xelex: MOUZ ready to beat Spirit again in BLAST Open Fall 2026 final

MOUZ secured a place in the grand final after defeating Falcons and Vitality. In the deciding match, they will face Spirit, who currently lead the global VRS ranking. xelex admitted that he felt relieved after the victory over Vitality, noting that while he had faced this opponent before, MOUZ managed to close out the series in their favor this time.

"Honestly, it’s a huge relief. It was my second time playing against them, so it feels good that we were able to win this time. In a way, I knew that we would beat them, and I was confident because we are playing great Counter-Strike right now. Some rounds could still have been better, but we are continuing to learn and build chemistry. I’m just incredibly happy," xelex said.

xelex has been one of MOUZ’s driving forces at the tournament. Ahead of the grand final, he holds a 6.3 rating—an impressive performance for a newcomer to the team. He attributes this improvement to working on his mentality, stating that he is focusing on his own game and trying to bring his attention back to the match, even if he sometimes gets distracted by something that happened.

"I just don’t want to let any outside noise into my head. I work on that a lot, and I think that’s what is helping me the most right now. I can refocus on the game and don’t allow myself to slip into negative thinking," he explained.

xelex came through the MOUZ academy and received an opportunity to compete for major trophies with the organization’s main roster early in his career. He admitted that few people expected the revamped team to achieve such strong results before the season began. "It’s amazing—I don’t think there’s any other correct answer. I’m incredibly happy because, at the beginning of the season, nobody expected us to play this well with the new roster. All I can say is that we will try to maintain this consistency and reproduce performances like these at every tournament as often as possible," he said.

At the same time, xelex emphasized that the team should not abandon its own style in pursuit of results. "In the end, we simply need to play good Counter-Strike in the MOUZ style, and then we will always get what we deserve," he noted.

The player also addressed the criticism the new roster faced before the start of the season. According to him, MOUZ’s results on the server have been the best response to the skeptics. "Of course, it feels good after a victory, but honestly, I haven’t focused on it too much. Sometimes I see people’s comments—there are some interesting takes on HLTV. But the only thing you can do is prove them wrong," he said.

xelex believes that victories over leading opponents have already demonstrated the level of the revamped roster. "I haven’t thought about it too much. The main thing for us is simply to play. When we beat these big teams—even though we are a big team ourselves—it speaks for itself," he added.

MOUZ will face Spirit in the BLAST Open Fall 2026 grand final. For xelex, the match will be the second major final of his career. The player is confident in the team’s chances, as MOUZ have already defeated their upcoming opponent. "I’m very excited because this will be my second big final. We have already beaten Spirit once, so why not do it a second time? That’s what I can say. We will put in the work, prepare, play good Counter-Strike again, and see what we get," he said.

xelex also spoke about the crowd’s support during the semifinal. However, he emphasized that the reaction from the stands does not affect his concentration. "It was great. Of course, it feels good when people support you, but even if they boo us, I don’t focus on it too much. It doesn’t matter to me; I only think about the game. When you’re winning, they can boo—I don’t think about it," he explained.

The BLAST Open Fall 2026 grand final between MOUZ and Spirit will take place on September 6 as a best-of-five series. The winner will become the tournament champion and receive the trophy, $250,000 in prize money—$150,000 for the players and another $100,000 for the club—as well as BLAST points.