The Counter-Strike GOAT debate may never end, but French prodigy Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut has reasserted his case, passing a record held by the one and only Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev. However, it could very well be CS2’s fastest rising star that eventually claims the record for himself.
ZywOo Sets Counter-Strike Record for Most Tournament MVP Trophies
At ESL Pro League Season 21, Vitality added their second trophy of the year to their case, after claiming IEM Katowice just a month prior. ZywOo was named MVP of both tournaments by HLTV, bringing his MVP career total to 22, passing s1mple’s record of 2021.
To put in perspective how dominant s1mple was in his prime, his most recent MVP award was from IEM Cologne 2022. He hasn’t won an MVP award in more than two years, while ZywOo has won a staggering nine since the start of 2023, and only now has the French superstar finally passed s1mple. S1mple still owns the record for most MVP awards won in a single year, after winning eight in 2021, the same year where he finally won the Major. Both s1mple and ZywOo are also tied with just a single Major win, but ZywOo is in the better position to win a second considering how dominant Vitality is looking to start 2025.
“I’m one ahead of s1mple,” ZywOo told HLTV after winning ESL Pro League Season 21. “I will just keep going, keep grinding, and I will never stop just because I am one in front. I will just show I can go 25, 30 MVPs.”
Right now s1mple’s career is at a crossroads. The 27-year-old is still officially on the NAVI bench, and hasn’t played in a professional match since November during his loan to Falcons. Either ZywOo will set a standard so high that no one will catch it, or a new contender for GOAT status will emerge. The player many are watching out for is Danil “donk” Kryshkovets, the rising star of Team Spirit, after a 2024 rookie campaign that saw him win a record-breaking Major and five MVP awards. Still, even if he maintains the pace he set last year, it will take him years to catch up to ZywOo’s record, and that’s assuming the French star stops winning. And given that he’s still only 24, I wouldn’t bet on it.
Will any player ever catch ZywOo’s MVP numbers? Is he the GOAT of Counter-Strike? Let us know in the comments or on the Insider Gaming forum.
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