Spinx: “I always wanted to have just one [MVP] in my career”

Lotan “⁠Spinx⁠” Giladi walks away from BLAST Bounty Season 2 Finals as its MVP after a 1.54-rated grand final, helping MOUZ end a 17-month-long trophy drought.

“I didn’t expect it to come so fast,” the Israeli lurker said about winning a trophy in the team’s debut event with Oldřich “⁠PR⁠” Nový. “I knew we would be good, but we were always making it to the playoffs. Now we managed to take this big next step and win this trophy.”

Spinx added that he “[doesn’t] want to jump over the line” regarding MOUZ consistently being title contenders against the biggest teams this early into the roster’s tenure, but took the time to thank his family, friends, teammates, and MOUZ’s staff for their support as he earns a medal he was hopeful to come away with at some point during his career.

“I’ve been close a couple of times, so I’m happy I managed to win one,” he said. “I always wanted to have just one in my career. I’m not looking to have many, like other professional players. I’m happy I managed to have one, and that’s it.”

Listen to the interview here.

Congrats. You took down Spirit in what was a very, very exciting game. How do you feel after taking down such a team and lifting the trophy?

It’s feeling amazing. Such a relief. It’s been some time, more than a year, and yeah, we were close many times. I’m just enjoying the moment. It’s been a while.

And as you said, it’s been a year and a half since you won Cluj. How is it to finally end that trophy drought after such a long time after so many near misses as well?

Yeah, I’m just super happy with the boys, with how we played today. I felt the confidence since the beginning; the comms were clear, the energy was good. Of course, we could do better on Ancient, but in a best-of-five, it’s hard to be perfect on every map. So I’m just happy with the way we played. We showed, in my opinion, high-level CS. It’s just a huge relief, and I’m happy.

Would you say that this is kind of ahead of schedule for the team? Because this is your first tournament, your first grand final, and your first trophy. Did you expect it to click so fast?

No, I didn’t expect it to come so fast. I knew we would be good, but we were always making it to the playoffs. Now we managed to take this big next step and win this trophy, but still, we also won Cluj, like you said, last year, and then the year wasn’t so good. We still need to stay humble and keep working hard to make sure we are staying at a high level of CS.

I don’t know if you saw, but you were named HLTV’s MVP for the event, your first one in your career. How do you feel about that?

I’m definitely happy. I didn’t know until like two minutes ago, when I checked and got a message on the phone. I couldn’t do it without my teammates, without my family, my friends, everyone who supported me, the staff, so I just want to thank all of them because they helped me a lot.

I’ve been close a couple of times, so I’m happy I managed to win one. I always wanted to have just one in my career. I’m not looking to have many, like other professional players. I’m happy I managed to have one, and that’s it.

I talked to you yesterday about not seeing that many people and not having to kill anyone because your teammates killed everyone. But today you definitely saw a lot of people and got a lot of kills. How was it having such a great final and getting the team over the line?

Just like before, it feels really good. Sometimes you don’t see people, but I felt I used my opportunities today really smartly, and when the confidence kicks in, it feels like it’s coming to you in a way. Again, I couldn’t do it without my teammates and the staff.

We saw so many favorites struggle at this event. Falcons, Vitality already went out, and you now beat Spirit. Do you feel like you’re ready to contend for titles even in other events that aren’t the first event of the year, even at such an early time in the life cycle of the team?

I would say I don’t want to jump over the line. We beat Spirit in the grand final, it’s not an easy task, but yet we didn’t play against other top tier-one teams like Falcons, Vitality, and the teams that win big events like Majors and stuff like this.

But yeah, we can beat anyone, I said it yesterday. Of course, maybe other tournaments will be harder when you have all the big dogs and stuff like this, but it’s okay. We’ll see how it goes. I’m excited and looking forward to it.