ZywOo credits Cache love for 2.03 ESL Pro League rating

Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut earned his 34th career MVP award after Vitality defeated MOUZ in the ESL Pro League Season 24 final at Spodek Arena in Katowice, Poland.

The victory gave Vitality its second consecutive trophy after a slow start to the Fall season. It also ended the team’s six-year run of quarterfinal exits at the Spodek Arena.

ZywOo recorded a 2.03 rating across three Cache maps during the tournament. He described the map as one of his favorites since 2017 and linked his performance to his familiarity with its positions and strategies.

“I always like this map,” ZywOo said after the final. “Even back in the days in 2017, it was maybe one of my favorite maps. So to play it again and to have this level, I’m really happy.”

He played as Vitality’s A-site player on Cache, a role that allowed him to rely on his knowledge of the map when choosing when to peek, swing or support teammates.

“I know what to peek, I know what to swing, I know how to help my teammates on this map,” he said. “I’m the A player on Cache, it’s kind of weird to say that, but no, I love this map too much.”

ZywOo also connected his playoff form to the performances of ropz and flameZ. He described Vitality’s communication and individual play as factors behind the team’s results, noting that three players finished the playoffs with ratings above 1.25 or 1.30.

“When everyone is in sync, whenever we are doing anything, when the communication is good, good individually, we know what everyone’s going to do on the server,” ZywOo said. “I think that’s why we have like three players above 1.25 or 1.30 rating.”

Vitality will play at PGL Masters Bucharest without captain Dan “apEX” Madesclaire, who will miss the event for the birth of his child. jL is expected to stand in, while William “mezii” Merriman may take over as in-game leader.

ZywOo maintained that apEX’s absence would not change Vitality’s objective in Bucharest. He expects the remaining players to communicate more and assume greater responsibility during matches.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s there or not,” ZywOo said. “We’re going to try to win the tournament. We’re going to try to do our best because we need confidence; we need to build something around that.”

Vitality had opposed the removal of Overpass from the active map pool because it was one of the team’s strongest maps. ZywOo described the current pool as consistent, while identifying Anubis as the map that needs the most improvement.

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