ZywOo earns 20th HLTV MVP at IEM Cologne

Vitality's superstar stepped up in the LANXESS with a 1.34 rating in playoffs and overtakes device on the all-time list of HLTV MVPs.

Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut has earned his 20th HLTV x 1XBET Most Valuable Player (MVP) award after starring in Vitality's intense run to the IEM Cologne trophy.

The Frenchman has now overtaken Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz on the all-time list, and is just one behind his great rival Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev who has 21 career MVP medals.

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Find all HLTV MVP winners on our dedicated MVP page.

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It is also his second LAN Cologne MVP after winning it in his rookie year at ESL One Cologne 2019, where Vitality lost to Liquid (and online for Cologne 2020 Europe during the pandemic.) This time, he leaves with both the medal and the trophy.

HLTV all-time MVP winners (CS:GO and CS2)

Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev: 21 (5 online)
Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut: 20 (6)
Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz: 19 (3)
Christopher "⁠GeT_RiGhT⁠" Alesund: 10
Kenny "⁠kennyS⁠" Schrub: 10

The MVP also puts ZywOo straight back into the race for a historic fourth HLTV player of the year title against upstarts Danil "⁠donk⁠" Kryshkovets and Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov, given Cologne's status as one of the most prestigious events in the calendar.

"I will work harder every day to get back on my level," ZywOo said to James "⁠BanKs⁠" Banks on stage after winning the trophy in a trademark display of his modesty. "It was a hard tournament for me, my teammates helped me a lot."

While few players would say that after a 1.31 rating at an event, ZywOo was right to credit his teammates. He hit some sky-high peaks before the final, with 1.76, 1.96, 1.86, and 1.77 map ratings before the final, but was less consistent than Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan in groups and had a tough series against FaZe.

Even after the fantastic final, ZywOo ended on the exact same kills per round win (1.03) and average damage per round win (103.4) as flameZ over the event.

Ultimately ZywOo's step-up in the playoffs (1.34 rating, with flameZ on 1.17) was what counted against his teammate and Mihai "⁠iM⁠" Ivan and Valeriy "⁠b1t⁠" Vakhovskiy from Natus Vincere to secure the MVP.

And, as much as his humility should be admired, the arena is what matters most — and that is where we saw ZywOo maintain his sky-high standards as others faltered, with a 1.29 rating after 117 gruelling rounds against the world No. 1 in an instant classic of a grand final.