Creation & Development
The date is the 16th of October, 2018, and the event is the IEM Chicago 2018 Qualifier — the official introduction of Team Vitality to the world of professional Counter-Strike. A French organisation supporting a team consisting of legendary IGL and two-time Major winner Vincent “Happy” Schopenhauer, “Le Tank” — Cédric “RpK” Guipouy, two of the most renowned names in French and international Counter-Strike and ex-teammates on G2 Esports and Envy — Dan “apEX” Madesclaire & Nathan “NBK-” Schmitt, and one 18-year-old prodigy who was supposed to become the next superstar of the scene — Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut.
In their debut, after going through the Group Stage of the event under the name “Waterboys,” they lost to a fully Danish lineup of OpTiC Gaming in the Quarter-Finals of the Qualifier — that was the org’s first touch with CS and the start of a beautiful story.
Over the course of the next five years, Vitality would rapidly establish itself as one of the powerhouses of Tier 1 Counter-Strike. With 2018 being just an introduction, between 2019 and 2022, Vitality would end up lifting five LAN trophies, winning seven Big Events in total, with ZywOo rapidly establishing himself as one of the greatest individual players in the world, grabbing the #1 spot on the HLTV Top 20 in two consecutive years (2019 & 2020) and the #2 spot in 2021 and 2022. However, that was not enough.
Having one of the best players in the history of the game on your side, and with apEX picking up the IGL role in 2020 and quickly showing a lot of promise as the captain, Vitality needed more than the occasional playoff attendance at a Major or LAN/Online title with a “comfortable bracket” — they needed stability. Stability that only world-class players — winners — could provide. After experimenting with players like ALEX, shox, misutaaa, Nivera, and Kyojin, Team Vitality finally made the crucial step toward achieving its Major goal by bringing over Astralis trio Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen, Emil “Magisk” Reif & Danny “zonic” Sørensen, with ENCE star Lotan “Spinx” Giladi joining only a couple of months later to further strengthen the lineup.
That was the Vitality team that ended up reaching the ultimate goal of every Counter-Strike organisation — winning a Major tournament. Without dropping a single map to its competitors, Vitality ran through G2, ENCE, Monte, Into the Breach, Apeks & GamerLegion to lift its first Major trophy at the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, with ZywOo picking up the MVP award. The addition of the Danish trio and the Israeli aimer finally bore fruit, regardless of Vitality once again not having to go through the toughest of opposition to achieve greatness.
However, that wasn’t all for Vitality until the end of the year. With the addition of free agent Shahar “flameZ” Shushan to replace dupreeh, “The Hive” would end up lifting the Gamers8 2023, BLAST Premier Fall Final & BLAST Premier World Final 2023 trophies by year’s end, cementing itself as the №1 team in the world and giving ZywOo his third HLTV Top 20 #1 placement. And truth be told — Vitality was dominant, but not impenetrable.
2024 was a different story. Across the 12 main events that Vitality played in, they made playoffs 11 times, reaching the Semi-Finals four times but winning only one trophy — regardless of this one title being one of the most prestigious in Counter-Strike history: IEM Cologne. Sadly, there seemed to be a missing fragment — a piece of the puzzle that had once been the perfect fit. Whether it was the incalculable variability of time or something else — things were different. Frustration was evident, and had it not been for the IEM Cologne title, changes to the team might’ve happened even earlier. But there was one certainty — Vitality could not keep going without a total revamp. Who could have known that one person could turn the tides?
A New Beginning
With Spinx out of the team at the start of 2025, Vitality announced the box-office signing of one of the most consistent and successful players in the world over the last seven years — Robin “ropz” Kool, whose contract with FaZe Clan had just expired. Joining Vitality was the first step in his own journey of redemption after an unsatisfactory 2024, with only one trophy and his lowest yearly rating since 2018 (1.10). But can the addition of one player really change the atmosphere and performance of a team enough to match Vitality’s 2023 — or even overcome it?
One thing was for sure: there was no more room for excuses. With the contagious negative atmosphere and personal issues on the team resolved, Vitality had signed not just a replacement for Spinx — but an upgrade. One of the smartest and most skilled players in the game who had seen it all. Someone who had won a Major and a Grand Slam, and was considered the best player in the world at the start of CS2, but who had also lost in unimaginably painful ways; who had tasted the big stage and high-pressure moments, and had both emerged victorious and fallen victim to the merciless pressure and sorrow of losing when everything was on the line. Very few players could bring all of the above — alongside a one-of-a-kind work ethic and drive to win — to a team. Names like NiKo, m0NESY and, not too long ago, s1mple. Those are the players who can change a team no matter what, breathe a new soul into it — and ropz is one of them. But the best part was — he didn’t even have to be the #1 star anymore.
On FaZe Clan, ropz was often — regardless of being a lurker — the person everyone looked to for solutions when things didn’t go well. On Vitality, the presence of players like ZywOo and flameZ could be considered a “pressure-lifter” for the Estonian. A team and IGL that give you a voice and freedom — and yet, don’t need you to be their perpetual driving force whenever push comes to shove.
It all adds up perfectly. A team with one of the best players in the world, a world-class IGL, a phenomenal support player, and a flamboyant aimer gains a calm, intelligent, and experienced lurker — who still has the qualities of a playmaker. It sounds like the best mixture — because it is.
Building Rome in a Day… or a Couple of Months
At first, Vitality looked solid — not spectacular, but pretty good. After beating both Metizport and Virtus.pro to qualify for BLAST Bounty 2025 S1 Finals, apEX & co. would end up losing in a 0:2 (9–13, 11–13) fashion against a momentum-driven, XANTARES-led Eternal Fire that was in its own “honeymoon period” after adding Samet “jottAAA” Köklü at the start of the year. Not a lot could be made out of this performance, as the only maps that Vitality dropped were both 3–9 starts. And for anyone familiar with how ferocious MR12 is — it probably wouldn’t be considered shocking that a slow start could be a new team’s demise. And yet, that one series against Eternal Fire would end up being the first — and last — time ropz would taste defeat in the Vitality jersey.
After BLAST, it was IEM Katowice. Five games, only one map lost (to FaZe Clan in the Group Stage), and merely 22 rounds dropped in the Bo5 Grand Final against Team Spirit — in a game where Danil “donk” Kryshkovets & co. got a taste of what being completely and utterly outclassed felt like. Vitality didn’t just win Katowice — they made it look easy. With ZywOo, ropz and flameZ all delivering incredible individual performances, and the Frenchman earning his 21st career MVP (LAN & Online combined).
Then it was ESL Pro League Season 21. Six series, two maps lost, and just 18 rounds that MOUZ was able to take off of Vitality in the Grand Final. A 22nd career MVP for ZywOo, and another event where Vitality had to go through a Top 3 team — and did it flawlessly… twice.
The streak continued at BLAST Open Lisbon 2025, where, regardless of not playing their best CS, apEX and his boys took down both MOUZ and Spirit en route to the Grand Final. Against MOUZ, the first serious tremors arrived. The start was more than promising, with Vitality serving MOUZ the first ever 13–0 (or 16–0) in a Big Event Grand Final — on Inferno. However, it wouldn’t be as poetic if the person ropz had replaced — Spinx — didn’t play like his life was on the line and get MOUZ right back in the game. With both Mirage and Dust 2 slipping through the fingertips of “the men in black and yellow” with 11–13 scores, Vitality found itself in unfamiliar territory — with its back against the wall. But the response? It would be an understatement to call it remarkable. Like true champions, Vitality didn’t just come back — they dominated Nuke and Train, with ZywOo and flameZ taking turns at phenomenal individual performances. But it wasn’t the solo highlights or spectacular kills that were the truly terrifying part — it was the team. The collective of five players and a coach that looked challenged, wounded, and yet seemed to find fierce excitement in the opportunity to show why they are the best.
After taking down MOUZ, Vitality lifted its third consecutive trophy, boasting a 10–0 record on Inferno, 9–1 on Dust2, and 4–0 on Train — absolutely unstoppable. To top it all off, the team extended its win streak to 16 games in a row, reaching #4 on the all-time leaderboard and sitting just one win shy of the historic Astralis 17-win streak. And against a much-improved MOUZ, that win was a statement — that no matter how good the others might become, “The Hive” would always find its way to the top. A statement that would become the motto of Vitality in the Grand Final to follow.
“V” is for “Victory” — “V” is for “Vitality”
Going into IEM Melbourne 2025, Vitality had the chance to lift its fourth trophy in a row, while also breaking Astralis’ record and besting Liquid’s 21-consecutive-win streak in the same event — all while becoming the fifth team to win the ESL Grand Slam after Astralis (2017–18), Team Liquid (2019), Natus Vincere (2019–2021), and FaZe Clan (2021–23). With ropz having his eyes set on becoming the second-ever player — after Twistzz — to win two Grand Slams and the first ever to win back-to-back seasons of the prize, Vitality looked determined to do what they had been doing best all year long: win.
Four Bo3s and no maps lost paved the path for Vitality toward the Grand Final. But there was one team that was able to push them — one team that, regardless of losing, reached overtime and was riding its own wave of momentum, annihilating both GamerLegion (13–3, 13–4) and MOUZ (13–3, 13–6) on the other side of the bracket: the most terrifying challenger Vitality had faced so far — Team Falcons.
The story was simple, yet fascinating. After going down 0–2 in the Main Swiss Stage of the PGL Bucharest 2025, Falcons — at the time still fielding Abdul “degster” Ghasanov as the main AWPer — ended up winning six series in a row, besting both FaZe Clan and G2 Esports in their final two games to lift the organization’s first Big Event trophy ever, only to confirm the addition of NiKo’s ex-teammate and 2024 AWPer of the Year — Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov — just hours later.
Reuniting NiKo and m0NESY on Falcons — regardless of degster’s improved form and MVP title in Bucharest — was the injection the team needed, and it showed. On top of the momentum they were already building thanks to their triumph in Romania, m0NESY, as mentioned above, is one of those players who can instantly elevate a team. And having him alongside his three-year teammate, mentor, and friend NiKo was a move that could only make this team what it was always supposed to be — a title contender.
With kyxsan proving to be one of the most underrated fragging IGLs, TeSeS popping off, and both NiKo and m0NESY showing their relentlessness as a duo — Falcons had their sights set on the $100,000 bonus for denying Vitality the Grand Slam, the trophy, and the perfect opportunity to introduce themselves to the world by taking down the undisputed №1 of the year — and they nearly did it.
After once again starting off a Grand Final with an Inferno masterclass and a 13–2 win, Vitality realized — this one was different. Whether it was the individual brilliance of kyxsan (26–20), the momentum and aura that the Falcons carried with them, the experience, or the pure individual skill — the team refused to break and leveled things up after a tight 16–12 win on Dust2. Vitality made a second attempt at breaking their opponents on Train, stealing it away with a painful eco round win in the second half to put themselves in a 2–1 lead — but again, it wasn’t enough. It was now time for m0NESY to show why he truly is “The Multi-Million Dollar Man,” powering his way through Mirage with a 23–10 score (1.67 rating) to level things up and take it all to a third — Nuke.
Very few times in the history of Counter-Strike have we been fortunate enough to witness a competitive deciding map in a Grand Final when history is truly on the line — but what Team Vitality and Falcons produced on Nuke wasn’t even that. It was far beyond. It was a pure spectacle.
With Falcons getting a 9–3 lead after their CT-side, NiKo and m0NESY found themselves one round away from their first trophy together on the team, and Vitality was against the wall — 6–12 deficit, with three Five-Sevens, one SSG 08 (Scout), and a FAMAS to work with. This is where Vitality’s story was supposed to end. But as often happens in mythology and literature — the protagonist must first die in order to be reborn and become a true legend. And that is what Vitality’s CT-side comeback felt like.
Starting with ZywOo’s 1v3 clutch in round 17, a 1v1 clutch from mezii to deny TeSeS’s 1v4 and save Vitality at 6–12, round after round, play after play — Vitality brought the game back from the depths of hell. And after three overtimes of heartbreak, celebration, stress, sweat, and unimaginable drama — they showed what true champions are made of. Vitality’s initiation, if you will — the rebirth of a dead hero, ready to write its name in the history books of Counter-Strike no matter what.
It has been an incredibly long time since we’ve seen a team so dominant and, quite frankly, so unbeatable in Counter-Strike. One might say only NAVI (2021) and FaZe Clan after them ever came close to replicating what Astralis did between 2017 and 2019 — but a new contender has arisen. And with four trophies, a Grand Slam, Liquid’s second-place record for the most consecutive series wins, and the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 starting in just over a month — Team Vitality is forging its own dynasty. An era that might, for now, be no more than a seed — but one with the potential to become an ancient tree.
