“We are hungry for the trophy”: MOUZ xertioN discusses Austin Major ambitions

MOUZ Counter-Strike 2 player Dorian ‘xertioN’ Berman has shared that his team is ‘super confident’ it will lift the BLAST.tv Austin Major trophy as the organisation enters Stage 3 of the event.

However, in an interview with Esports Insider, the player was quick to add: “Confidence is not only what you need. You need to be really strong, and that will only be tested on the server.”

MOUZ joined the event as second in the global Valve Regional Rankings (VRS) following an impressive run of tournament results. The German organisation has already won a significant event this season, PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025, whilst also finishing in the Top 4 in its last six S-Tier events.

However, according to xertioN, lifting the Major trophy is what defines a successful season.

“I think that despite us having decent results before this one, we have lost a lot of finals, and we are really hungry for the trophy, and it would obviously be amazing to win it here,” said MOUZ’s Rifler.

“I think any team you would tell that they would win the Major, will tell you that their season instantly would be successful. It doesn’t really matter what happened beforehand. Of course, Team Vitality are the favourites. There’s no doubt about that. But we also saw that Majors in the past can be a bit different, and that’s something we are ready for mentally.”

There is a very high likelihood of Team Vitality facing off against xertioN based on previous events. This year alone, MOUZ has faced off against Team Vitality in three S-Tier finals, with the French side walking out victorious on each occasion. 

Despite the unfavourable record, xertioN looks forward to possibly fighting the ESL Grand Slam champions on the biggest stage so far this year. 

He said: “I think they obviously are the best team in the world, in this moment. They have a big win streak and a lot of momentum. It’s always really exciting to play a team like this, because you continuously test yourself and you look forward to getting better every time.

“If we face them, we’re gonna give it our all. It doesn’t matter at which stage, we want to beat them, and we also want to win the Major. So eventually, you will have to beat everyone in this tournament. But you can never know how it will go. If we will qualify, if they might not. You never know in the Major.”

When asked about his thoughts on the Major so far, xertioN highlighted Brazilian team Legacy, which has made an impressive run through the Austin Major all the way from Stage 1.

“I think that everyone who qualified is in a good spot,” he said. “But mainly, Legacy really surprised me to go 3-0. I think I know their potential. 

“They have always been a decent team, especially in Brazil…. It’s a good surprise, and I’m looking forward to seeing how they will compete against the State 3 teams.”

Having just watched the Major as a Stage 3 team, xertioN also highlighted the positives and negatives of having to wait for a chance to compete in the event. However, with the unpredictability of the Austin Major so far, the player is happy to be in the latter stages.

“You could see Team Falcons, for example, big surprise, they went out. So of course, you have a chance to actually go out,” stated the MOUZ player.

“There were a lot of good teams in Stage 2, even those that didn’t qualify. With the Bo1 system right now in the Swiss and stuff like this, I think it’s really dangerous. I’m happy to be through to stage three.”

MOUZ’s invitation to Stage 3 could be considered a reward after facing a gruelling Counter-Strike 2 schedule so far in 2025. The German organisation will be entering its eighth S-Tier event of the year, and despite not having much time to relax due to bootcamping, xertioN emphasises the importance of creating a healthy work-life balance.

“You cannot always grind. It’s just not healthy. We didn’t have much off time coming into this tournament because we also had a good boot camp. But, we took as much off time as we needed,” said xertioN.

“I think in these last two weeks of this season, it will be a lot about mentally, how you prepare yourself and mentally, how you set yourself up to compete. I think that at this point, everyone knows each other’s tactics. You can always add new things, but it’s not going to win you the games, in my opinion. I think it will be more about who is mentally ready. And this comes off having a balance and doing the right things outside the server.”

MOUZ kicks off its BLAST.tv Austin Major campaign later today (June 12th) at 4 PM BST against Virtus.Pro. Fans can watch all the action live on BLAST’s official YouTube and Twitch channels.