[Exclusive] xertioN on 2025 years: "Losing so many finals — really broke us"

After MOUZ lost to FaZe in the quarterfinals of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Playoffs and exited the tournament, we interviewed MOUZ player Dorian “xertioN” Berman. In our conversation with Bo3.gg, we discussed the match against FaZe, preparations for the playoffs, and the 2025 seasons.

xertioN, unfortunately, a tough loss today. How are you feeling right now? Have you had a chance to talk to anyone — friends or family — for support?

No, not yet. The first thing we have to do is media. But honestly, I’m devastated. I’m really sad right now — that’s pretty much it.

From the outside, the scoreline made the series look easy for FaZe. Was the game really that one-sided, or did it feel more competitive on the server?

The score makes it look easier than it actually was, but at the same time, we just didn’t really enter the server. On Nuke, our CT side was very poor — we couldn’t hold the sites, our rotations were bad. Personally, I felt really off, especially on outside. On the T side, we actually played much better. We managed to bring it back, but then they won two rounds and closed the game. Coming back from a 9–3 deficit is always extremely hard.

Inferno has been one of your strongest maps recently, but today it didn’t look like that. What went wrong there?

Honestly, we didn’t show up at all on Inferno. It felt like FaZe were controlling every round — they were reading us perfectly. We were too predictable, too slow, and even when we tried to speed things up, it didn’t work. That’s the most disappointing part because Inferno has probably been our best map over the last six months. Today it just felt like we never connected to the server.

Was there any moment on Nuke where you felt the momentum shifting in your favor?

Not really. On CT side, we simply couldn’t hold the sites. They used a lot of pocket strats, and they worked. On T side, we knew we had a real chance against their CT side, and it did come down to just a couple of rounds. But FaZe had such a strong first half that they didn’t need many rounds to close it out. There wasn’t a moment where I thought, “Now we’re winning this.” We just started playing slightly better on T side, but it wasn’t enough.

Do you think playing more aggressively on the CT side could have helped?

Yes, I think so. We usually try to be more aggressive, and in some rounds we even had the information — but it was really difficult to act on it. When they execute Ramp or A, you often don’t know if you’re going to win those fights. We need to support our anchors better and hold the sites more solidly. Most rounds ended very fast on their T side, so it came down to us needing to kill them — and we didn’t do that well enough.

Looking at the bigger picture: how would you rate this Major for MOUZ in terms of real progress, not expectations?

I do think we’ve progressed. We are getting better as a team. But today was a disaster, and that’s what hurts the most. This result is a big disappointment. I think everyone on the team feels that way. We expected more from ourselves. FaZe absolutely deserved the win — they played much better than us, no doubt. But it really sucks when you don’t show up and lose so fast without really fighting back.

How much did the arena atmosphere affect you today? Was it energizing, or did the pressure grow once FaZe pulled ahead?

It’s hard to say exactly, but it felt like we didn’t come with enough fire today. We weren’t hyped, we weren’t loud, our communication wasn’t good. We needed to step it up much earlier, but the response came too slowly. After the first map, FaZe did a great job carrying that momentum straight into Inferno.

Final question: how would you rate this season for MOUZ overall, on a scale from 1 to 10?

Probably a 5. We need to win trophies — that’s what we’re aiming for. We’re a young team, but at the same time, we’re very close. That’s what makes it so frustrating. Losing so many finals — last season and this one — especially the Cologne final, really broke us. This result doesn’t help either. The season has been messy in many ways, even though there are positives. Right now, though, it’s hard for me to focus on them.