First Rifling IGL MVP Since gla1ve in 2019: How xertioN Led MOUZ to a Map-Perfect Title in China on CS2
MOUZ closed out its Chinese campaign with one of the most dominant tournament runs of the Counter-Strike 2 era. On Sunday, November 8, 2026, in front of a packed crowd at Beijing's Bloomage Biotech Biohyalux ECM Arena (which drew 59,000 fans across six live arena days and peaked at 720,903 concurrent online viewers), the European squad swept The MongolZ 3-0 (13-5, 13-6, 13-4) in the grand final of Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Beijing 2026. Completing a flawless 10-0 map run through the tournament, Israeli captain Dorian "xertioN" Berman secured the first MVP medal of his professional career, placing his name alongside Danish legend Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander in the history books.
A 54-Round Grand Final Sweep Over The MongolZ and a 17th Historic Flawless Run
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Two days after dismantling BetBoom Team 2-0 in the semifinals, the roster coached by Dane Dennis "sycrone" Nielsen gave the Mongolian finalists zero breathing room in the best-of-five title decider. Following the removal of Anubis by MOUZ and Nuke by The MongolZ, the series went down as the fastest best-of-five grand final in recent history by total rounds played (requiring just 54 rounds across three maps):
- Mirage (13-5, MOUZ pick): Setting the tone early with an 8-4 halftime lead, the European side locked down their second-half defense by surrendering just a single round after the side switch (5-1).
- Dust2 (13-6, The MongolZ pick): Tied 6-6 at the break on their opponents' map choice, MOUZ strung together seven unanswered rounds in the second half (7-0), sealing the map in style with a fearless P90 rush.
- Inferno (13-4, MOUZ pick): Storming out to a commanding 9-3 advantage in the opening half, the world's number-one team closed out the championship 4-1 after halftime, preventing The MongolZ from reaching seven rounds on any map in the series.
Having swept TYLOO, BetBoom Team (twice), PARIVISION, and finally The MongolZ without dropping a single map, MOUZ lifted the first IEM trophy in the organization's history across CS:GO and Counter-Strike 2. Even more remarkably, the triumph marks only the 17th time in Counter-Strike history that a team has won a Big Event without losing a map, and the first time at an IEM tournament since Astralis at IEM Beijing 2019. This second trophy of the 2026 campaign (following BLAST Bounty in August) earns the organization $360,000 out of the $1.25 million total prize pool ($125,000 in player prize money plus a $235,000 club share) and secures its first point in the race for the $1 million ESL Grand Slam Season VII.
| Team / Grand Final Standout | Placement / Role | Grand Final Stats / Total Payout |
|---|---|---|
| MOUZ (Team) | 1st Place (10-0 map record) | $360,000 ($125,000 player prize + $235,000 club share) |
| Dorian "xertioN" Berman (MOUZ) | Captain (Rifle IGL) & MVP | 47-32 K-D, 98.1 ADR, 85.2% KAST, 1.44 rating |
| Lotan "Spinx" Giladi (MOUZ) | Rifler | 46-27 K-D, 1.35 rating |
| Adrian "xelex" Vincze (MOUZ) | Rifler | 1.33 rating (Oldřich "PR" Nový and Ádám "torzsi" Torzsás between 1.23 and 1.30) |
| The MongolZ (Sodbayar "Techno" Munkhbold) | 2nd Place (Runner-up) | $210,000 total (Techno led his squad at 41-40 K-D, 1.13 rating) |
| Natus Vincere (Valeriy "b1t" Vakhovskiy) | 3rd Place (2-0 vs. BetBoom) | $160,000 total (b1t posted a 1.57 rating in the third-place decider) |
"To Be on the List With gla1ve Is an Honor": The Rare Feat of a Rifling IGL MVP
While Hungarian AWPer Ádám "torzsi" Torzsás built a strong case for the individual accolade thanks to his group-stage consistency (finishing with a 1.33 tournament-wide rating compared to 1.28 for his captain), Dorian "xertioN" Berman caught fire under the arena lights to edge out his teammate. Averaging a blistering 1.53 rating across the playoffs (1.67 in the semifinal against BetBoom followed by 1.44 in the grand final, compared to torzsi's 1.20 playoff average), the 22-year-old Israeli rifler clinched the first MVP award of his career.
Historically, the award breaks a multi-year drought for team captains: xertioN is the first In-Game Leader to win a Big Event MVP since Russian AWPer Dzhami "Jame" Ali at the IEM Rio Major in 2022. More importantly, he becomes the first rifling IGL to capture a Big Event MVP medal since Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander accomplished the feat with Astralis at IEM Beijing 2019. Reflecting on that historical parallel in his post-match press conference in the Chinese capital, xertioN paid tribute to the four-time Major winner:
"Maybe Beijing is special (smiles). I think the crowd is so amazing that I understand gla1ve. But yeah, just to be on the list with him as a rifle IGL MVP is an honor. He's such a role model in terms of that; he was basically the first real fragging IGL who actually went that far to individually also have great output. It's really nice to be on the list with him, though the most important thing is that we lifted the trophy, and that's what I'm most happy about."
Calling the individual medal "the cherry on top," xertioN explained how his mindset has evolved since taking over the captaincy and integrating young MOUZ NXT academy graduates Oldřich "PR" Nový and Adrian "xelex" Vincze into the starting five:
"I would say that when I was not an IGL, I would probably feel even more happy than now, but it's not my main goal. Of course, I want to lead the team by example, and I want to play better as a team. I'm proud of myself because it's also what I set out to do. I don't want to be this IGL that just calls and jumps for players; I want to be an IGL that can actually help in other ways as well."
Consolidating World No. 1 VRS Ahead of Hong Kong and the Singapore Major
Admitting that his raw aim was not at its sharpest during the group stage, xertioN credited sycrone and the coaching staff for their macro preparation, which unlocked his playoff surge and allowed MOUZ to neutralize The MongolZ's aggressive, fast-forcing style by deliberately slowing the tempo and dictating engagements on their own terms.
The Israeli captain also pushed back against critics who attempted to downplay MOUZ's bracket run following early exits by several rival contenders: "I've already seen people before the final trying to talk the tournament down, saying that maybe it's the easiest IEM ever. I don't think so. It's very tough to beat anyone, and not dropping a map in a whole tournament is something that not many teams can say they have achieved, especially at an IEM. People can have whatever opinion they want of us; our goal is to show that we are shaping a different MOUZ than what people used to know."
Picking up 7 additional points from the grand final, MOUZ solidifies its hold on first place in the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) at 1,999 points. Having fulfilled their internal goal of winning at least one of the three pre-Major tournaments after falling in the semifinals in Bucharest, the squad now heads to BLAST Rivals in Hong Kong with the pressure off before entering the PGL CS2 Major Singapore 2026 (running November 24 to December 13) as the clear team to beat.
My Perspective
There is a very real tactical reason why seven full years passed between gla1ve's MVP medal in Beijing in 2019 and xertioN matching that feat in the same city in 2026. In Counter-Strike 2, combining In-Game Leader responsibilities with front-line rifle entry and trade duties carries the heaviest cognitive load in professional esports. Whereas an AWPing captain like Jame can hold passive angles from the backline while scanning the radar with a panoramic view to call mid-round rotations, a rifler contesting map control on Mirage or Ancient absorbs the first wave of utility face-first.
For years, the meta conditioned rifle captains to accept a sacrificial space-creator role: jumping out first to bait crosshairs, dying for information, and calling the rest of the round from the spectator screen. By refusing to become a sacrificial pawn and posting a 1.53 playoff rating on the back of sycrone's prep work, xertioN fundamentally alters the server math. When your vocal leader is dropping 98.1 ADR in an IEM grand final alongside Spinx, torzsi, PR, and xelex, opponents have zero weak links left to target on the map. Two weeks out from the Singapore Major, MOUZ has solved the hardest role equation in the game.
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Based on the outskirts of New York City, Chaya 'Chayane' spent five years studying software engineering in Montreal before returning to her home state. A Full-Stack developer and Deep Learning AI architecture researcher, she explores neural networks and algorithmic optimization while engineering data pipelines for Retrocharting and Gamescharting alongside Grimtag. A gamer for over 20 years and an avid collector of Nintendo history and The Legend of Zelda, she explored World of Warcraft's Azeroth before bringing her deep technical background to video game analysis.
