Jimpphat: "Beating Vitality is not like a trophy for us"

Taking down their "nemesis" on the eighth time of asking means little if MOUZ cannot grab the titles to match, according to Jimpphat.

MOUZ's conquest of Vitality in front of a home crowd at IEM Cologne could have been a turning point for a team that has never quite grabbed the prestige trophy they have worked so far towards.

Instead, they fell just short once again, in a final against a rampaging Danil "⁠donk⁠" Kryshkovets.

Date	Matches
IEM Cologne 2025
02/08/2025	Vitality Finished 0:2 MOUZ	Match
03/08/2025	Spirit Finished 3:0 MOUZ	Match

MOUZ's ability to remain in the S-tier of Counter-Strike teams has always come despite lacking superstar individuals, and 2025 has highlighted that even more as Falcons, Spirit, and Vitality compete for who can stack the most headshots in one single roster.

But for all MOUZ's tactical nous and undeniable quality, it is in the big matches and finals where that flaw in firepower is exposed most. "Tactically, we are on a really good level," Jimi "⁠Jimpphat⁠" Salo explains to HLTV at BLAST Bounty's media day in Malta.

"For me it comes down to the individual level, [...] we are good players, but we still lack the ability to have three or more players on a really good day. We are a bit inconsistent in this regard."

The team can put it all together to beat anyone, even Vitality, but can they do it three times in a row in a Major or Cologne playoffs?

Jimpphat, for his part, thinks this season is the time to answer that question definitively: "We've put so much work in, we have put so much focus on becoming the best team and winning trophies, coming so close. This season we will close it out."

Listen to the interview here.

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The last tournament ended in heartbreak, but it was a great moment beating Vitality. Now the dust has settled, what conclusions have you taken from the semi-final and the final?

First of all, the tournament in Cologne, we were really happy after beating Vitality. Last season, we really struggled against them, our nemesis. This season, we really wanted to beat them but also to win trophies. For us, in the moment after we beat Vitality, of course it was nice, but we still wanted to win a trophy. Beating Vitality is not like a trophy for us. Even though they are a good team, the best team, obviously we still want to win trophies.

Going into the final, we had a lot of confidence. But in the game, I'm not exactly sure what went wrong. We were not playing like ourselves, we were a bit disconnected, and we were not making the plays we usually make. Maybe the pressure got onto us somehow, which sucks a little bit.

For me, individually, there was a lot to improve. But overall, it was a good tournament for us and it showed we are capable of beating Vitality, it's good to know this early in the season. Now for the next tournaments, here even, we know that we have beaten them once already and that we can do it again.

Your brother was there in the stands in Cologne, what was that like?

It was really nice to see my brother [sergej]. He's come to a few events in the past, the Shanghai Major, as well. He really likes to watch my games, with his friends as well, they like to have some fun and enjoy the CS. It's really nice since he's not a player anymore that he can still come and support and enjoy watching the game. Maybe he doesn't enjoy playing the game as much, but he really enjoys watching it, and especially supporting me. It makes me feel really nice.

You mentioned your play has not been as sharp as it has in the past, a rough start to the season for you. What do you think this is down to? Same team, same roster, same you, what is causing the dip?

A lot of it comes down to mentality. This season, I haven't felt so confident. It's something I've been working on. When it comes down to official games, I feel like I'm a bit more nervous. That's normal but, in my case, it's much different compared to practice or something like this. It's something I'm working on right now, but I also know that it's only this season so far, and I know it's something I am capable of doing in officials because obviously when I joined, and last year, I was doing pretty fine.

I don't want to bring too much pressure on it, but obviously it sucks a bit, you know? At the same time, I am excited that there is something to work on because I know my potential is much higher than I am currently. Whenever I get to overcome... to play more confidently and get to enjoy myself a little bit more, then as a team we play much better and I can deliver in some important rounds, which is really important in these big games.

So you beat Vitality, lost to Spirit, what do you think this MOUZ team needs to break through and become a championship team?

Tactically, we are on a really good level. We are not lacking in any department compared to other teams. For me, it comes down to the individual level, especially on game day when we have to play. All five players are capable of delivering numbers; we are good players, but we still lack the ability to have three or more players on a really good day. We are a bit inconsistent in this regard, when it comes to getting our individuals up to this standard. This is holding us back in a way.

When you look at Vitality as an example, they are really good in the consistency of their individual players. They always have good numbers, whether they lose or not, and when they win, they're all playing the game. For us, it's a little bit mixed all over. A lot of it comes to this individual factor, and whenever we get it right, we are on a really good point then.

When you beat Vitality, torzsi stepped up to do the interview, he was giggling, almost like he couldn't believe it, a lot of excitement. Do you think this outpouring of emotions got into your guys' heads a bit, that release the night before a grand final?

I wouldn't say, at least so much. We also spoke after the game and said 'Of course we should be happy tonight but we still have the grand final tomorrow. There is nothing to be excited about if we lose tomorrow.' That's what we aimed for, we really wanted to win. We knew it would be a hard game against Spirit as well, we lost to them in the group stage. We knew they would come hot, they really wanted to win, they have good individuals, and they play good CS.

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For us, after we beat Vitality, of course we were happy, we showed some emotions, like you said torzsi showed, but I think it's a pretty common thing to show after beating someone you have struggled against so much. You just feel relieved that it happened, even though it wasn't the grand final. In my opinion, in my mind, what I said was that 'We should still be happy but tomorrow is the final, we really need to focus on it. Be happy today but when you wake up tomorrow, be locked in again.'

Now here in Malta, have you spoken about the draft, who you would like to play, how it might all work out?

First of all, it's an interesting tournament. A lot of good teams qualified. We have The MongolZ, Aurora, Liquid, and VP picking so we are not sure who will pick who. It should be exciting, I expect something like VP or Aurora but we will see. It will be interesting to play against someone who you don't have as much time to prepare for.

Anyway, the goal for this tournament is still to win. After Cologne, we are especially hungry now. There's stuff with other teams, Spirit have potential changes from what I heard, I don't know how that will affect them. But you still have Vitality, even if they lost in Cologne I think they showed they are the best team. I'm really looking forward to playing against them, I hope, and I hope that we will do well in this event.

One last question, do you think this can finally be MOUZ's breakout season as a top contender? You've been at the top before, but as a championship-winning team?

Yeah, definitely, I think so. This season will be really tough regarding the rosters, there are really good rosters. But we've put so much work in, we have put so much focus on becoming the best team and winning trophies, coming so close. This season we will close it out.