Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut, the sniper for Team Vitality, has stated that his team is currently the strongest in CS2. In an interview during the BLAST Open Lisbon 2025 broadcast, he mentioned that the roster change has benefited the team and explained the positive impact of Robin “ropz” Kool on the lineup.
“We all really enjoy playing in the updated roster with ropz. Everyone is smiling… It seems to me that in this team we can do whatever we want, and it will work. I don’t know how it happens, but it is so. I feel that there is no team stronger than us right now. And we like this style, we play great.”
According to Herbaut, ropz has shown Team Vitality through his personal example that all team members need to work harder on their game.
“Ropz brought discipline to the team in terms of training. We did not expect this because we did not really know what kind of person he is, and were even a little worried. He impressed us with his discipline, he works every day, offers new ideas. I think with this he motivated us to get in shape and train harder.”
ZywOo added that Team Vitality is capable of having the best year in the history of their Counter-Strike lineup if they maintain their current form.
“It’s even harder for me to pad my stats now because the other four are playing well. Sometimes it’s hard to kill an enemy myself because all the frags are taken by teammates. Obviously, it’s very cool to play in such a team, because you know that sometimes you can make mistakes, but still be focused on the game and frags. <…>
If we continue to play as well individually and as a team, we will definitely have a good chance [to make 2025 the best year for Vitality]. I won’t say that we will always win – that would be too arrogant. But it is obvious that Team Vitality is playing just great right now. So if we maintain our current form until the end of the major, then this year will definitely be even better than 2023. <…> We want to continue playing like this, so everyone will work at the same pace: my teammates will pay more attention to watching replays and individual training.”
Ropz joined Team Vitality in January 2025, replacing Lotan “Spinx” Giladi. The updated roster became champions of ESL Pro League Season 21 and IEM Katowice 2025, without dropping a single map in the grand finals.
Finley Holt