MOUZ CS2 player Jimi "Jimpphat" Salo spoke about the team's goals for IEM Dallas 2025 and the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025. In an exclusive interview for Bo3.gg, he discussed the differences between Ludvig "Brollan" Brolin and Kamil "siuhy" Szkaradek as IGLs, as well as the impact of Lotan "Spinx" Giladi on the team.

Okay, today we're here with Jimpphat. How do you rate your performance from the start of the year till now?

From the start of the year until now, if I had to rate it from 1 to 10, maybe I’d give it a 6. So, there’s definitely a lot of room for improvement.

It’s not the worst, but I know myself—I know I can be much better, and that’s what I’m looking forward to. So far, this tournament [IEM Dallas 2025] has been pretty good, so I’m really happy about that and I hope I can carry that momentum forward.

You previously mentioned that you were planning to raise the bar. What steps have you taken to do that?

I think there are many steps—not just one big one. At the moment, I’m at a point where I’m no longer really a newcomer to the scene. I need to work hard to stay consistent and stay good. So I just think I need to put in more effort—work more hours, and focus, mostly.

How did the adoption of a new-age IGL go for your team? How is Brollan different from your previous IGL?

First of all, I think the adaptation went really well. I wasn’t sure what to expect because it was Brollan’s first time IGLing, of course.

That said, I think they are a little bit different. Brollan is maybe a bit more... loose, you could say. Of course, siuhy was as well, but Brollan is even more so, which fits our team better, I’d say, because we’re all capable of making individual decisions on the server. That really boosts us, I think. People are confident when we just play our own style and decide what we want to do. Of course, he still calls the main stuff and structures things, but at the same time, he gives a lot of room for players to call for themselves, which is really good.

So far this year, I haven’t been performing at my best, but besides that, I think guys like xertioN and torzsi—even Spinx—have had a really good year. So it’s working, at least for us.

Spinx recently joined you guys. How has he affected the team, both in-game and outside? I believe you’re close friends, living together, spending time together. How’s he doing in the team?

He’s really nice—a really funny guy with a lot of experience. He’s now the oldest player in the team, and he came from Vitality, which was basically the best team. He brought us a lot of experience when he joined, and still does.

I think he fits really well with the group. We're always joking around and having fun, and in that regard, he fits perfectly. In-game, he talks a lot and gives a lot of input. He learns from mistakes and is always pointing out where we can improve, which is great for us.

His biggest strength is definitely his experience. He knows how certain situations should be played—things we might not know because we’re less experienced.

And in terms of communication, he gives a lot of feedback. That’s really valuable.

You made it to playoffs. How do you feel about playing in front of a live audience? Is it still new for you, or is it becoming routine?

I always feel really good. I love it, to be honest. I enjoy it so much more than playing in a studio—studios are boring for me. It’s much more fun to play in front of a crowd and on stage. But at this point, it feels pretty normal.

I don’t really even think about it. Of course, it still brings nerves and excitement, since it’s in front of a crowd, but I don’t feel it as strongly as I did in the past. As a team, I think we’ve already overcome that “studio mindset” in a way. Now I just look forward to playing on LAN, in front of a crowd, and I hope we can perform well.

What are your goals for the playoffs—obviously to win, probably—but also for the Austin Major?

For both tournaments, it’s pretty simple: we want to win them both.

I know it’s not actually simple, but we made some internal goals as a team, and we came to the conclusion that we really want to win both. If we had to choose just one, then of course—the Major. That’s the one we want to win and be the best at.

But Dallas is so close to the Major that we really need to show that we’re capable of playing well and staying sharp. If we don’t, the Major is only 20 or 30 days away, and it won’t do us any good. So far, we’ve been playing really well in this tournament, which is great.

We’re just aiming for the win.

How do you manage to balance your professional life as a Counter-Strike player with your personal life?

That’s a good question, actually. I think about it myself a lot.

In the past, I was really good at letting loose. I wasn’t so hard-working before. But now, especially this year, whenever I’ve had free time, I always just play and play. I enjoy it, of course, but at the same time, I want to have a life outside of work.

I think we do a good job of maintaining a balance, but right now I’m working a lot because I want to be much better than I am currently. When I’m at home and we have no practice or tournaments, I just spend time with my family, relax, watch stuff on the internet, or go outside. Just pretty basic stuff.

Nothing exclusive—I just enjoy normal life. That’s what I enjoy.

How do you handle feedback from fans? Does it affect you?

For me, it either boosts my confidence or gives me motivation. If I get negative feedback and it makes sense—like if I played poorly—then it just makes me want to get better. And if I get praise—if people are giving me credit and saying I played well—it gives me confidence. But I never really take it personally. It’s the internet.

Some pro players take it too seriously, but I really don’t care that much. I just focus on what’s good for me. I try to take the good and the bad, and make the best out of it. That’s basically what I do.