Team Vitality re-established themselves as the dominant force in Counter-Strike with a 3-0 domination of MOUZ in the ESL Pro League Season 24 Grand Finals.
The victory saw Robin ‘ropz’ Kool collect the ESL Pro League trophy for a record sixth time, as Vitality won the competition for a record fourth time.
ropz among Vitality record-breakers at ESL Pro League
The victory saw ropz claim his sixth Pro League title, with titles extending from 2020’s ESL Pro League Season 10 in Odense to now ESL Pro League Season 24 in Katowice.
The victory would have extended his lead as the player with the most titles if not for Vitality IGL Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire, who moved to five victories, combining his G2 and Vitality stints.
Players with the most ESL Pro League titles:
- ropz: 6
- apEX: 5
- ZywOo: 4
- Dupreeh: 4
- Magisk: 4
- b1t: 3
- JW: 3
- KRIMZ: 3
- FLUSHA: 3
- Karrigan: 3
- device: 3
- gla1ve: 3
Team Vitality’s title also made them the most successful team in ESL Pro League, breaking a five-way tie for most titles between several notable organizations who were all sitting at three titles won. MOUZ would have also broken the record with a victory on Sunday, but they were no match for an imperious Vitality.
Organizations with the most ESL Pro League titles:
- Vitality: 4
- MOUZ: 3
- Fnatic: 3
- Astralis: 3
- NAVI: 3
- Team Liquid: 2
- FaZe Clan: 2
Vitality make statement ahead of apEX absence
Team Vitality are now preparing for a period without Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire, who will miss PGL Masters Bucharest as he welcomes his first child into the world.
The Frenchman has been emblematic of Vitality’s ambition to win title after title, displaying a hunger that is still not abating despite collecting his 43rd trophy at ESL Pro League in Katowice.
After a faltering start to the season, and the absence of William ‘mezzi’ Merriman at BLAST Open Porto, Vitality have firmly established themselves as the team to beat at Pro League in a display that was so evocative of their dominance from 2025 to before the IEM Cologne 2026 Major.
For MOUZ, the Grand Final itself must have been a terrible form of déjà vu, as the much-changed roster after the additions of Oldřich ‘PR’ Nový and Adrian ‘xelex’ Vincze fell to the same fate as the old roster had fallen to so many times.
Vitality knew exactly what MOUZ were doing, and exactly how to counter it as Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut demolished the roster again and again on his way to yet another MVP title.
Vitality’s dominance not only in the final but the full event was underlined by the fact that the Vitality trio of ZywOo, ropz, and Shahar ‘flameZ’ Shushan were the highest-rated players at the event.
In a time when Spirit were threatening to ramp into an era of their own, Vitality showed that there is still a long way to go for Danil ‘donk’ Kryshkovets’ team to reach the Counter-Strike perfection that Vitality can still produce.
Will Vitality win the PGL Singapore Major? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that Deadlock is skyrocketing on Steam, and don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter
Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
More from Darragh Harbinson
Comments