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Team Vitality have today announced the arrival of Jacob ‘Pimp’ Winneche, Counter-Strike (CS) analyst and former pro player, as an official ambassador for the club.
Alongside Pimp, casting duo Thomas ‘Laink’ Iturralde and Damien ‘Terracid’ Laguionie will also become part of the organisation for IEM Katowice 2025.
The pair will co-cast all Team Vitality matches on their Twitch channel, WankilStudio, offering French fans exclusive insights and coverage throughout the tournament.
The announcement comes as the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Katowice tournament play-ins kick off today. Early results include GamerLegion securing their first IEM Katowice 2025 win with UK coach ash, as women’s team Imperial fe took a loss against Furia.
Pimp joins Vitality as an ambassador
Vitality, who have UK CS player mezii in their CS roster, say that Pimp has become a key personality in the CS2 space: ‘His strategic expertise will strengthen the club’s international profile while inspiring the next generation of players and fans alike.
‘With an following of over 500,000 on Twitch and 332,000 on TikTok, Pimp is a key figure who will amplify Team Vitality’s presence on the world stage.’
As an ambassador, Pimp will have three main responsibilities:
- Increasing Team Vitality’s international visibility
- Creating exclusive content for social media and the club’s partners
- Providing strategic insights and expert commentary during tournaments
“I’m extremely excited to join the Team Vitality family as a Brand Ambassador. I keep esports, sports and health close to my heart, and I’ll fight for them for years to come. Doing so under the Team Vitality umbrella is a perfect fit for me,” said Jacob ‘Pimp’ Winneche.
Pimp’s appointment comes a day after another separate esports ambassador announcement was made: Ryan Hart was named a Virtua Fighter ambassador.
Laink and Terracid to co-cast IEM Katowice 2025 with Vitality
Alongside Pimp, Team Vitality have also welcomed the French duo Laink and Terracid to co-cast IEM Katowice 2025.
With over 2.6m subscribers on YouTube and 1.3m followers on Twitch, the pair are key figures in the French gaming scene. Their offbeat humour and unique style have attracted a large community in France.
For the IEM tournament, Laink and Terracid will co-cast Team Vitality matches on their Twitch channel, WankilStudio. With this being their first collaboration with an esports club, they aim to make CS2 more accessible to French fans through their fresh approach to co-casting.
“We first met on Counter-Strike: Source, and we’ve been playing together for over 20 years – it’s by far the game we’ve played the most throughout our careers. For years we’ve dreamed of commentating on professional matches, and it’s an honour to finally achieve this dream with an organisation as prestigious as Team Vitality,” said Damien ‘Terracid’ Laguionie.
“I’ve been closely following Team Vitality’s CS matches for several years, and now I hope to spread the word about the club to as many people as possible” added Thomas ‘Laink’ Iturralde.
Related article: Interview: Vitality’s new CS2 team manager Aphiren on falling in love with player management
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
