Hot Take: MOUZ +jL would have mogged +PR

PR to MOUZ makes loads of sense on paper.

There’s basically no argument against PR being a giant upgrade over the reported move for jL in terms of how he plays. My eyes tell me that. The model tells me that. The fact that MOUZ spent money to sign him instead of jL tells me that.

And yet, a part of me loved the idea of jL.

This is a pretty wild ‘hear me out’, and somewhat against the spirit of our data driven approach, but sometimes vibes really do matter. jL would have been better for MOUZ than PR.

Before I go any further, I must say that this is purely my own opinion, and is very much not shared by the other members of the CS2 team at rdy.gg, one of whom called this a ‘bottom ten opinion ever’ (verbatim). I’m fighting the good fight.

First of all, let’s talk PR.

The guy is seriously good. He’s GamerLegion’s lurker and big site anchor, and was generally very solid at both. He’s a better T side player than CT, but he’s still good on both sides, albeit he does get more resources than the average anchor.

Anyone who has seen this guy play a few times sees the vision with him. He’s got super clean crosshair placement, great awareness and timing and a killer late-round instinct, despite the fact he’s also extremely capable of being the aggressor and making space for his teammates. He’s kind of excellent at everything you need him to do for such a young player, and while a team like MOUZ is a step-up, he looks, if not ready now, pretty close to ready.

And yet, that’s sort of the problem isn’t it?

MOUZ are always ‘close to ready’ to win tournaments. They’re always developing, a few months, a roster move away. They’re just not those guys, because quite simply when the pressure is on they crumble. PR might be great on stage - emphasis on might - but he’s not going to be able to stop xertioN and torzsi withering away.

jL might have been.

jL is super versatile and like PR can do anything. He’s probably not as good as PR right now, but we know his peak level - if he can be bothered to get back there - is elite. He can anchor, he can be a star, he can lurk, he can entry, but most importantly there is no player more vibey.

Quantify that, data scientists.

jL’s vibes-per-round are off the chart, and in my opinion was a large part of why NAVI were so consistently solid. He cannot get tilted, whether that’s because he’s the happiest guy in the world or he’s just not even aware of the concept yet, I don’t know. He’s unflappable on stage because he can’t grasp the gravity of the situation, and that sort of infectious energy would be for MOUZ what spinach is to Popeye, or eco frags are to blameF.

Any time xertioN or torzsi start to feel the pressure, they can look at jL’s goofy face and it’s like seeing a puppy. It just brightens up your day. He’ll be a shining example of how to play on stage, as well as bringing everyone else up with him, and he’s also no slouch as a player.

PR might be all of these things, but I’ve not yet seen any evidence that he is more untiltable than jL because nobody is.

PR is a great player, and on paper a fantastic fit for MOUZ. But another young player to your collection makes you Borussia Dortmund; perennial bridesmaids, never the bride. It might make financial sense, it might fit the philosophy, all of those things that make you feel good.

But PR doesn’t solve MOUZ’ core issues, as good as he is, and jL might have done.

Unfortunately, we’ll never see this theory tested. So I can assume I’m right, as long as PR doesn’t win MOUZ the Major.

Checkmate, stattos.