apEX: "ropz will have a bigger voice and more plays than what Spinx had" *

The French captain is excited about shaping Vitality's new playstyle with ropz.

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Update 20:20 : The previous headline incorrectly reflected Dan "⁠apEX⁠" Madesclaire's words due to a mistranscription. It has been updated and we regret the error.

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Vitality were one of the many teams to make a high-profile signing over the winter break. The French organization benched wantaway star Lotan "⁠Spinx⁠" Giladi and replaced him with Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool on a free transfer, giving the team a new lease of life coming into 2025.

As the team's IGL, apEX says he is looking forward to putting behind "a difficult year" and focusing on the future with the Estonian on the team, who the Frenchman admits has already impressed him with his impact.

The 31-year-old also spoke about ropz's role in the team, Vitality's adaptation to a more aggressive lurker, and their expectations for 2025.

You can read the entire interview, conducted at the HLTV Awards in Belgrade, below:

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What are your sentiments about how your 2024 season went?

2024 has been a rough year for Vitality, most likely because we didn't have that many trophies, as we won only one. We had three finals overall, but we disappointed a bit in the Majors. 2024 wasn't good for us, it hasn't been enough.

We had some internal problems that were pretty tough to deal with, a bit CS-related but also not CS-related. That wasn't an easy year, one of the worst of my career, even though the results were not that bad because obviously we got to most of the playoffs in the year. Disappointing year overall, and we want to do much better.

Are you able to expand at all on any of those issues?

No. I'm sorry, but I don't want to get anyone in trouble. I have to say that, because it's just the truth, but I cannot go deeper.

In some of the team's interviews towards the end of the year, even flameZ in his Top 20 interview, talked about relationships within the team fracturing. What was that environment like for you?

I don't know the English expression, but in French we say we "walked on eggs," so that was pretty difficult as an IGL, always having to deal with problems between some people who were not happy. Spinx was not happy, he wasn't happy in the team, unfortunately, and he had some issues toward that, so it was pretty hard for us to deal with that.

You always have to compromise; it has been really rough but I tried my best. Even though it was tough, I haven't done enough. It was a difficult year even though I won the trophy I had been chasing for so long.

We know that always makes sense when a team loses that many close games, because we lost so many close games in 2024, more than we have done. When things get hard, you rely on your team, and what you can do for each other.

I actually said it on Instagram that in 2024 we were not a team, we were not fighting for each other. That doesn't help, and that creates all of that. I saw some posts that people put that on me, but I'm not responsible for every relationship between players, it's not something that is easy to deal with.

Having Spinx leave the team in this kind of fashion, how do you feel about the way that things ended with him?

[Spinx] has been part of our success, we won seven tournaments together, he has done so well in most of them. I have to be grateful for what he gave to our team. It's never easy to leave someone that you won so much with, but it's also for his happiness.

As I said, he wasn't happy with the structure of the team and maybe the way I was calling. He is a great player, in the Top 20 for three years in a row, and he will step up in any team he will join, I have no doubt about that. We just arrived to a point where it was rough to play with each other. Not on my side, it was okay, but he wasn't satisfied with what he had, and I can understand that, and also as I said some relations were really rough, so it's a mix of everything.

Coming into 2025 you're turning a new page in that sense, putting those conflicts behind you by adding ropz. How has that been so far?

When you're a player outside of [ropz]'s team, you have no idea who he is. I've played against that guy for seven or eight years, and I didn't know him at all, personally or what he brings to the team. Of course, you listen to some voice comms from karrigan's Youtube or whatever, but that's not enough to understand who he is.

I understood pretty fast, to be honest, I just needed two or three days to understand how much experience this guy has and how much dedication he has as well. Probably the best work ethic from any player I've played with. He has some of the best experience in the game, unmatchable in a way, because he knows what it is to perform at the highest-pressure moments, he knows what is needed for a team to win.

My main goal is to put him in the best conditions, because we all know if ropz shines, he might win the game by himself, even though I have another guy even better than him. But it's important that he gels straight away with the team.

We had a lot of talks together before he joined in because he wanted to also know and understand what he wants, the way he wants to play the game, and what he needs to be the best version of himself. My goal this year will be to be able to put him in the best condition and try to adjust everything, because we will also have flameZ that had an incredible 2024, and I know he can even do better. I will have to polish the diamonds I have.

When you say you want to put ropz in the best conditions you can, what does that mean for you and the team?

Well, it means that he will have a bigger voice than what Spinx had, way more plays as well, more different things that he wants to do. My goal is to let him do what he wants, not all the time because it's also my gut feeling; as IGL you need to respect your identity and go for the plays you like and feel in the moment. Just to listen to him in the way he wants to play his lurks and try to adapt your calls with that.

But he's been really flexible, he's used to being alone in a lot of situations, and he knows what he has to do. I don't have to teach him CS, he is a really good player for that. On CT side as well, how can I help him, how can I set him up in the position he plays, or on T side how can I support him, because I've been also supporting the players pretty well with utility. I just ask him what he wants and try to give him some plays as well that I think could be good, and we try to do both.

I want him to be in the center of our game as well, both ways because he likes aggressive plays but he also likes to lurk and he likes to play late rounds. Also, the fact when you have such an aggressive lurker it helps the others to get some space. Changing a bit in that regard, because we didn't get used to having someone that aggressive because Spinx was a bit less aggressive on the T side.

ropz had a fantastic start to CS2 but had individual struggles up until the summer tournament break, and then eeryone saw how well he played at the Shanghai Major. How do you feel he is performing individually in the team so far?

Actually, he impressed me a lot already. We all watch ropz in our moments, and we know how his mechanics are, the way he peeks, really robotic, never unusual, just the best on every peek. I think he has been playing really well, but I never wanted to take too much consideration in practice, because practice is so different.

I think changing our environment from what he had in FaZe... from what he told me for six months they didn't beat a top five team, so it's not only on himself, but when you're a lurk you rely on your team as well. So I sometimes think that their team struggled overall, not only himself. Only players like m0nesy, donk, or ZywOo can perform when the team isn't performing, like for example ZywOo getting Top 2 in 2022 when we were the top nine team in the world, which was crazy.

I think [ropz] has been playing great, and of course his Shanghai Major was incredible, he actually fucked us during this (laughs). I know with changing the environment, having other players around him, playing with ZywOo as well, he really enjoys it. He has a different responsibility than in FaZe; in FaZe he was probably the best player there, now he's the second star role and flameZ can match him, so he will feel maybe a bit less pressure and will be able to perform even better.

ropz joins after playing with karrigan for three years; what kind of experience does he bring from that kind of dynamic? Has it influenced your calling at all so far?

Not really. Even though he told me those things, I think it's really tough for me to call those things if you don't feel them. We all play different CS in a way; it can be a bit similar when you watch, but we all have different ideas at different moments. It's more what he likes to do, the plays he likes to do, not the team calling. I arrange everything in a way that I want to be done around him.

So it's not more of what he wants a team call, but more his individual move and then I arrange something around that. We didn't have much talk about the way their team played before, but more the way he wants to play and the way he played before. It's a bit different.

Do you feel like you've resolved those earlier relationship issues and the environment in the team?

Yeah. I don't like to find excuses, but I think we have a bit of an excuse on that one, I won't lie. It was really rough to play in that moment for everyone, not for me, but for the core of us and also for Spinx. It hasn't been easy, of course, it affects the results as well.

But it's a bit of what I told my teammates when we started the bootcamp: yeah, maybe we have small excuses for 2024, but now we don't have excuses anymore. We have a real team, everyone can shine and help each other, so now it's all about showing up in the right moments and being the best team we can be. I'm pretty sure that if everyone gives their best for the next few months, it's going to be a great year for Vitality.

So you would say you've solved those problems then?

Yes, we've done it. All the issues that we had are solved and now we are into a new year, new everything. It's all about us now, nothing else. We're ready to perform and be the best Vitality version ever. It's not going to be easy to match 2023, but we're going to try.

In an interview last year you said you wanted to win Cologne and one more Major. You've won Cologne, do you still want to win just one more Major, or are you still adjusting those goals?

Of course, you always adjust goals when you reach them. My goal right now is to win Katowice and a Major again. I think I have around 23 or 24 trophies overall, and I want to end my career with 30 and I will be grateful. I still have a long path to do, but with the lineup we all know it's possible.

It's always important to set new goals for your career even though you've reached them, so why not a double Cologne as well? It's not because I have one Cologne I won't want to win another one. A Major and Katowice, and I think if I get that it will be a second Major as an IGL and a Katowice, so I'll have won everything. I want to add one thing; [ropz] has never won a BLAST tournament, so we need to win a BLAST as well.