Recap: siuhy's first year with MOUZ
Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek established himself as a capable young in-game leader after soaring with GamerLegion and MOUZ on the biggest stages.
Despite being only 20 years old, “siuhy” defied all odds by reaching the Grand-Final of the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 with GamerLegion. Surely, some might argue that their way up was “easy”. But, In competition, you don't get to pick your opponents. Instead, you face whatever challenge is in front of you and strive to overcome it.
Yet, the Polish leader held his ground and later made MOUZ the title contending team they are now. In fact, he gave the organization their first S-tier title in almost four years at ESL Pro League Season 18. Before that, MOUZ rarely stepped onto the podium with their last being ESL Pro League Season 10 - Finals under Finn "karrigan" Andersen’s leadership.
First blood
Kamil had a tall task going into IEM Cologne 2023 as his first event with MOUZ. During the Play-in stage, they overcame The MongolZ and Ninjas in Pyjamas, only to fall into a deadly upper bracket alongside NAVI, Vitality, G2 and FaZe Clan.
With it being his first event, expectations were low. And having to face Vitality then the tournament Champions G2 showed exactly why. By then, “siuhy” had only joined the team a couple of weeks which can explain the timid showing.
However, by taking part in Thunderpick World Championship 2023: European Series 1 and Pelaajat.com Nordic Masters Fall 2023 the team started to find their footing and it all came to fruition at ESL Pro League Season 18.
A trophy lift in Malta
In EPL, things went downhill against MIBR, losing 2-1 in their opening series. But MOUZ managed to bounce back in the mid bracket and swept both Evil Geniuses and Heroic, before getting their sweet revenge against the Brazilians.
In the Playoffs, it was as if the stars aligned against “siuhy”, having to battle against every other title contending team on their way to glory.
MOUZ held their ground and dismantled both FURIA and FaZe Clan before locking horns with a tenacious G2 in the Quarter-Finals.
Although Rasmus "HooXi" Nielsen’s squad was poised for success in EPL after their IEM Cologne triumph, MOUZ had a different plan. By all means the series was a tug of war, but eventually G2 couldn’t stop their opposition’s aggression.
Furthermore, the Semi-Finals against ENCE carried the same scenario as the previous series. However, against all odds, MOUZ mopped the floor with NAVI in the Grand-Final with a 3-0 scoreline.
Image source: ESLFinally, after only two months since taking over the leadership role, “siuhy” lifted his first S-tier event and proved his up for the task against the best in the world.
A tough transition
With the official release of Counter-Strike 2, the community was eager to witness the powerhouses perform under the new engine. But unfortunately for “siuhy”, FaZe Clan were unstoppable.
IEM Sydney marked MOUZ’s first event in Counter-Strike 2 and without a drop in performance, they breezed past the competition to reach the Semi-Finals. Opposite to EPL, “karrigan” and co had the upper hand this time, winning 13-4 and 13-9 respectively.
Oddly enough, “big daddy” FaZe Clan were siuhy’s kryptonite, quite literally. In the span of two months and across five different events, MOUZ were eliminated four times by them including IEM Sydney, Thunderpick World Championship, CS Asia Championships and BLAST Premier: World Final 2023. By then, FaZe cemented themselves as the best team since the dawn of CS2. The red and black soldiers stood tall on the battlefield with eight Grand Finals under their belt and four victories.
Getting back into the swing of things
With David "frozen" Čerňanský out of the team, eyebrows were raised on how Ludvig "Brollan" Brolin will temporarily perform at the start of 2024. Despite having a rough time playing under the Ninjas in Pyjamas’s banner, the Swedish player was a force to reckon with from the get-go.
Fast forward to IEM Katowice, and siuhy’s fate was sealed yet again by FaZe Clan. Although their group stage run was nothing short of impressive, it wasn’t enough to flip the script on their
kryptonite. Moreover, following their Katowice disappointment, the real testament of suihy’s capabilities as an in-game leader was yet to come at the PGL Major Copenhagen.
A major fall
With a clean 3-0 record at the RMR, MOUZ secured a spot in the Elimination Stage. By facing “less frightening” teams, they continued their streak with three more victories against ECSTATIC, Eternal Fire and Complexity. By then, expectations were high for siuhy and his team going into the Playoffs. However, their Major run was cut short by G2 in the Quarter-Finals.
Surely, it seems like MOUZ’s stage phobia is more than an inside joke considering it's their sixth playoff exit out of eight tournaments. Fortunately, it all came to an end in the following events.
Siuhy on top of the mountain
Only two weeks after the Major, MOUZ flew to China for IEM Chengdu. It was a mere walk in the park for them throughout the group stage, and even managed to avenge G2 in the Semi-Finals. But, of course FaZe Clan was up next and you can expect the outcome based on their history against them so far.
ESL MOUZ’s League season 19
Luckily, they returned to their winning ways where it all started in Malta at ESL Pro League Season 19. As the defending champions, they wasted no time in showcasing their prowess against GamerLegion and Team Liquid in the group stage.
Again, their top form carried on in the Playoffs, where they took down G2 for the third consecutive event and later Complexity in the Semi-Finals. Coincidentally, both series ended in a similar fashion with a 2-1 scoreline, netting MOUZ an epic Grand-Final against Vitality.
Well, realistically it wasn’t much of an epic series but rather a total wipe down by siuhy and his men. MOUZ bamboozled Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut 3-0 (13-9, 13-8, 13-5) to successfully defend their title and add one more trophy to their cabinet.
Image source: ESLHistory made
Furthermore, and only a week after their triumph in Malta, the team was poised for another in Belgrade for BetBoom Dacha. By then, MOUZ had already established themselves as a title contending team and were the favorites despite Team Spirit and Virtus.Pro taking part in the event.
Without dropping a single map throughout the tournament, siuhy beat BetBoom Team and Virtus.Pro to secure a Semi-Finals spot where they decimated Heroic. Up next was Spirit, and despite having Danil "donk" Kryshkovets, MOUZ had a firm grip on the entire series and managed to clinch their second title in 2024.
Following their victories at EPL and BetBoom Dacha, MOUZ clinched the top spot in the World Rankings for the first time in the organization's history. In less than a year, siuhy proved his worth as an in-game leader capable of reaching the highest highs against the best in the world.
Siuhy’s notable achievements in his first year
- Champion at ESL Pro League Season 18 & 19
- Champion at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024
- Semi-Finalist at IEM Sydney 2023
- Semi-Finalist at BLAST Premier: World Final 2023
- Semi-Finalist at Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2024
- Quarter-Finalist at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024
- Runner-up at IEM Chengdu
Featured Image source: MOUZ
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