torzsi on frozen's departure: "It opened up a bigger space for the rest of the players"

In an appearance on HLTV Confirmed, torzsi gave his thoughts on frozen's departure, MOUZ's recent success, and much more.

The player break might be upon us, but the HLTV Confirmed podcast crew are ensuring there is still quality CS content for everyone to enjoy. For this episode Ádám "⁠torzsi⁠" Torzsás joined the regulars to talk about his CS origin story, his experience when joining MOUZ, and most importantly his team's recent rise to the top of the world rankings.

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Team ranking: May 2024

One of the most insightful segments of the podcast focused on MOUZ in the wake of the departure of talismanic rifler David "⁠frozen⁠" Čerňanský, and how the team picked themselves up after the loss of such a talented and experienced player.

"It was a rough time for us, because frozen was one of the front players in our team," torzsi admitted. "He was a veteran and the best player in our team. I think everybody, when we played with him, learned a lot from him. I can thank him for a lot of things, for teaching me and our team how to behave on and off the server."

Whilst torzsi admitted the loss of frozen was a significant one, he was also of the opinion that it was something of a blessing in disguise as it forced the rest of the team to step up to fill the void that was left. "After he left it opened up a bigger space for the rest of the players," torzsi began.

"It was mixed feelings, we missed him a lot because he was a big part of the team and the best player, but also bringing in Brollan, we could see that maybe it helped us in a way. For example xertioN was getting more space and playing however he wants, and the same for me."

torzsi felt that not only did it provide more space on the server for the rest of the MOUZ squad to thrive, but it also brought out the leadership qualities in other members of the team.

"siuhy, xertioN and me found a little bit of new leadership. For example, xertioN taking mid-round calling, siuhy became a better IGL... because it was natural that we had to step up and progress, and I became more of an emotional support for the team."

On the topic of Ludvig "⁠Brollan⁠" Brolin, torzsi revealed that the Swede "was not our first priority" when MOUZ were looking at candidates to replace frozen, with Zvonimir "⁠Professeur⁠" Burazin stating he had heard rumours Guy "⁠NertZ⁠" Iluz was the first target.

Despite not being the team's first choice, torzsi was thrilled with what Brollan brought to MOUZ, saying the Swede has helped in more ways than just by clicking heads on the server.

"He was a top 20 player two times I think, and he has a lot of experience. He contributed a lot to the team with adapting. We gave him a lot of space to do what he wants, and as we progressed he gave it back with what he could offer. He also gave us some rounds, what he wanted to do, how it would look like in the round, things like this."

With Brollan among their number MOUZ have performed admirably throughout 2024 thus far, grabbing a top eight at the Major and second place at IEM Chengdu before grabbing back-to-back tournament wins at EPL and BetBoom Dacha.

Still, the accusations of MOUZ being unable to perform on stage lingered as a result of their struggles to find their best form in such environments, and those accusations were firmly reinforced after MOUZ's struggles at IEM Dallas.

MOUZ have since admitted they did not practice in the leadup to Dallas, and torzsi gave insight into exactly why MOUZ took such an approach. "After a long run at EPL and Belgrade, coming back with two trophies, it was basically a discussion about burnout and mental health," the AWPer admitted.

"Everybody could see that the players were struggling playing, it was really exhausting, it was just too much playing, so they were discussing about taking a break before Dallas in the four days we were home. They were discussing this with the coaching stuff. We really appreciate it, us players, because it was needed I feel like."

It was not only about MOUZ's players needing a break, however, as logistical issues prevented Brollan from finding the time to practice. "After we came back Brollan bought a house and he had to move," torzsi stated.

"So Brollan wasn't at home for one month, then he goes home for four days and has to move, he had to because he had sold his old apartment. After Dallas I mis-worded that we didn't want to practice, I can't remember exactly what I said and we were burned out it's true, but we couldn't really find time to practice as well."

Despite the disappointment of MOUZ's failure in Dallas, torzsi still appreciates the fact that the organization allowed them to take a much-needed break.

"It obviously bothered me to get knocked out of Dallas, but I am confident that we will learn from this situation and I still think we all appreciate what the management did for us, because we were really on the edge of not playing. It was nice to see from the side of the organization that they were taking care of us, even though it didn't work out."

To check out everything torzsi had to say in this extended interview, head over to the HLTV YouTube channel.