xertioN: "I would like to play a Brazilian team just to feel the atmosphere"

After an easy breezy first day, MOUZ stood 2-0 with just one match remaining against fnatic to secure a Legends stage appearance. They did jus that and finish as one of just two undefeated teams in the sixteen team stage Challengers stage. After the match, Dust2.us's Ryan Friend caught up with xertioN to see how the MOUZ academy call-up was feeling.

You're coming off a fantastic victory over fnatic, you're 3-0 now. You're a new player to this tier of competition, this is your first Major. What does this feel like for you?

It feels amazing. Not only qualifying to the next stage, but also us playing as a team, me feeling comfortable in tier 1, I just think it's very crazy.

You've been one of the highest performing players so far in this entire stage, what do you owe that success to?

I think it's a little bit of everything. It's MOUZ being supportive, it's my coach being amazing, my teammates amazing, my family, it's support from everywhere. It's very easy to be comfortable.

We can hear this Brazilian crowd going absolutely nuts, you haven't had to play a Brazilian team, are you worried about that prospect with this crowd?

I actually would really like to play against a Brazilian team. When we played EG with a crowd, they weren't that passionate because there was no Brazilian team. But I would really like to play against one just so I can feel the atmosphere.

So you're not intimidated by the prospect of facing that crowd?

I think it's just amazing. I think the passion is amazing, I'm just really looking forward to playing against them.

You're coming from Israel, a region that doesn't have a lot of success, but you do have a lot of players spread around the world. What do you think is the next step for Israeli CS to grow?

I think we're doing really well. We have me, Spinx, and flamez in tier 1, and I think there's a lot of good players that are still not in tier 1, like Nertz, HeavyGod, BluePho3nix, MOREE, and anarkez. They're all really good players,
shushan as well. I think if they keep working hard and stay in a good mental state, I think they will make it.

Coming from a region that is less represented, how to they come to be more recognized. Is it through FPL or do they join more international teams?

I think it's a mix of both. I think some people went to teams, some went to FPL. I think you need some luck when you come from Israel. For example, when I was picked up by MOUS NXT, I was a no-namer. I was playing FPL-C. I had played in one team before, and I didn't really deserve the chance based on my results. But, they took a gamble on me and it paid out.

And speaking about the national teams versus international teams, MOUZ has always been this big international team. Do you think that there are more advantages of being in an international team versus a national one?

It's pretty balanced, I think there's positives and negatives. The communication is a positive when you're on a national team, but there's certainly negatives as well. If say, you stay on a Danish team, you might never go out of your comfort zone. On an international team, you have to go out of your comfort zone because people have such different cultures. When I joined this team, I think the veterans were a bit shocked because I have a lot of energy. I like to play around, I like to joke around. I think right now, we're in a state where everyone gave up a small amount of their comfort so we can be a really good team.

dexter was just telling me a little bit about that. This is a high energy team, do you owe that to your youth? Are you worried that you're inexperienced and might give too much energy sometimes?

For sure, sometimes we catch ourselves being over-eager, me torzsi, JDC possible as well. I think we just have to focus on the positives of us being energetic because at the end of the day, we just need to play our game. In the half of the last map now, I remember, I told them, "guys, overpeek. Be active. Don't be afraid because we're gonna lose that way." We kept going and we won the game.

Despite being so young, just 18 years old, you're already speaking with a level of confidence that we see from experienced players. How are you in this mindset at such a young age?

I have a lot of belief in myself, and I also have a lot of belief in my teammates. I don't think there's a reason for you not to be confident. The best players in the world have so much confidence, you have to do it too to match them. For me, it doesn't matter who I'm playing against, I'm going to do my best and shoot headshots.

Speaking of confidence, 3-0, very quick, very easy, and you've done it in dominant fashion. How do you carry that level of confidence into the next stage when it certainly gets harder?

I think we're going to take one day off, and practice one day before the Legends stage. We just have to keep going, we have to take it step by step, game by game. I think we've improved a lot since the last officials we played in the RMR. I think we just have to keep improving at taking in the experience.

You said you were going to take some time off, is there anything in Rio you're looking to see?

I'm not sure yet, but I'm sure my manager will tell me so.

Mousesports have qualified for the Major and will look to play their first matches on Saturday.