Vitality return to winning ways; Falcons fail again

Darragh Harbinson, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 13/10/2025

Vitality returned to winning ways at ESL Pro League Season 22, defeating Falcons 3-0 in a Grand Final that never really looked competitive.

The trophy is the roster’s first of the season after a series of semi-final and grand final defeats, which saw them separated from their usual 2025 position at the top of CS.

The roster won seven events in a row in the first season of the year, amassing a record 30 victories in a row during that time.

Vitality return to winning ways; Falcons suffer a lack of tactical depth

Despite the roster’s strength being evident in the second half of the year, they had failed to get a tournament win over the line.

The roster had suffered several semi-final exits and notably lost to G2 at BLAST Open London after needing only one round to win the tournament on map 4 of Inferno.

Vitality looked fully in control this Sunday, however, as they dispatched Falcons 13-10, 13-9, 13-5 on Inferno, Train, and Dust 2.

In truth, only Inferno threatened to spill over into a contest, with Falcons securing a six-T-side half.

The total was not enough, however, with Vitality answering back with an adroitly called half from Vitality’s IGL, Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire, which pulled Falcons apart.

After Inferno, the contest devolved into a no-contest as Falcons crumbled on their own map-pick of Train before a tepid showing on Dust 2.

The Falcons roster, built with firepower to blow away the opposition, looked powerless on their T-sides, securing only seven T-side rounds in the final two maps.

Their approach looked one-dimensional, with Vitality’s defending pieces consistently in the right places to prevent clean executes.

On the other side, Vitality continued to dismantle the opposition with Dust 2 especially being brutal. A 10-2 half on T-side sent Vitality on their way to victory.

Falcons suffered from over-eager pieces, such as young gun Maksim ‘kyousuke’ Lukin, who frequently tried to do too much and found himself out of position.

With Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač playing out of position to accommodate yet another star in the roster, Falcons fans will be wondering whether the change was truly worth the sacrifice.

kyousuke may still be learning the fundamentals of Tier 1 Counter-Strike, but those excuses cannot extend to the Falcons’ leadership, who knew what roster changes meant to the team’s structure.

Amongst them, coach Danny ‘zonic’ Sørensen. The five-time Major-winning coach will have to get the team looking coherent sooner rather than later to alleviate the pressure on his tactically shallow team.

Vitality rewarded for consistent strength

Vitality had failed to win an event in the second half of the year, calling into question their ability to sustain a so-called ‘era’ beyond a single season.

However, those paying attention would have seen a roster that was consistently performing at a high level, never failing to make a single semi-final.

Vitality results since the Summer player break:

• IEM Cologne: 3rd/4th
• BLAST Bounty: 3rd/4th
• Esports World Cup: 4th
• BLAST Open London Finals: 2nd
• ESL Pro League Season 22: 1st

Staying at the top is a difficult proposition in Counter-Strike when every demo of an official match is available to the public, and every team is studying your every detail.

That reality made many believe that even what Vitality has already achieved was not possible: A sustained period of dominance.

A return to winning ways is well-timed as Counter-Strike enters the all-important run-in to the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, where growing form and confidence will be key going into the biggest event of the year.

While the second season of the year has seen teams peg Vitality back and a series of chasers getting closer to the French organisation, there is no doubt that they are still capable of asserting themselves at the top again.

Is Vitality’s era back in action?

apEX asserted an aim to win 10 events in the calendar year to equal Astralis’s record.

They currently sit on eight. A victory at IEM Chengdu (Nov 3-9) or BLAST Rivals Hong Kong (Nov 12-16) will put them in a position to do that at the Major.

It can still be a record-breaking (or equalling) second half of the year for apEX’s men.

Darragh Harbinson, Senior Editor

Darragh Harbinson is an esports writer specialising in Counter-Strike. He has written for Esports News UK, Esports Insider, UKCSGO, Dexerto, and Rush B Media.

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