Vitality have been the team to beat since adding Robin "ropz" Kool to their ranks in January 2025. The international squad filled their cabinet with 14 trophies, including two Major titles in Austin and Budapest, and took home two Intel Grand Slams.
Vitality announcing that Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut and Dan "apEX" Madesclaire have extended their contracts through 2028 therefore comes as no surprise, but things in esports can change quickly.
A lacklustre end to the season by their lofty standards and a loss in the online portion of BLAST Bounty already began discussions on whether Vitality can continue to be as good as they have been, with the incoming temporary addition of Justinas "jL" Lekavicius adding further disruption to a previously indomitable entity. Despite that, both ZywOo and apEX told HLTV that they never considered a different option.
"I think it was the most logical thing. I didn't even think about it, in my brain I was just, 'We're going to re-sign with Vitality.' I think it was just the most obvious re-signs ever," ZywOo said about his reasons to sign on the dotted line.
"I didn't see myself stopping at the end of the year," added apEX, "so with the team we have and the level I'm still showing, both as the IGL and as just an individual, I just feel like I'm still there.
"For me that was just a normal thing to re-sign together with Vitality because of my love of the club and the trust we have with each other, and also with the amazing team we have right now. I don't see it stopping soon enough, so for me that was just the right step to do for my future and the end of my career."
The duo has been part of Vitality for almost eight years, beginning their road in the organization's French roster before the current international juggernaut was slowly assembled. During that time, the team experienced countless triumphs and heartbreaks, but ZywOo says that his relationship with the French IGL hasn't changed much.
"In the game, sometimes we are fighting, sometimes we are laughing, sometimes he's doing crazy things, and we know that. It's pretty much always been the same relation, in terms of craziness, in terms of happiness, in terms of joy of the game, all through these years," he shares.
When asked the same question, apEX revealed that he never discussed the extension with his star sniper. "That's pretty funny, because we haven't talked about it, but we knew that we would do it without a doubt, that we would not leave this team," he told HLTV. "We are just too comfortable playing together and with this lineup overall."
The conversation then transitioned to the longevity of a CS professional. With Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo recently announcing his impending retirement and speculation surrounding several other long-standing players, apEX revealed that the thought of hanging up his mouse never crossed his mind.
"I didn't know that I would last that long. I thought that around my 30s, I would be done. But now with playing more and just giving my best on a daily basis, I just feel like it's just been normal for me to sign again," the 33-year-old shared.
"I haven't thought about stopping Counter-Strike and retiring. It might happen, it might be my last contract now, because I will be almost 36 when it is done. But now I can see myself with two more years and a half, and that's fun."
The question of longevity and legacy has long been on apEX's mind. In an HLTV Interview in April 2025, he said that "being considered one of the best is something he really wants."
Now, after Vitality's all-conquering run, the French captain finally feels like he belongs in the conversation of the greats. "I'm just trying to do my work, I'm trying to win, and trying to do my best on a daily basis, and people can just judge. They can say karrigan is the best, they can say gla1ve was the best. I have no problem with that, they can have their own arguments. But I think I need to be in the talk."
For 25-year-old ZywOo, the question is a much different one. Despite his young age, he is already being considered as one of the best players of all time, having spent his entire tier-one career on Vitality. He therefore has a chance to become a "one-club man" for the French organization.
"That's not something I was thinking about when I joined CS, being a one-club man," ZywOo begins. "But when you think more about it, about what I can achieve with only one club and not moving, it means something at the end. When you're at the end of your career and you think, 'I did only one club,' it would be such a pleasant feeling.
"But for now I have no time to think about only this, we have so many tournaments."
At the time of the interviews, the Fall season had just begun with the online BLAST Bounty, and Vitality suffered a surprise defeat to Liquid in the first round. "It's important to have some good games early and just see where you are at the start of a new season," ZywOo admits. "It's not like we're not worried at all about this loss, but we have more time to practice and see what's best for us. We're going to progress in a good way to be at our best again.
"Of course we have more difficulty in the game, we are struggling a bit more, and I think it makes sense after a year and a half of really good team play. We couldn't lose for months and months in a way.
"Now we are struggling a little bit more, but we're going to find the solution for it. We are not worried about coming back to the highest level because we know we are not that far."
apEX, too, tells HLTV he isn't concerned about the team's recent run of form, considering they hit four out of their five goals during their time together.
"What this team has done is fantastic overall, it will be in history without a doubt," he begins. "If you look back at the last 18 months, we had five goals. The first Grand Slam, Austin, Budapest, and the second Grand Slam straight in Rio, and we did it [all]. The fifth one was to win Cologne, and we didn't make it.
"It means that we are just humans, and humans can make mistakes and do things wrong. If you look back at our run in Cologne, I think the biggest problem was probably that we lacked envy in a way."
The team's focus now switches to EWC, with the event not only important due to the financial incentives, but also because it is held in Vitality's home nation. ZywOo and company have a good track record in the French capital, having won a Major there in 2023, and Vitality's superstar shares that the event will feel special.
"It's really a crucial moment for us because we want to play well in front of the French fans, and it's also really important for Vitality. We don't have extra pressure, but we know it's really going to be important to see our family, our friends, and all the fans in Paris," ZywOo says.
When the discussion turned to what the pair hoped to accomplish over the course of their new Vitality contracts, both gave the same answer — trophies.
"It always helped me in my career to prove people wrong, because when we had the announcement that I was becoming the IGL back in 2020, people were laughing in a way that it would never work, that I was a brainless or braindead IGL," apEX began to reflect on his Vitality tenure so far.
"I don't think I have anything to prove anymore. My goal is to win. Win Majors, win titles, win whatever, just win everything I can until I'm done, because I don't want to waste my time. I just want to do the best I can on a daily basis, and that's what helps me every day.
If my career ends today, with the trophies that I have, I will be proud of myself."
"I think winning more tournaments is going to be the main goal," ZywOo adds. "Individually, I don't really see much in terms of what I want… I just want to win trophies. I don't want to put more pressure on myself, I'm already happy with what I have. So if I get one, two, three, four, five more MVPs or more trophies, I'll still be happy with that."
The two Vitality stalwarts are at very different stages of their careers. apEX already touched on his pre-retirement wishlist a few years ago, but with nearly every possible achievement in Counter-Strike now checked off, when will the French captain decide to call it a day?
"The problem is, you never know," he says with a smile. "I think if I stop, it will be for a few reasons. The first one is because my team doesn't trust me anymore. If they don't trust me, they think that I'm washed, then sure.
"The second one is just that I'm tired of playing," apEX continues, "and the third one, which should be the first one, is family. Much in my life has changed as well, as I'm going to become a dad in a few months, so it's also about the needs of the family. I had to think about myself for 20 years, and now I have to think about other people in my life.
"For example, imagine that at the end of 2028, I'm still performing well, and maybe want to continue. Vitality offered me a new contract for one more year, and that's a conversation I would have. Maybe my future kid and my partner would say, 'Yeah, we really want you home, we need you here,' and I might stop, or they would say, 'Yeah, keep playing at the best [level] you can and enjoy one more year.' I don't know, but life will choose for me."
Mathieu 'ZywOo' HerbautPast 3 months
Justinas 'jL' LekaviciusPast 3 months
Gabriel 'FalleN' ToledoPast 3 months
Robin 'ropz' KoolPast 3 months
Liquid
Keith 'NAF' Markovic
Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski
Mario 'malbsMd' Samayoa
Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou
Georgi 'Jorko' Mitev
Viktor 'flashie' Tamás Bea
Dan 'apEX' MadesclairePast 3 months
Vitality
Dan 'apEX' Madesclaire
Robin 'ropz' Kool
Mathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut
Shahar 'flameZ' Shushan
William 'mezii' Merriman
Rémy 'XTQZZZ' Quoniam