Interview

Immortal Faith interview: “I’m striving not to be just a very good Dota 2 in-game guy, but a real coach”

Andreea "Div" Esanu

24.11.2025

MOUZ have just completed the biggest underdog story at PGL Wallachia Season 6.

They entered the tournament with two stand-ins, as almost the entire line-up fell ill just as the group stage matches were about to begin. Thankfully, their carry recovered faster and could join them on the second day of the playoffs. With Remco "Crystallis" Arets back in his role, MOUZ made a full lower bracket comeback and claimed the PGL Wallachia trophy this past Sunday, November 23, 2025.

“I think change and adaptation are natural to me now,” said MOUZ's coach, Daniel "ImmortalFaith" Moza to us.

Ahead of their first games at PGL Wallachia Season 6, We had the chance to sit and talk with Immortal Faith about his work with MOUZ, how the roster was formed and how having to play a tournament with two stand-ins has impacted his work and might have shifted the team’s goals and focus on other aspects.

When you started with MOUZ you made it to the first two seasons of PGL Wallachia with a completely different lineup. Five seasons later, you are back here with what many see as a reunion on many levels. You and Seleri have reconnected,the roster is seen by some as a Team Secret 2.0, so I’d ask you directly how this team formed and how much of a direct decision you had on putting the team together?

Me and Seleri wanted to work together again. We are thinking extremely similarly and we are also seeing the game in the same way. We’ve formed in the competitive scene properly during Vikin.gg and Gaimin times, so it came natural for us to start this project together. We had some tryout rosters, and from there we took the people we thought were good.

We liked Boom, who improved insanely much in the offlane lately. Then we also liked Timado, who played with us in some online events. Boom mentioned MidOne is a beast, I checked his stream and yes, he was a beast. So basically, Boom wanted MidOne, and said Yamich can be a good position 4. So, all in all, it was more about them wanting to play together.

Then, just a few days before the first qualifiers, Timado chose to go to Virtus.pro. We tried with Parker for a few days, but Team Secret’s clause was too high for us, and in the end we took Crystallis since he was a free agent.

How important is it to have players who have previous experience together, and how does it impact the way you approach the coaching role with a roster like that?

Previous experiences together make it easier to talk and find common ground. Also, respect is something you have to earn, and from previous experiences, it’s already there. The guys also know each other from Secret, how they can work together. Also I think they all grew immensely since their last stint together. Both on individual skill and also mentality.

I’m not changing anything related to my approach. I’d say I’m adapting it based on the individuals on the team.

Has your mentality about how coaching should be done changed between your first TI, and now?

It’s been a long road. I think change and adaptation are natural to me now. I’m striving not to be just a very good Dota2 in-game guy, but a real coach in what that means for me and how I see it. I’ve been getting help with that for a while from the MOUZ performance coach, and growth feels good, even though it's not easy. It’s only going to improve if I put the work needed into it.

Do you see yourself more as a coach in the real sense of the word or more of a mentor for your players, or do you try to combine both aspects?

Coach can mean anything in esports or Dota 2. If you take the top 8 teams, I think all 8 coaches are doing different things for their teams, in a different manner etc. It’s about how you make it work, what your team needs, how you find your place within the team in order to help them be their best self when it matters the most. I think I’m ok at the in-game part, but I think I still have a lot of work to do on everything else. I have an amazing support staff at MOUZ with Jan and Ole (performance coach), and I think we are laying down the foundation of a potentially strong project.

You currently have players from SEA, EEU, and WEU. Does that influence the overall team playstyle and the way you have to adapt to this roster?

I would say cultural differences influence more how people think, how you can talk with them, and how they act and respond, rather than in-game. Our playstyle is based on the same view within the game.

MOUZ is one of the teams that had to play every single qualifier at the beginning of the season, and the schedule was so packed that it left almost no room for a life outside the game. How do you balance rest and recovery with the need to stay in top form for every tournament?

This is something that we haven’t figured out so far. It’s something we will work on to find a suitable approach that works for our team in the future. We are a new team so we need to play every single qualifier, in order to potentially get invited and make a name for ourselves. Which is normal and natural.

In the future, assuming we get some good results, hopefully we won’t need to play all the qualifiers, so the schedule will be easier and we can also make some adaptations.

Do you feel the current pace of the competitive schedule is sustainable for players long-term? What would you like to see adjusted?

I think in theory, some changes could be quite useful. Give teams a reason to play your tournaments. A few DreamLeagues and ESL events lead to the Esports World Cup as the culmination point, for example. Don’t be afraid to play around with the format, do something where one tournament is really fun and unique, ideally with a live crowd as well.

Compared to Counter-Strike, where more teams seem to be thriving, Dota is so top-heavy. It would be nice to see more tier two tournaments, like we used to have the Minors. It would be nice to have more teams getting the chance to play in front of a live audience as well.

What’s your take on the current state of professional Dota? Do you feel the game is in a good place competitively?

I think it’s in a very good spot. We keep asking for patches, but teams need to adjust to new heroes and bans at every single tournament. The game keeps adjusting nonstop, and it’s the same patch, I even forgot since.

A bit of a weird question maybe, but since you’ve done such great work for the Dota 2 community with your in-game guides, did you ever think of starting a Dota academy in your hometown town maybe, or somewhere in Romania, like a real offline program for the young kids who might be interested in this game?

I wouldn’t recommend young kids following this path. In order to be the best, you need to put years into it, literally. And only the best will succeed.

For 100 players succeeding, how many have failed? I would recommend people to stay in school, and if an academy for Dota 2 were an option after school, why not. Just like some people do with tennis or other sports, gaming is there as well. I would consider something, maybe in a few years, for now, I want to compete and focus fully on that.

With the right staff, I think it would be a very cool idea, innovative even. Maybe we will do something like that at MOUZ with time, if the project is successful.

You had to start PGL Wallachia Season 6 with two stand-ins. Given the unfortunate situation, what’s the team's goal, or what are the main things you want to focus on at this tournament?

The team’s goal is to have fun and treat it as a challenge. For the main squad, the objective is to focus on further improving chemistry, which I feel we are actively talking and working on. For the stand-ins: to have fun and feel good about playing.