“I was just tilted so hard … I won’t break any mouse again,” says cairne after tense loss to Spirit

“I was just tilted so hard … I won’t break any mouse again,” says cairne after tense loss to Spirit

In a dramatic moment during Inner Circle’s ESL Pro League Season 22 campaign, Ukrainian rifler Artem “cairne” Mushynskyi admitted that emotions got the better of him—he smashed his mouse mid-match. After their defeat to Spirit in a decider map, he offered a candid reflection on what happened. 

Match Recap & Context

Inner Circle entered the tournament without high expectations, a sentiment echoed by cairne himself even after their upset win over The MongolZ earlier in Stage 2. They had progressed from Stage 1 undefeated, besting teams like 3DMAX, GamerLegion, and Gentle Mates. 

In the decider map versus Spirit on Mirage, Inner Circle had multiple chances but faltered under pressure. According to cairne, the frustration boiled over after the team squandered several advantages on the CT side switch, and in particular following a failed fight in “Ninja from Palace.” 

cairne’s Reaction & Quotes

Reflecting on the incident, cairne was open and somewhat self-deprecating:

“Too much bad emotions, I would say. And I just expressed it this way (laughs), in a bad way. It happens, it happens. I won’t break any mouse again (laughs).” 

When asked to walk through the moment:

“We lost five rounds after we changed sides, and we were losing like 5v3, 4v2 … I was just tilted so hard. Like I couldn’t kill the guy in Ninja when he dropped down from Palace … Too much bad emotions … I won’t break any mouse again.” 

He also addressed the practicalities: when asked whether it was a “mouse issue,” he rejected that notion.

“I don’t think that we would win; it’s not a mouse issue. I had a kill in CT on the last round … They deserved to win, they were better on this day.” 

Even after the incident, he admitted to some residual irritation:

“Earlier today I even saw you smash your mouse a little bit — No no, it’s a little bit (laughs), you know? Like micro-anger (smiles). So yeah, I already constantly have this thought that I shouldn’t break my mouse.” 

He confirmed the team did have spare mice available, so switching gear mid-game was possible. 

Broader Implications & Team Outlook

Despite the collapse, Inner Circle showed flashes of promise. Notably, David “Dawy” Bibik delivered a standout performance on Mirage earlier in the event (34–12 K-D, 2.26 rating) to help the team stay in the running. 

However, cairne emphasized that Inner Circle’s current ambitions are modest:

“We’re just here to get experience and have fun … we don’t think about results, we don’t think about the outcome. We just play round by round and that’s it.” 

The broken mouse incident also highlights the emotional pressures players face in high-stakes matches. While rare, equipment frustration has surfaced in esports narratives before — sometimes as a momentary lapse, sometimes as a cautionary tale about mental resilience under duress.