Team Vitality's Counter-Strike 2 team capped off an exceptional 2025 at the prestigious HLTV Awards ceremony, held tonight in Serbia. Considered the best roster in the world, the club was widely recognized, winning several major awards, including two of the most coveted titles of the evening: Team of the Year and Player of the Year, awarded to Frenchman Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut.
2025 will forever remain Team Vitality's year. The organization dominated the competitive circuit and left a lasting mark on Counter-Strike history with a series of unprecedented performances: 30 consecutive victories, nine international titles, two consecutive Major victories, the BLAST.tv Austin Major in June and the StarLadder Budapest Major in December, as well as the conquest of the highly coveted Grand Slam.
THE ENTIRE ROSTER WELCOMED BY THE COUNTER-STRIKE COMMUNITY
The ceremony celebrated not only Team Vitality's collective success, but also the remarkable individual excellence of its players and staff. The club overwhelmingly dominated the awards presented by the panel, with numerous accolades recognizing the impact of its talent on the game and the CS2 scene as a whole.
Panel awards:
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Closer of the year: Robin "ropz" Kool
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Anchor of the Year: William “mezii” Merriman
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IGL of the Year: Dan “apEX” Madesclaire
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AWPer of the year: Mathieu "zywOo" Herbaut
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Coach of the year: Rémy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam
HLTV Awards:
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Team of the Year: Team Vitality
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Player of the Year: Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut
Building on the momentum of a historic season, the organization is now looking ahead to 2026 with renewed ambition and an unchanged roster.
“ 2025 belongs to Vitality, and Vitality belongs to Counter-Strike. For us, it’s not just a game; it’s a love story that began almost eight years ago with an all-French team and a simple dream: to become a benchmark. Today, we are proud to be among the best teams in Counter-Strike history, within an organization that has become a world leader. None of this would exist without Counter-Strike.”
What makes our project strong is a shared vision, from top management to the players, driven by one obsession: to be the best, and to remain so. Not for a moment, but for years.
"We are here for the long term. Everything we have built has been done with respect, for the game and for our community, " said Fabien "Neo" Devide, President and co-founder of Team Vitality.
ZYWOO RETURNS TO HIS THRONE
With this latest award, ZywOo boasts one of the most impressive track records in Counter-Strike history: three Major victories with Team Vitality, three Major MVP titles, a fourth-place world ranking in the HLTV rankings (2019, 2020, 2023, and 2025), and 28 MVP awards in total. Since turning professional, his lowest world ranking has never been higher than third place (in 2024).
ZywOo's win at the HLTV Awards is the culmination of an exceptional year marked by major accolades. In 2025, Team Vitality was named Esports Team of the Year, while ZywOo received the titles of Esports PC Player of the Year and Breakthrough Player of the Decade at the 2025 Esports Awards. The club also won Best Esports Team at The Game Awards, confirming its status among the most successful and influential esports organizations in the world.