MOUZ won IEM Beijing 2026 without dropping a single map, yet misgivings still remain over the young roster’s ability to convert that into more success.
MOUZ defeated The MongolZ 3-0 in the Grand Final of IEM Beijing to claim the organization’s first Intel Extreme Masters title. Will that historic success be the moment this roster transforms into a true contender?
MOUZ’s history boys break records with IEM Beijing victory, but doubts remain
Even before MOUZ had defeated The MongolZ in the Grand Final, there were already misgivings about MOUZ’s tournament win. Having gone through the ‘easier’ group and the ‘easier’ side of the bracket, some were quick to dismiss MOUZ’s achievement.
MOUZ’s IEM Beijing 2026 run was:
- MOUZ 2-0 TYLOO
- MOUZ 2-0 BetBoom
- MOUZ 2-0 Parivision
- MOUZ 2-0 BetBoom
- MOUZ 3-0 The MongolZ
Even in the victories, some saw MOUZ’s victory as some sort of advanced form of rock-paper-scissors, with the spontaneous and chaotic MongolZ and BetBoom rosters taking down NAVI and FURIA, leaving MOUZ with opposition they liked playing against.
As the old saying goes ‘You can only beat the teams who are in front of you.’ Ultimately, the winning team cannot be dismissed purely through the matchups they receive, but can only be judged on how they did in those matches.
There is no doubt that MOUZ passed with flying colors in that respect. The roster won the tournament without dropping a single map and, for the most part, won those maps relatively easily.
That achievement made MOUZ the first team to win an IEM event without dropping a map since Astralis at IEM Beijing 2019, and the first to win an event of this calibre without dropping a map since NAVI’s PGL Stockholm 2021 Major victory.
For MOUZ, it was the first IEM trophy in the organization’s history, with Dorian ‘xertioN’ Berman securing the first rifling IGL MVP since Lukas ‘gla1ve’ Rossander, again, at IEM Beijing 2019.
All of that shows that MOUZ’s victory was history, and a big achievement for the roster’s core that has so often fallen flat just as the stars seemed to align for them.
From a mentality point of view, the tournament win may still prove to be valuable for MOUZ simply because it has the branding ‘IEM’ attached to it, but we have seen that similar victories at BLAST or ESL Pro League haven’t had that effect.
Whether MOUZ can channel their confidence at this tournament into matchups against teams like Vitality, Falcons, and FURIA is the question, but the signs of progress are already there after taking down Spirit three times in a row.
In that sense, BLAST Rivals Hong Kong is the perfect follow-up tournament to test MOUZ. The tournament is only the best of the best… and G2.
MOUZ will be tested against the teams that are a matchup challenge, that can outfrag them and shut xertioN’s early plays down. Whether they can adapt past that will be the true confirmation of whether IEM Beijing was a real breakthrough or yet another false dawn.
Can MOUZ continue their form? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
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Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
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