frozen on IEM Dallas grand finals, “Feels great to be back”

David “frozen” Čerňanský of MOUZ is heading into his first grand final in a long time at IEM Dallas, but he’s as calm as can be.

MOUZ is just one match away from pulling off the ultimate Cinderella run in Dallas. The squad has defeated Fnatic, Furia, OG, Astralis, and now event favorite Heroic to earn a spot in the deciding series. Along the way, rifler frozen has put up fantastic numbers, including 83.5 DPR and a 79% KAST rate. WIN.gg caught up with the young gun to learn his thoughts on MOUZ’ team environment, Counter-Strike’s future, and why Dallas is the squad’s time to shine. 

An interview with frozen at IEM Dallas

WIN.gg: frozen, congratulations on making it to the grand finals of IEM Dallas. MOUZ is playing fantastic. Did you do something special to prepare for this event?

frozen: No, not really, to be honest. We’re actually relaxing a bit more than before. We had a rough run at the major, 0-3. I think we all needed to take a little step back and just relax in some way. I think we’re benefitting from it so far. (laughs) 

WIN.gg: Heroic dominated your first matchup in the group stage, winning Mirage and Overpass. What was the biggest lesson you learned from that loss that helped you win today?

frozen: The veto was different this match, but the other game we played against them, they came on top. It didn’t really look close, but in the end, they won a lot of 1v1s, lot of clutches went their way. If you lose clutches to a team like Heroic, its never going to be easy. This match, we came on top in a lot of situations. 

Grand final tomorrow babyy🤩

— David Čerňanský (@FROZENNcs) June 3, 2023

WIN.gg: A lot of eyes are on Christopher “dexter” Nong this event, but you actually have the second-highest HLTV rating of any player left in the event at 1.24.

frozen: I’m never really checking the stats, just always trying to do my best. 

WIN.gg: You didn’t know about your rating?

frozen: No, but it’s a nice surprise. I hope to keep it up. Don’t jinx me!

WIN.gg: You’ve picked up some very nice highlights like that pistol 1v4 against Heroic on Overpass. Does the squad get hype during those big moments?

frozen: We were pretty hype there, but I think we were down like 11-4 and we just won the pistol. We got hype, but you’re still not in the match yet. It hyped us a bit but we absolutely lost the next round instantly after that. Sometimes it’s good to be more chill than hyped.

WIN.gg: Frozen, IEM Dallas will be your squad’s first grand final since Global Esports Tour Dubai last year. Are you feeling nervous at all?

frozen: Me, personally, I really don’t. As you said, my last final was in Dubai. Before that, the last LAN I had was with [Finn “karrigan” Andersen] and [Robin “ropz” Kool] in 2020. It just feels great to be back, honestly.  

WIN.gg: If all the active duty maps were available, do you think CS2 is ready for tournament play?

frozen: It’s hard to say. I think there’s still going to be a lot of changes even when the game comes out, right? There’s going to be a lot of big tournaments going on, and they’re still going to update the game. I think it’s 50/50 almost. The game is almost identical to CSGO, apart from the smokes and nice graphics. And HEs destroying the smokes. I don’t think it’s going to be that big of a difference. I guess it could be ready to play instantly.

WIN.gg: What are your thoughts on the HE and smoke interaction?

frozen: It will be more dynamic for the game. I do think the game will be more aim-heavy now, it brings me 1.6 flashbacks. 1.6 was really aim-heavy, so I expect kinda the same, something close. 

WIN.gg: Are there any balance changes you’d like to see in the official release of CS2? Maybe a nerf to the AWP?

frozen: Yes and no. I think the AWP in real life is a powerful weapon, so you cannot really nerf it. I think you just need to find a way to avoid the AWPer or start flashing better. I think maybe pistols could be changed a bit. I think they can get pretty tricky sometimes if you’re good with them. I think the same with the AWP, honestly. I’m not really sure if I need more changes that what is already going to be.

WIN.gg: Do you have a favorite skin?

frozen: I like the new AK-47 | Head Shot now. I think that’s very cool, I bought that. I like that one. 

WIN.gg: Any particular favorite knife?

frozen: Karambit sapphire. But I have my collection of Tiger Tooths and Lores. If I could have a dream knife, I’d say a karambit sapphire.