Vitality claim their sixth trophy in Dallas!

Vitality keep on defying all odds and furthering their incredible streak in 2025, adding another trophy to their cabinet. In Dallas, the current best team in the world defeated MOUZ in the Grand Final in a comfortable 3:0 to claim their sixth championship. Needless to say, ZywOo took the opportunity to grab another HLTV MVP medal for a total of 26. Let's look back at this madness.

Only 1 map lost in group stage

The ogres of Counter-Strike started their journey comfortably. All things considered, their top seed allowed them a fairly easy run in the group stage, as they needed to defeat Legacy (13:5 & 13:11) and Gamerlegion (13:9 & 13:10) to ensure their right to play in the arena. Their final game, deciding whether the semis or the quarterfinals would await, saw The MongolZ actually test them. A rare misstep on Nuke, their map pick, resulted in their first map loss in Dallas. Uncaracteristic of Vitality, their offensive side suffered from a lack of intuition and decisiveness, in which they were only able to score 4 rounds. The MongolZ pounced on that opportunity and closed it, forcing Mirage. All rounds of regulations were necessary for Vitality to close it 13:11 and guarantee their top 4.

The general consensus out of the first few games was that we weren't witnessing the best out of Vitality. Strangely, apEX put up sensational numbers. It masked the fact that the superstar ZywOo displayed lukewarm performances until the game against The MongolZ. In interviews, players talked about fatigue, needing to tap into their mental resilience and trying their best in spite of the visible struggles. Their winning streak looked poised to end.

Falcons, the real test

The best match of the playoffs was the semifinal between Vitality and Falcons. Dust2, Train and Inferno gave us some real CS highlights to enjoy. It started with Vitality surprisingly outclassing Falcons on Dust2. Everybody knows ZywOo and his teammates are experts on the map but Falcons are supposed to be elite as well. After a competitive 7-5 first half in favor of Vitality, they fully took control of the game as they switched to the offense. Notably, they enjoyed the unexpected absence of impact from m0NESY. The young sniper, supposedly terrifying on Dust2 with the AWP, was not able to assert any kind of pressure on Vitality.

This story took a whole different turn on Train. Same player, different outcome this time. The vengeance of m0NESY was swift and brutal. He put up a total of 17 kills, in the first half only, mind you. Helped by Magisk's reliable B defenses, m0NESY had the right reads, timings and decisions throughout the map. He even blessed us with a whimsical creative dancing clutch against mezii, showcasing his unreal intuition. Vitality were put in their place and had to take the loss 13:6.

Inferno was all about strong starts on both halfs for Vitality. Respectively, 6-0 on the CT side and 4-0 on the T side. Even if Falcons put up admirable efforts to claw their way back on both occasions, this gave the perfect platform for the best team in the world to quickly reach a 12:8 scoreline. Yet, the resistance started once again. Falcons refused to lose and so did Magisk, who saved his team in a fantastic 1 vs 3 clutch at 12:10 scoreline (see video below!). It took Vitality a well executed A split, carried by ZywOo's multi kill, to cross the finish line.

MOUZ, the illusion of a Grand Final

The fans of MOUZ will have nightmares about Dust2 for quite a while, by far the most competitive map of the series. MOUZ were even gifted an improbable 1 vs 5 - courtesy of Jimpphat - at 8:6 scoreline in favor of Vitality, which completely transformed the game. Up until that moment, Vitality had been in control, firstly carried by a gala-level ropz incredibly sharp in this flanks. As the Finnish rifler closed his incredible round, the cameras caught apEX positively fuming and visibly angry at his teammates. The downfall started. MOUZ went on a 6-round streak, to take the lead and establish an 11-8 scoreline. Poised to grab the first map, they went up against a notable obstacle, ZywOo. Two rounds in a row (#20 & #21), the best player in the world put them to sleep. Once, isolated in the car position, A long, finding a key double kill. The other, taking aggressive fights peering down middle. This ignated life in the Vitality camp once again. When 13:11 rang, we all knew, the Grand Final might have been decided then and there.

Mirage started as a highlight reel from ZywOo, unfortunately for MOUZ. 15 kills for 3 deaths was the ridiculous statline that he boasted after the first half. It started mainly with rifle plays, notably with a stupidly quick ace in which he destroyed his opponents.

All you can do is appreciate that kind of level. The entire first half carried the seal of ZywOo. He later on switched to the AWP, clutched, closed rounds and more. 10:2 was the scoreline as the teams switched and even though MOUZ put up a valiant effort in defense, there was not nearly enough space for a comeback. Onto Inferno we went! 

There we must admit that the spectacle was not of the highest quality. Vitality bulldozed MOUZ's B site a few different ways and took all the opportunities that were given to them. With 7:5 scoreline at half time and Vitality moving in to their defensive positions, on a map they dominate fantastically, MOUZ did not have the wiggle room necessary to mount a comeback. It was a team effort, truly, as every player put up between 10 and 17 frags to close the map. No weakness to be found across the defense. Vitality logically triumphed and furthered their incredible winning streak. They will now rock up in Austin, for the next Major, with the biggest pressure one has ever seen in Counter-Strike. Stay tuned for our preview.

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