mezii on Vitality role: "Now I can focus on one thing, and I think it's going to benefit me"

The British player shared his first impressions as he prepares to make his first appearance with the team.

Almost three weeks after being formally unveiled as Vitality's newest player, William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman is finally set to make his debut for the team. This is the biggest challenge yet for the 25-year-old, who is still chasing his first noteworthy trophy after spells on teams like Cloud9. and fnatic.

Ahead of the BLAST Premier Fall Final, in Copenhagen, mezii sat down with HLTV to discuss how the move to Vitality came to be, his role within the team, the pressure of replacing a storied player like Emil "⁠Magisk⁠" Reif, and the expectations for the coming months.

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Two years in Fnatic — tell me about leaving the team. What will you miss about them?

It's a big change, something different. Even though we didn't get the results and achieve what I would have hoped to get when I joined them, I made a lot of good friends over there, and the atmosphere is something that was really big on that team. We all got along really well.

Coming into this team, it seems to replicate that. I think it's good, and it's been easy to get integrated quickly. I'm still in contact with a lot of the players. It's obviously a lot easier when you're comfortable and confident within a team and you're used to everything around you. But yeah, something different now and a new challenge.

Tell me about this offer from Vitality. It seemed from behind the scenes that it was a little bit hectic about how quickly it came together. How did it come to be? How quickly did you finalize the deal?

I think they were interested during IEM Sydney, but I wasn't told about it. My agency and fnatic were speaking about it. After Sydney, I was told about it, and then, like in most deals in esports, it was like, 'It's going to happen,' and then it looked like it wasn't going to happen, I didn't hear anything for a few days.

We had a few online tournaments with fnatic at the time, so I was focused on that. And all of a sudden, within a few days, it was back up again and all was happening. It was kind of up and down, but I'm just happy that it could actually happen. It was good that fnatic and Vitality found an agreement, and it was pretty smooth, at least on my side.

You're coming into your first tier-one, really title-contending team, while also replacing a four-time Major winner in Magisk. It's big shoes to fill. How do you approach that challenge?

It's going to be new for me and a different challenge. I mean, like most people, I don't think you're going to find a player that's going to replace Magisk in terms of achievements. He has won everything, and obviously I'm never going to be able to fill that, but hopefully I'll be able to leave my own footprint and make my own achievements with the team.

We're definitely looking forward to it, but it's going to be a new challenge. A new role. Well, kind of a different role for me, something I've done before but now I can specialize in and actually start to really focus on that, instead of, like in previous teams, like fnatic, where I did quite a bit of everything. IGL, entry, lurker... So I think now I can just focus on one thing, and I think it's going to benefit me as a player, having all these players around me who also specialize in their roles and where everyone is comfortable. I'm coming into a team that is really confident and comfortable with what they're doing. It can only help me.

Speaking of your role, how would you describe it?

To be honest, it's still pretty similar to what Magisk did. Obviously, there are a few different positions, but overall, it's something I'm confident doing, being a bit more lurky but also supportive. It depends on the map, of course, and I'm kind of slotting in and [doing] what the team needs, but it's something I'm really confident doing, being able to support players and also offer mid-round solutions, something I've got past experience doing.

Magisk was obviously a big member within the team, gave a lot of ideas and spoke a lot, and that's something I'm going to have to do as well, and I'm confident doing it. I've also been able to bring my own ideas. I think it's a good mix at the moment where I can do my own thing but also support the team.

I just heard apEX do an interview, and he was talking about how it's not exactly one-for-one and that you're also doing a lot of new things. Are you leaving your own imprint on how the team is going to play?

To be honest, I was kind of happy with how much they received my ideas, especially apEX. I explained, especially from an individual point of view, what I like to do to make sure that I'm comfortable in the role, and then also what I felt worked in fnatic, some ideas or maybe strats or whatever. And they took it in, and either copied it one-for-one or made it kind of our own, or apEX said we had something similar and we kind of meshed the ideas together.

It's been really easy to give my ideas and leave my imprint, so it's been good for me. I think it's always hard for players to come into a brand new team and one-for-one copy what they had, and I think it's been really easy for me to make sure I'm comfortable and that they're comfortable doing my stuff as well. It's been a really good balance.

What are your impressions of the team so far? How are you feeling in that group?

I mean, [I'm] surrounded by some of the best players in the world. Sometimes, it feels like I'm watching ZywOo's games in slow motion or something [laughs]. But it's been good to integrate with the team, I think it's been really easy for me. And, like I said, some of the players are the best in their roles, and that makes your job a lot easier, as does the individual level we're at. I think it's been really easy for me to get confident and comfortable within the team. The atmosphere and the team chemistry already make it feel like it's really easy to get along with everyone. Everyone is really talkative, they brought me into the team and instantly made me feel comfortable. So it's been a good start.

How much time have you been able to have in preparation for the Fall Final? How are you approaching the tournament, it being your debut with the team?

We had a short bootcamp and then we had like a week at home, so I think we had about a week and a half or something, in terms of practice and preparation for the tournament. The four guys are used to winning, they want to win this tournament, so it's the same here.

Just because we're coming in with not the best or the longest preparation, I think with the individuals we have, we're still capable of winning these tournaments. You've got teams like FaZe, who are on a good streak, but they're going to lose at some point, and hopefully we're the team to do it. We're definitely confident, practice has been good. We're going to learn a lot from this tournament, but I don't see why we can't go all the way.

Vitality have been pretty good at setting expectations, especially leading up to Majors, to peak at the right time. We're slowly entering that phase leading up to the first CS2 Major. Has the team set any sort of expectations and goals for the rest of the year and early next year?

Not so much. Especially for the remaining tournaments of this year, we're focused on integrating me. Obviously, we want to do well. Like I said, the players want to win these tournaments, and that's what we want to do. But I think there's not too much pressure at the moment. It's more about gaining confidence. Of course, the Major next year is the big one, and we want to do well there. We haven't set actual goals so far, but I think it has come at a good time, me joining the team.

We have these two tournaments we want to do well at, but it's a good period for me to be able to get comfortable with what the team likes to do on LAN and how they perform and act on LAN. So I think these two tournaments to finish the year will be really good for me to integrate with the team. We're going to have a busy start next year with the RMRs and the Major. We want to be doing well. They won the last one, and of course they want to be there for the next one.

And what about your own goals? As I said, this is your first big title-contending team. How quickly do you want to see that come to fruition?

I would like to do it instantly. I think there's a little bit of a joke at the moment within the team that I'm kind of like the one without the badge on HLTV with the trophy. So they're like, 'We have to make sure we get you one', because I think flameZ got his at Gamers8 or something. I would obviously like to have it as fast as possible, but I'm not rushing towards it. I think it'd be nice to get off to a really good start and win a tournament instantly. But like I said, it's different territory, for me at least. I've never won a LAN tournament like that before, so I guess we'll see, but like I said, I want to get the confidence, and with the individuals we have, I don't' see why we can't do it instantly.