ZywOo: I ‘robbed’ teammates of BLAST Rivals MVP

Vitality defeated Natus Vincere in the BLAST Rivals final in Fort Worth, staging a comeback on Nuke after falling behind 11-0 and closing the match on Dust2. Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut took the tournament MVP but described his own showing as poor and said he “robbed” teammates of the award.

ZywOo recalled the early difficulties on Nuke, describing problems trading kills and timing attacks while NAVI countered their setups on Outside and Secret. He explained the team shifted focus to reclaiming one round at a time, rebuilding communication and individual play until the comeback took hold.

He laughed that he expected Robin “ropz” Kool or Shahar “flameZ” Shushan to win MVP instead. “For once, I’ll say I robbed them,” ZywOo said with a smile, referencing past award exchanges with ropz. He added he did not expect to receive the honor given his own assessment of the event.

Players and staff acknowledged limited practice in the week before the tournament. A recent game patch and a short practice schedule were cited by Vitality members as factors that made the team feel “out of form” and “really tired” despite securing the title.

ZywOo noted the squad had not practiced Anubis for about three weeks and expected that map to be difficult even after the Nuke comeback. He also commented on travel and workload, saying the team planned a short break to rest before their next event in Atlanta to reduce the risk of burnout.

The victory extended Vitality’s playoff map win streak to 27. ZywOo now has four medals in 2026 across five months. Players mentioned some would take brief trips after the event — hiking and short city visits were among the plans — before regrouping in Atlanta for the next tournament.

Captain apEX’s approach that every tournament is treated as an opportunity to win was echoed by ZywOo, who emphasized the squad’s intent to compete at full strength when they return.