Vitality dominate EPL S21!

The incredible start of 2025 continues for Vitality as they have now secured their second LAN trophy in three attempts with a 3:0 victory versus MOUZ. In Stockholm's crowdless studio, MOUZ never stood a chance and suffered the wrath of their opponent. Although Vitality were the clear favorites in this match-up, MOUZ' impressive victory versus Spirit gave us all hope that we were in for a real fight. We of little faith.

A slow start for a star?

Surprisingly, the most noticeable feature of Dust2 (the first map) is the fact that ZywOo had a pedestrian performance. Indeed, the superstar could never really get into the game as he ended up with 0.71 rating. One would think such a fact would mean, for sure, a MOUZ victory. This is where the true depth of the roster got the opportunity to shine. FlameZ & mezii led the way with 1.40 and 1.34 rating, insuring a 9:3 lead for Vitality after the first half. Let it be said that much of the difference was made by apEX's tactical leadership throughout their offense. MOUZ never put up a proper defense on the B bombsite and Vitality found every way possible to capitalize on it. 1-0 start, next, Nuke.

Utter dominance on Nuke & Inferno

If you were hoping for a tense Grand Final, we understand your disappointment. Vitality's defense on Nuke stabilised a fair few close situations. They pounced on MOUZ's inability to close favorable situations. At this level, you simply cannot get away with it. ZywOo woke up from his first map nap and took control. With the help of ropz, the pair put up 28 kills in the first half, pushing their squad to a 9:3 lead once again. As the teams switched sides, the eye-test read a crude reality, the wind was out of MOUZ' sails. The rest of the game was a formality on Nuke. As Inferno kicked off, you could feel the incredible amount of confidence Vitality exulted. Individual moves, fancy risks being taken, ZywOo crossing smokes banana to find opening kills, the pain was real for MOUZ. As a testimony comes xertioN's ct side who virtually could not play most of the crucial first rounds on account of getting caught off guard multiple times. A third consecutive 9:3 scoreline at the half break put a tremendous amount of pressure on the challengers to step up in the second half. A pistol won and a converted force from MOUZ gave the audience a second of doubt. Yet, as Vitality stole away the third round of their defense, with 5-7's and mp9, we knew the game was over. Vitality comfortably strolled towards the championship and close the deal 3:0.

A new record for ZywOo

As individual accolades mesh with team success, ZywOo's HLTV MVP made him the only player to ever accumulate 22 awards. "The Game" tied with s1mple's 21 notches after Vitality's victory in Katowice. It only took him one more event to create his own category and continue to put his name in the legends of Counter-Strike. Considering the amount of momentum and individual power in his team, one would not be surprised if that number kept going up in 2025. Stay tuned.

One tournament away from the Grand Slam

The Intel Grand Slam is one of the most coveted success a team can claim in Counter-Strike. Built upon the ESL Pro Tour, a team needs to win 4 EPT trophies, out of 10 attempts. Plus, Katowice or Cologne have to be part of that list. Vitality, with this championship in Stockholm, have now 3 trophies under their belt; Cologne 2024, Katowice 2025 and EPL S21. One more trophy would net them the 1'000'000 USD and the glory. After Astralis, Liquid and Natus Vincere, could Vitality be the next winners? Green lights all around.

_{(Picture courtesy of HLTV.org)}