XTQZZZ: “Everything ZywOo can create for the roster, donk isn’t capable of a tenth of it”

Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut has long been the crown jewel of French esports, but his recent cover story in L’Équipe magazine, a rare honor for a gamer in the “Bible of Sport”, has sparked fresh debate about his standing in the GOAT conversation. Following Vitality’s dominant victory at PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026, where ZywOo secured a record-breaking 30th MVP title, his coach and captain sat down to pull back the curtain on what makes “The Chosen One” truly different.

To understand why many consider him the greatest to ever touch the game, one only needs to look at the history books. With his recent crowning as the best player of 2025, ZywOo has now surpassed his legendary rival Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev for the most Player of the Year awards in the franchise’s history.

While the world stares at the scoreboard, those inside the Vitality camp are looking at the “invisible” value that ZywOo brings to the server, value they believe far exceeds that of his closest rivals, including the explosive young rifler Danil “donk” Kryshkovets.

donk is by far the closest competitor to ZywOo on the world stage at the moments – Image: ESL

The “Sponge” Effect

In the interview with L’Èquipe Coach Rémy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam highlighted that ZywOo’s greatest weapon isn’t his aim, but his freakish ability to process and recall every situation he has ever played.

He has a huge capacity to understand and memorize strategies. He’s a real sponge-meaning situations he has already lived through are already stored in his head. People always say ZywOo isn’t ‘flashy,’ but why? Because he is always anticipating. He understands where things are going to happen; he understands the timings. That’s why we often say he isn’t naive; he doesn’t get caught from behind because he positions himself the right way. The number of clutches he wins just through placement…

He has no problem letting others shine if necessary. As a sniper, he has some of the best utility usage in the world when needed, whether on attack or defense. It’s his ability to adapt to situations that makes him the best. In my opinion, everything ZywOo can create for the roster, donk (Danil Kryshkovets) isn’t capable of a tenth of it. And s1mple (Oleksandr Kostyliev) wasn’t either.

XTQZZZ’s bold claim directly addresses the current statistical arms race at the top of the CS scene. While donk currently holds a slight edge in raw all-time rating over ZywOo and s1mple, Vitality’s coach insists the numbers do not capture the complete picture of what makes a player truly valuable to a team’s system.

Stats against top 30 teams in the world:

The Anti-Superstar

Despite being a four-time Player of the Year, ZywOo remains famously averse to the spotlight. Captain Dan “apEX” Madesclaire revealed just how much ZywOo values his peace over his paycheck.

Today, if you told him: ‘You’re going to earn 25% less salary, but you don’t have to do any more media,’ he would say yes. He doesn’t like fame. In his personal life, he is close to his family; he needs that cocoon. He is an incredibly kind, calm, and lovely person, but someone who has always struggled to express his emotions. It was much worse at 18, but it’s still the case at 25. Over time, we’ve come to know him and how to handle it.

Not the “Cristiano Ronaldo” of CS

In a surprising moment of candor, apEX compared ZywOo’s work ethic to footballing legends, suggesting that the Frenchman relies more on a divine-like natural talent than the grueling “grind” associated with other top pros.

The luck he has is that he has enormous talent. Let’s be very honest: he’s not Cristiano Ronaldo, who is going to kill himself with work. He does what is necessary. He has a talent where, when he comes back from vacation, he is strong immediately; it’s quite unique. Actually, he annoys me, because I know he could be even stronger. I say he doesn’t do enough, but that ‘not enough’ is still better than 100% of other people. It’s just that he works in blocks, whereas he could do more constantly. It’s my role too to optimize him, to make sure he is the best he can be. I know he can be better than he is today.

The “Anomaly”

Ultimately, XTQZZZ warns that while many try to study ZywOo to improve their own game, the Frenchman is a biological outlier that cannot be replicated.

It is both very easy to work with him and, at the same time, very mysterious, because he does things I would never advise any player who wants to be top-level to do, in terms of routine or otherwise. But if you disturb that ‘I just want to have fun’ side – as soon as we try to put him in an even more professional framework – he loses the thread of what he needs to be on the server. That’s why I always say he’s an anomaly. People ask me: ‘What do I need to do to be ZywOo?’ Don’t even look for it; he’s an anomaly. By definition, if you copy him, you’ll fail.

With two trophies under their belt, Vitality and ZywOo don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon, and if the Frenchmen win their third Major in a row in Cologne in June, it will be hard to see anyone else climbing above the 25-year-old Vitality player.