Not that long ago, British Counter-Strike player William “mezii” Merriman became a legend. Vitality took a 2-1 victory over The Mongolz at the BLAST.tv Austin Major final, cementing mezii as the first player to come from UK CS to be crowned a Major Champion.
Since then, Vitality have had a downturn in form. With no final appearances this side of the player break, Vitality are looking to get back to winning ways with mezii on home turf.
mezii sits down with UKCSGO to talk about playing in front of the home crowd, Vitality’s downturn in form and who he’s got his eye on in the UK scene.
How does it feel to be back playing in front of a home crowd?
It feels good! I think last year was the first time I had the chance to do it. It was a great experience being on the stage playing in front of a home crowd. Now we are looking for a different result and hoping to get a win here. I’m looking forward to it; it’s always a great privilege to have an event here in the UK. There are a lot of players who don’t get a chance to play in front of their home crowds. It’s always fun to get this chance.
Some of your family are going to be here. Are you looking forward to playing in front of them?
They don’t always get the chance to come out to these events. Having one so close to home, it’s nice to get their support. For them to come down to an event and to be able to watch, it’s always nice to have that extra support. Of course, they always watch at home, but it’s always different to have them in person. Looking out and being able to see them as well is always fun.
mezii’s dad embracing him after Vitality got knocked out of BLAST Open London 2024
Speaking of playing in front of the home crowd, this is the one event a year where you’re the centre of attention. How do you feel about being put in the spotlight for this event?
I think it’s fun. It’s something different, of course, there are a lot of big names and big personalities in Vitality anyway. To come here and to have that attention and to have that limelight, it’s always fun. Listening to apEX having the chance to win in Paris in front of his home crowd. Having all the fans there and hearing everyone cheer your name, you always want that as a player, to have that experience. Just playing here is one thing; if we can win here, it’s always fun. The whole weekend, having all the media and everything, it’s just a great experience for me.
Do you feel the pressure then? Do you feel like there’s an extra something on top of your shoulders for this event in particular?
I probably wouldn’t say pressure. There’s always pressure as a Vitality player to win. I think it’s an added, extra bit of motivation to push even harder. That’s a thing as well about this team, that’s nice, is that every player buys into that as well. Even though these guys aren’t from the UK, they really want to push even more and are more motivated to win this event for me as well.
[mezii on playing in front of the home crowd] It’s an added, extra bit of motivation to push even harder… Even though these guys aren’t from the UK, they really want to push even more and are more motivated to win this event for me as well.
I think the pressure is always there, but the extra motivation of playing in front of this home crowd is something special. Hopefully something we can give back to the fans as well, to be successful here. Last year didn’t go as we wanted, and it was disappointing. This year we have another chance and get our first trophy of this season. After such a successful first part of the year, it would be nice to get back to winning ways here as well.
Last time you were here, you weren’t a Major champion; you are now. Does it feel different coming back as a king of Counter-Strike?
To be honest, it’s not anything I think about too much. We had a really good first half of the year, and we won so much, we completed a lot of things within Counter-Strike. But it’s not something I think about or put a lot of thought into whilst we are playing. Maybe at the end of the year, I can look back and think, “This is what has happened.” I don’t feel too different; it’s not something I focus too much on right now, as we are coming into this event or playing throughout the year.
mezii returns to the UK as a Major champion
I think the support on the socials and all the messages people have sent me since the Major win and the success this year have been really cool. I think the support has always been really good, but after this as well, it’s been really nice to see everything all over socials as well.
Moving on to this side of the player break. With Spirit and The MongolZ not here, does this feel like an event you’ve got to win?
I think the main focus for us is just improving. The last few losses have been a bit disappointing because of the way we’ve played as a team. It’s nowhere near the level we showed in the first part of the year. I said to the guys as well, what we had in the first part of the year doesn’t just disappear over a player break. I know for a fact we’ve shown glimpses of it throughout some of our games; it’s just not been as consistent. I know it’s something we’re trying to focus on.
For this event, that’s our main focus, just improving on what we’ve already shown. If we can win, then great, and it would be amazing to do that. We want to be making that extra next step, making the finals, of course, we’ve only made semi-final appearances so far this part of the year. So, to make the next step and show improvements in our game and beat one of the bigger teams. Spirit and MongolZ aren’t here, so that’s some of the bigger names out already, but we’ve also got MOUZ that we want to get revenge here after losing to them at Cologne.
For us, our main focus is on showing improvements, and I think we are very close to getting back to a more consistent level. If we do that, I definitely think we’ll be in a position to win this event.
apEX took to X to say, “We are in a horrible slump,” despite that you have made top four at every event since the player break, as well as guaranteed the top four here at minimum. From an outside perspective, it doesn’t look that bad. Do you agree with what your captain said?
I think it’s mostly down to the way we’ve been playing and some of the losses that we’ve had. I think some of the most disappointing things are just that we’ve shown we are taking two steps forward. Then we play against the MongolZ, for example, we take a step back because we are playing too chaotically and not on the same page. I think we are definitely making improvements, but the losses may feel worse than they actually are.
In reality, I think we are definitely getting closer and making steps forward, but it just sometimes takes a bit of time. I think because we were so successful after the first part of the year, sometimes we expect to be perfect all the time. But in CS, sometimes there are waves and sometimes they go up, and sometimes they go down.
I think at the moment we are in a bit of a slump, especially as individuals. Our level has dropped a little bit. But that’s something I can see us improving on. I think apEX is definitely right. We have been in a bit of a slump. But there are improvements being made, and this is the place to show them.
Moving on to UK CS, the UKIC finals are next week. Are there any UK players that have caught your eye recently?
That’s a tough question. Out of the usual, you have CYPHER, who was pretty close to qualifying here. I’ve also seen Monte now, you have Gizmy and AZUWU; they were also at that LAN in Romania, and I think they’ve shown some good stuff. I think overall, I still try and keep an eye on it, but sometimes it’s tough.
Tree60, as well, I’ve heard some good things about this guy. I think the hard thing is in the UK, I watch a few games, then all of a sudden, teams disband. I saw the other day that some players from 8Sins retired, for instance.
mezii highlights UK player Tree60 as one to watch for the future
It’s tough because they’re making steps forward as players and teams, then all of a sudden, the team disbands. Whether it’s a lack of investment or life gets in the way, they have to take a different career path. I think we are in a position now where it would be good to see more UK players keep going at it, keep putting the time in.
I think we are getting somewhere with some players, like with Monte now, with some of those players coming through and showing some good results. But it’s just about keeping at it, and we’ll see what the future holds. But you never know with UK CS, it’s always up and down, and it’s a big rollercoaster in the scene.
