XTQZZZ confirms Spinx asked to explore his options after BLAST Spring Final

The skipper also opened up about Vitality fans' negative fixation with mezii, and denied being in talks to secure huNter-'s services.

"On July 2, we decided not to make changes through Shanghai," Rémy "⁠XTQZZZ⁠" Quoniam told 1pv.cs's panel during an episode of the French podcast Le Club, where the French skipper spoke up to largely deny the rumors recently put in circulation by French streamer Sebastien "⁠KRL⁠" Perez.

"We speak to organizations and agents to learn about players' situations," he added. "Why do we do this? In case we ever need to make a change if things aren't working anymore. [To know that] we can make a change because we have the opportunity, we have the money, we think it's the right change, and it's the right time."

One of the rumors spreading was about Vitality being in advanced talks with Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač, but that was quickly shut down. "We never spoke to huNter-," XTQZZZ said. "Be it before, during, or after Cologne."

XTQZZZ did admit that Lotan "⁠Spinx⁠" Giladi had asked to explore his options after the BLAST Spring Final, the last event before the summer break, but the matter was settled in June when the case was brought to a close by Vitality chairman Fabien Neo Devide. "Did that mean I had to start thinking [about alternatives]? Yes, but it wasn't huNter-. And I won't say who it was."

While Spinx's transfer may have been on the table briefly, XTQZZZ dismissed issues with William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman as the reason for him to ponder a possible exit. "He has his reasons, which are not the ones that were reported about him having problems with mezii," the coach said. "We know his grievances, which have nothing to do with this.

"I don't know who ran their mouths to try and look good or whatever," he added, responding to KRL's claims that the leak came directly from Vitality staff. "I can just say that it wasn't about mezii. It lasted three or four days, and that issue was closed. I also want to protect Spinx because players explore their options in CS all of the time. I will say that there was never any will to make changes after we decided that we were staying put."

XTQZZZ also argued against the narrative that Vitality went into IEM Cologne as a dead team, saying that it's disrespectful towards the work they put in for six weeks to reach the tournament in peak form. "Let me tell you, it's not 2015 or 2016 anymore," he added. "You won't win Cologne, Katowice, or a Major if you're a dead team. Not in this day and age."

The 35-year-old also made clear that there's not a bad atmosphere in the team, that everyone was aware of Spinx's request, and that the decision to explore his options was due to issues in the game, not because of personal or internal issues.

XTQZZZ was also critical of Vitality fans who are tunnel-visioned in their criticism of mezii. "What I often hear is that mezii is shit," he said. "Being shit and winning three tournaments in nine months, getting two EVPs... That's something! His stats in Cologne were OK. His stats at Big Events are good. People talk about him as if he were Kyojin, as if this guy were a huge noob.

"The thing is, people always find a scapegoat," he added. "Unfortunately for mezii, he doesn't half-ass it when he misses shots, he goes all-in. I think he pays the price for that, but to go from that to making him out to be a fucking noob, well, that breaks my balls. We don't win Cologne, or any other tournament, playing 4vs5.

"Could it be better with somone else? Nobody knows. Could it be worse? You don't know. What bothers me is that people are trying to make this guy out to be a noob. There aren't many anchors better than him right now. I'm sorry. You can give me one or two names, but after that... Anchors are a rare breed.

"Life is often about timing, and he came here to replace Magisk, who is irreplaceable and the best anchor in the world, so he's getting criticized for that. I'm sure that people wouldn't be on his case as much if he came here replacing dupreeh, for example."

XTQZZZ said that it wasn't about not being critical of bad performances when they occur, and he reminded fans that the team does that too, but the bashing has gotten out of hand.

"I know, it doesn't help that he's English," he joked, eliciting a response from the program's hosts. "He was catching flack almost every game during the football Euros, but we have to tell the truth: everyone is focused only on him.

"Sure, he messed up some games. Sure, there have been moments when he didn't step up. Sure, there are moments when he should have done better. But we can say this about everyone [on the team]. I refuse to say that when we miss it's because of mezii, which is what I hear most of the time. If the team isn't properly balanced, we're all responsible."