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Esports organisation Team Vitality have been crowned champions at the Blast Open Spring 2025 Counter-Strike 2 tournament in Lisbon.
Led by MVP Mathieu “zywOo” Herbaut, the team delivered a top display throughout the tournament, culminating with the defeat of Mouz 3-2 in the Grand Final.
The victory adds to a flawless start to 2025 for Team Vitality, having previously secured titles at Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2025 in February and ESL Pro League Season 21 earlier this month, boasting 16 wins in a row.
The line-up of Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire (France), Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut (France), Robin ‘ropz’ Kool (Estonia), Shahar ‘flameZ’ Shushan (Israel), and William ‘mezii’ Merriman (UK) have gelled well and delivered a series of top performances.
ZywOo won his 23rd MVP title, after his 22nd at the last competition, surpassing Ukrainian legend s1mple.
Then, Team Vitality scored their 16th consecutive victory in 2025. This puts them in good company: Astralis in 2018-2019 (17 wins), Faze at the end of 2023, dominating the start of CS2 (18 wins), and Team Liquid, winner of the prestigious Intel Grand Slam in 2019 (23 wins).
As well as mezii, Vitality also have another Brit on their org: team manager Aphiren.
Having run rings around their opposition in the Group Stages, progressing to the playoffs without dropping a map, Team Vitality were the team to beat from the outset.
Then, in the semi-finals, Vitality beat Team Spirit in another tight 2-1 series.
Facing Mouz in the Grand Final, Team Vitality delivered a dominant start with a flawless 13-0 victory on the opening map, Inferno, stunning their German opponents. Mouz responded with resilience, clinching a hard-fought 13-11 win on Mirage before narrowly taking Dust II with the same scoreline. With the series hanging in the balance, The Bees showcased their determination on map four (Nuke), securing a decisive 13-7 victory to level the series at 2-2, setting the stage for a thrilling final showdown. The decider saw a nail-biting finish, with Team Vitality emerging victorious and Blast Open Spring 2025 champions winning 13-7 on Train.
Fabien “Neo” Devide, Chairman and Co-founder of Team Vitality, said:
“Congratulations to this exceptional team that continues its rise to new heights. Since the arrival of ropz, we have crossed a crucial threshold, and the team has grown even stronger.”
Fabien “Neo” Devide, Team Vitality
“Today, our focus is firmly set on Melbourne and the Austin Major. These two international competitions will be key milestones in our pursuit of establishing ourselves as the leading force in the global Counter-Strike scene. The first would grant us the opportunity to secure the Grand Slam, a prestigious achievement, while the second represents the chance to add another Major to our trophy cabinet, solidifying our dominance in the scene.
“Our ambition is clear: to keep pushing our limits and prove to the world that Team Vitality is the best team in CS.”
The Bees will now have the opportunity to write a new page in their legend in April, at IEM Melbourne, where they will be aiming for the coveted ESL Grand Slam Season 5.
Related article from last month: Interview with mezii on IEM Katowice 2025 victory
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.
