

Coming from the MOUZ NXT team, what has it been like now that you've had a few months to establish yourself in tier one? Do you think you're settled in tier one now?

I wouldn't say that yet. I feel on long games that I have a little bit of pressure, and sometimes I cannot perform what I want to, and sometimes I'm a little bit shaky, so I can't do the same things like at home. I still need to gain... I wouldn't say experience, but I'm also working with my sports psychologist and he's helping me a lot. I think I just need a little bit more time, and soon I will be settled in.

Another rookie that came from the MOUZ NXT team alongside you was JDC. What can you tell me about JDC as a player and as a teammate for you?

Yeah, so JDC, I have been playing with him for more than a year. He is really awesome, a really nice guy, and I like him a lot. I can say he is a really good friend of mine. As a teammate, I think he brings a lot to the team. First, when he joined, it didn't work out the way we wanted, but after Dallas, we had some talks as a team and we set down more stuff, because when he joined it was two weeks until the Major and we didn't have time yet. After [the] Dallas loss, we had a lot of talks, and I think we are going on the right path now, and also JDC is working really hard. I think he's a really good player and a good teammate.

You're either going to play Movistar Riders or Vitality next. After a win like that against Heroic, who would you rather play, and how are you feeling going into that match in terms of your confidence?

Since I'm in MOUZ, we beat Movistar Riders three times, but they just won Valencia, and I think it gave them really good confidence, so I think they are playing much better now. I think that would be a really nice game. Versus Vitality, we lost two times, one in [the] Major, and one in Dallas I think. I think both is good, because, the third time's the charm if we play versus Vitality, and if we play versus Movistar I can hope that we can replicate the results.

While MOUZ has certainly impressed with their victory over Heroic, the team still has a ways to go in the lower bracket if they still want to reach the playoffs of IEM Cologne. MOUZ will face the loser of Vitality versus Movistar Riders tomorrow at 01:30PM for a shot at keeping their run alive.