Now a three-time HLTV Player of the Year, ZywOo is proving a force to be reckoned with. His Counter-Strike performance sets a high bar for any esports professional, elevating Team Vitality to Team of the Year status. In an exclusive interview with Dot Esports, he shared a snapshot of his world.
On Jan. 13, ZywOo swept the annual HLTV awards in style, taking home the Player of the Year trophy for a third time, winning AWPer of the Year, and swiping Highlight of the Year to boot. His attitude towards these achievements demonstrates why he can stay on top of his game with such skill.
A mere few hours before collecting his trophies, although he’s naturally “really happy” about his award nominations, ZywOo explained, “I feel like at this moment, I can do better.”
“I don’t want to stop now and say, ‘It’s ok, I don’t want to work anymore, I don’t want to think about the game anymore’ just because I’m on top of the world,” ZywOo said to Dot Esports. “I’m already thinking, what should I do next year? What can I do more for myself, individually, and what can I do more for my team?”
His forward-thinking includes a lot of self-reflection. In a moment of honest vulnerability, ZywOo opens up to a rarely-discussed experience within professional esports. “When you start out as a professional, you start to not feel like yourself. That’s one of the hardest moments in your life,” he said. “So, I’m just trying to be myself.”
The shift from CS:GO to CS2 may have helped ZywOo in his mission to maintain a strong personal identity, tapping into his love for keeping games fresh and new. When discussing this transition period, he shared that despite being a Counter-Strike legend, he likes to play a wide variety of games—and it’s why he felt the switchover to CS2 was easy for him. “[The update to CS2] was kind of needed,” he said. “We played 10 to 12 years of CS:GO. Having a new game, new changes—for me, it was not necessary, but it was a good thing to do.”
Switching to CS2 certainly gave players an opportunity for a fresh start. Although some players (most notably s1mple) were very outspoken about disliking the transition, the challenge suited ZywOo. When CS2 was played at IEM Sydney, he clarified that, despite a surprisingly low placement from Vitality, the roster was “having fun” exploring the new game.
ZywOo’s respect and admiration for his teammates is crystal clear and a running theme throughout his interview. “My team helped me a lot to get to the point where I can win Player of the Year,” he said. “It is a team game, so obviously, I need them. If I didn’t have this team, maybe I could do it, but we will never know. It would definitely be harder for me. I wouldn’t be here without them.”
Vitality’s Counter-Strike roster has changed over the past few months, most recently with the addition of British player William “mezii” Merriman. For ZywOo, the current roster is “so easy to perform,” mainly due to how much fun he and the team have both in and out of the server. “After one week, it already felt like [meziii] had been here for one year.”
But like every Frenchman, ZywOo’s heart truly lies in Paris. When asked what his favorite moment was in 2023, his face lit up. He clearly knew the answer before I’d even finished asking the question—the BLAST Paris Major. “I never thought that there would be a Major in France, and it was also the last ever CS:GO Major. We were expected to bring a lot to the table, and our motivation was just going up and up every day. We managed to create history, to have something great behind us before the game updated.”
Vitality’s victory over GamerLegion is one ZywOo will cherish forever, and not just specifically because he took home the trophy. “Winning was such a special thing, but it was also nice to just play there and see all the fans. I’m still thinking about it. I just want to be back in that arena and play just one more game. One more, and I will be happy.”
ZywOo and Vitality return to the server at IEM Katowice in late January before taking on Europe’s best at the PGL Copenhagen Major RMRs in the hopes the squad can defend their title as major champions.
