mezii: We want to prove that Vitality's core five-man lineup can still keep winning titles

Earlier this morning, Vitality beat FURIA 2-0 to advance to the StarSeries i-League upper-bracket final. In the post-match interview, mezii spoke about what it felt like to return to competition, Vitality's ups and downs this season, and the team's expectations for the Major before apEX goes on paternity leave.

Reporter: We're here at the end of day two of StarSeries Fall. I'm joined by mezii, who's back with the team. First of all, congratulations.

mezii: Thank you.

Interviewer: What does it feel like to be back and competing again?

mezii: It feels good. Watching matches from home is never fun, and my viewing experience was definitely different from most people's. I have a kid who's almost two, so I was trying to watch the boys play while this little one was running around with toys and screaming. I'm still a bit rusty, and once you have a kid, somehow you're always getting sick, so I was ill after I came back as well. But I'm just really happy to be back.

I’m just really happy to be back with the boys. It feels weird when you’re not there — like all your friends are at a party and you didn’t get invited — so it’s great to be back. Yeah, it feels really good to be competing again.

Interviewer: Yeah, especially with you making the upper-bracket final in just two days... Did today’s strong showing against FURIA feel particularly satisfying?

mezii: Yeah, of course. Especially in this format, it's really important to stay in the upper bracket for as long as possible, because once you drop to the lower bracket, you have to play all these double-elimination BO3s. Even on the final day, it's a BO3 and then a BO5, so nobody wants to end up there.

So it feels good to get the win, especially against FURIA. I’m sure they’re tired as well. I think they’ve been playing back-to-back events, constantly traveling, doing the FURIA world tour, so it must be tough for them. But for us, they’re obviously still a very strong team. They have a really solid foundation, and their individual level has always been high.

So it was good to show that we're still working our way back to our level. Of course, we're taking it one match at a time, and personally I'm also trying to get back to my own level. But I think I'm finding it again with every game, and it felt good to put together a cleaner performance. Sure, we started a bit slowly on Mirage, but we brought it back and after that everything went pretty smoothly.

Reporter: And as you just mentioned, Vitality are finding their form again and getting back into rhythm. At the last event, they played with jL. He will be back at some point later. So managing all of that—you’ve just become a father, then there’s another new dad, and everything has been a bit hectic—how have you managed to get yourself back into that kind of shape?

mezii: Yeah, I think for us, like I said, this is definitely the kind of season that doesn't happen very often. It's been a bit chaotic, a bit messy, but from the start of the season we knew what the plan was. For us, the important thing was to make the most of it, especially with VRS, because we know how quickly things can change. Over just a few events, you can drop down the rankings, or you can get back to the top.

So for us, any event where we have to play with a stand-in is obviously going to be tough, especially with jL missing, but I think the boys did a really, really good job to make the semifinals. And of course, it’s the same in Bucharest — we want to make sure we go deeper there as well.

But what matters is that, at the events where we have all five of us together, our full lineup... first of all, we want to start winning trophies again. That is the main goal, but I think it is also important to pick up good VRS points and keep our confidence steady, to know that we can still win trophies. Because I think that thing is still there — that winning mentality and that way of lifting trophies does not disappear after a few events. It is still in our DNA, so we know what we need to do. We just need to get that one win, and hopefully it will be here. But yes, that is our main goal right now: whenever we have all five, to start winning trophies again.

Interviewer: Yeah, especially with the five-man core lineup you just mentioned, does that make it even more important for you to have a good run at this event here?

mezii: Yeah, of course. I think especially with how this season has gone so far, it hasn't been like before, where we were winning trophies back to back and if we lost one event, okay, we could just reset and go again. But I think it was important for us, as a five-man lineup, to show everyone — because I don't think we were doubting ourselves as a team. I think maybe some people on social media were doubting us, saying things like, “oh, we're not sure if they can win again,” and stuff like that.

But for us, it's about proving to everyone that we can still win trophies. As this five-man lineup, it's important to make the most of these events and not get too comfortable, because even with all the success we've had, you never know when the next win is going to come. As a five, we want to win as much as possible. We know how special these five players are, along with everyone on the coaching staff. It's one of the best lineups of all time, so we just want to make sure we win as much as we can. It starts here, and hopefully we can lift the trophy.

Interviewer: apEX will be attending an event, but after that you'll have some time to regroup and prepare for the Major. Is that the ultimate goal everyone has in mind?

mezii: Yes, of course. Like I said, it would obviously be nice to pick up a trophy before apEX goes on paternity leave, but at the same time, the main goal this season has always been the Major. Any trophy we can win along the way is great, of course, but the Major is the big one, especially after Cologne was pretty disappointing for us.

We were so close to beating Falcons, and of course they... Losing to the team that always wins events is always frustrating, because you feel like if we had got over that hurdle, maybe we could have kept the momentum going. But especially after Cologne, this was really important for us. That was the main goal: we wanted to make sure we go into the Major fully prepared. If we can pick up a trophy before then, great. If not, then we know our focus is fully locked on Singapore.

Interviewer: You’re already pretty experienced with this — this is the second time you’ve become a father to a daughter. What advice would you give apEX as he goes through it? Because this is his first child, right?

mezii: Yes. I basically just wished him good luck. I also saw a lot of people on social media, maybe under photos taken by HLTV or by you guys, saying to me, "Oh, he looks so tired." And I was like, "Yeah, no shit, I have two kids, of course I'm tired." But I also told apEX, "You're going to be tired. Being tired is the new normal. It's fine, that's just how it is."

I don't think there's anything better than becoming a dad and having a family. I think apEX is really looking forward to it as well. So I can give him some advice, but I'm sure he's the captain; he knows exactly what's best, and I'm also sure he doesn't need my advice.