Since Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut exploded onto the Counter-Strike scene, Vitality has been one of the main contenders in the race for being the best team in the world. Whilst many people point solely towards “ZywOo” as the reason for their success and accomplishments, there is also a point to be made about the team’s in-game leader Dan “apEX” Madesclaire. He made his debut as an in-game leader for Vitality, which makes it ever so more impressive that the team has established themselves to be such a strategic threat to their opponents. Whilst never having been an In-game leader before, however, it isn’t his first experience in a more tactical role:
“For a long time, I have been the secondary caller in my team. Actually, in my whole career, I’ve had a certain love for the tactical aspect of the game. It’s a normal step for me to go on and become an in-game leader, maybe a bit late in my career but that’s life.”
In fact, “apEX” was for the longest part of his career an entry-fragger, which unfortunately also meant that he would have to face criticism for his lackluster performances and stats that often come with the role of being an entry-fragger. He explains how he silenced himself, despite an eagerness to help his team on a tactical level:
“I didn’t want to make any trouble in my teams. I preferred to say nothing and just do my job, because of the many bigger problems in my previous teams. Sometimes I wasn’t happy but at least I tried to do my job as best as possible.”
When discussing Vitality and its players, the elephant in the room is, of course, “ZywOo”. Having just been crowned the best player of 2020, it is difficult not to bring his name into the conversation. When asked about “ZywOo” and how Vitality uses him he said as follows.
“It’s really hard to explain because there are so many things to say about that guy. First of all, he is one of the best teammates you can have, and it is really rare to find that in such a player because those kinds of players normally have such big egos. He doesn’t care about being the best, he just plays CS and enjoys playing CS. He needs to love what he does so if you force him to do something he doesn’t enjoy, I don’t think it is going to work.”
To hear more about what “apEX” has to say about Vitality, his role in the roster, and “ZywOo” watch the full interview with Thorin here:
