Vitality Crush MOUZ To Claim ESL Pro League Season 21 Title
The series kicked off on Dust2, where MOUZ initially gained momentum with a pistol round win, but Vitality quickly flipped the script by converting a force buy. This early shift in control set the tone for the half, as Vitality stormed ahead with a 9-3 lead by targeting Jimi "Jimpphat" Salo’s B site. The Finn struggled to hold his ground, finishing the half with just one kill. MOUZ attempted to mount a comeback on their T side, but Vitality remained in full control, closing the map convincingly.
Moving to Nuke, which is historically a strong map for MOUZ, Vitality refused to let their opponents dictate the pace. They once again replicated their 9-3 first-half scoreline on the CT side, stifling MOUZ’s offense. Although Nuke is known for its CT-side strength, MOUZ couldn’t capitalize, managing just one defensive round before Vitality sealed the map with an even more dominant showing. While ZyWoo led the series in rating, ropz finished with a 1.54 impact rating and 17 kills.
The final map followed a similar script. MOUZ converted the pistol round, but Vitality’s deadly Deagles turned the tide in the force buy, leveling the score early. Frome there, Vitality strung together a dominant run, surging to a 9-1 lead before MOUZ could respond. Heading into the second half, Vitality played with confidence, knowing the series was all but won. A brief exchange of rounds delayed the inevitable, but they ultimately closed out the tournament, securing their second premier CS2 title of the year.
For MOUZ, the loss was disappointing, but the team has shown promising signs under Brollan’s leadership. Their coach sycrone, acknowledged the gap between them and Vitality, stating that “It felt like we lost every anti-force buy. It was a bit of a shame, but we can’t take anything away from the last three months, but clearly, we’re not all the way there. They’re in incredible form, we had to pull out our A game, but they outclassed us today”.
Despite falling short, MOUZ has now reached back-to-back finals with Spinx and will look to carry the momentum into BLAST Open Lisbon, which kicks off on Wednesday.
