Vitality win BLAST Rivals over Falcons to secure fifth consecutive title

4-5-2025 21:32

The ESL Grand Slam winners go undefeated in yet another event.

Vitality have defeated Falcons in the BLAST Rivals 2025 S1 final with a 3-2 scoreline (Inferno 9-13, Dust2 13-6, Train 13-6, Mirage 14-16, Nuke 13-8) to keep up their reign of terror since adding Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool.

"Another one with five maps as well, I think I'm dying," a relieved Dan "⁠apEX⁠" Madesclaire in a broadcast post-match interview. "We played so well and so badly at the same time.

"Like Mirage CT side, I don't know what the hell happened. We had a good plan and then someone is not following the plan, and we lose one round after another. We were also sleeping on Inferno, but on the other three maps, we played super well."

Streaks were the main storyline of the pre-match talk. Vitality came into the grand final with an unbeaten run that started in February alongside a chance to win their fifth consecutive event, and apEX's troops did just that.

Their win streak has now been extended to an incredible 25 matches in a row, which stands second in the all-time lists just behind Ninjas in Pyjamas' legendary 60-0 streak, while their trophy cabinet is filled even further after the team secured the ESL Grand Slam alongside IEM Melbourne just a week ago.

Falcons ended one Vitality streak, though, as they bested Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut and company on Inferno to stop their run at 16 wins in a row.

The series began on Inferno, a map Vitality beat Falcons 13-2 on in the IEM Melbourne grand final. This time Falcons were much better, however, as Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov's carry performance helped them secure a 6-6 first half despite a couple of mistakes against force-buys that cost them rounds.

They were even better in the second half, as a dominant T side alongside an uncharacteristic ZywOo misplay gave them a 13-9 win and ended Vitality's 16-map win streak on Inferno.

Dust was Falcons's pick, and the Damjan "⁠kyxsan⁠" Stoilkovski-led squad was threatening at the start until Vitality won out a half buy at 3-2. That helped them take a 9-3 lead into the second half, even though they nearly dropped a round to three unarmored Deagles before apEX's last-second defuse denial paved the way to a dominant 13-6 win.

With the series tied up, the teams headed to Train. The first half proved to be a hard-fought affair that went the way of Vitality thanks to Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan winning five out of seven attempted entries, as his squad used the spacetaker as the focal point of their T side.

flameZ remained crucial as the Longdog player on the CT side, as his aggressive pushes disrupted anything the Falcons offense had planned. kyxsan's troops won just the pistol round but were otherwise visibly second best, which meant Vitality took the series lead.

Next up was Mirage, where Falcons won the force-buy wars thanks to René "⁠TeSeS⁠" Madsen's 1vs2 Deagle clutch. Vitality were then able to answer once their economy allowed it, but lost a crucial round to Glocks which spiraled their CT side into a 3-9 deficit.

Vitality's task was made even harder after Falcons won the second-half pistol that extended their lead to 12-3, but apEX's troops never gave up. They started to claw back at the deficit and needed a shred of luck, as both Emil "⁠Magisk⁠" Reif and kyxsan came incredibly close to defusing the bomb but ran out of time by the smallest of margins.

That meant the map would be decided in overtime, with Vitality having the upper hand in the mental game thanks to their incredible comeback. Falcons found a second wind in overtime, however, and m0NESY's 1vs2 clutch secured them a 16-14 win on their eleventh map point.

Vitality answered that by returning to their imperious form on Nuke. Their T side ran rings around Falcons' defense even though they lost a second-round forcebuy, with ZywOo and ropz finding crucial multikills to open up sites.

The Frenchman racked up 16 kills on the offense and helped his team take a two-round lead into their CT side. Vitality then won only their third pistol of the series to extend their lead to 9-5 and convert it to a 13-8 victory, further strengthening their indisputable title as the best in the world.

BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 1Best of 5

Falcons

Matchpage

4th May 2025

Vitality

Inferno

Dust2

Train

Mirage

Nuke

Falcons	K - D	Swing	ADR	KAST	Rating2.1
Ilya 'm0NESY' Osipov m0NESY	92 - 78	+1.41%	82.4	71.2%	1.15
Emil 'Magisk' Reif Magisk	65 - 70	-1.33%	66.2	75.7%	0.97
René 'TeSeS' Madsen TeSeS	76 - 84	-1.24%	70.4	69.4%	0.93
Damjan 'kyxsan' Stoilkovski kyxsan	59 - 77	-2.82%	68.1	72.1%	0.91
Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač NiKo	68 - 84	-1.68%	70.8	74.8%	0.90

Vitality	K - D	Swing	ADR	KAST	Rating2.1
Mathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut ZywOo	90 - 66	+4.83%	84.6	77.5%	1.30
Robin 'ropz' Kool ropz	91 - 68	+2.23%	90.0	80.2%	1.30
William 'mezii' Merriman mezii	71 - 74	+0.33%	70.8	77.5%	1.07
Shahar 'flameZ' Shushan flameZ	73 - 77	+0.48%	69.1	73.0%	1.00
Dan 'apEX' Madesclaire apEX	64 - 77	-2.28%	64.7	71.2%	0.93

Zywoo = undisputed GOAT

2025-05-04 21:33

185

44 replies

what about SpawN, the undisputed goat of cs2

2025-05-04 21:36

3 replies

you mean cs1

2025-05-04 22:42

1 reply

cs3

2025-05-05 08:03

1.6 > 2

2025-05-05 15:08

hltv.org/news/20560/one-for-the-future-z..

2025-05-04 21:37

I like the first comment: "doubt it" xD

2025-05-04 21:48

2 replies

He literally tagged the first comment. XD

2025-05-04 21:58

Gotta apprciate thay the guy accepted he was wrong and was in the goatwoo boat 5 years later

2025-05-05 07:16

"GOAT" of what exactly? Because Donk won player of the year last year that also happens to be the first year of cs2, while Zywoo did not even get 2nd place. Zywoo has a better 2025 but we are only 5 months deep so far. Donk is also arguably still a top 2 player and most certainly top 3 as of right now and all of 2025. With that said that makes Donk the "GOAT" of cs2 atleast of now. "GOAT" of CSGO was largely agreed to be S1mple, Zywoo honestly was not really even in the contention, as it was mainly between Device and S1mple. "GOAT" of CS: Source is irrelevant because who honestly cares about source. With that being said Zywoo obv was not even a semi-pro at cs: source for obvious reasons. "GOAT" OF CS: 1.6 is the one that is most up to debate. Usually people land on either NEO or f0rest though, mostly up to preference really. So in what category or game is Zywoo the "GOAT" in again?

2025-05-04 21:49

33 replies

nobody readin that blud

2025-05-04 21:52

My targeted demographic was never meant to be iilliterate people anyways, so that is all fine by me.

2025-05-04 22:46

I don't know but I do know you are the GOAT of yapping

2025-05-04 21:53

Thanks bro, keep it 100 man, always.

2025-05-04 22:41

The GOAT of Counter Strike. Are you dense?? His achievements across CS:GO and CS2 compound to make him the greatest player in the franchises history.

2025-05-04 21:56

I assumed that was what he meant but that makes the statement even dumber.

2025-05-04 22:27

Splitting CS:GO and CS2 achievements is solely done to keep the s1mple narrative going. I've literally never seen it in any other context

2025-05-04 22:04

12 replies

I listed every single major itteration/game in the franchise. If I clumped CS:GO and CS2 together it simply would not make sense in the context I wrote it. Continue to believe whatever "narrative" of your liking though, does not matter to me.

11 replies

Except it makes no sense to draw that comparison. 1.6 and Source were vastly different games with separate player bases that coexisted for a long time. CS:GO and CS2, on the other hand, are much more similar, and CS2 outright replaced GO, so any pro who wanted to stay in the scene had to switch (which almost all of them did). You're comparing apples to oranges

2025-05-04 22:57

10 replies

"You're comparing apples to oranges" Sure, you can say that I am comparing apples to oranges but even if I were doing that they still fit in the category of fruits, correct? So comparing apples to oranges in theory still makes sense, right?

2025-05-05 00:03

9 replies

It's not about whether it makes sense, it's about relevance. I'm telling you the comparison isn't relevant because the premises are fundamentally different

2025-05-05 00:35

8 replies

I am telling you now that the fact that it does not make sense to you, does not equate to it not making sense to everybody else. I think most litterate people that read what I wrote in full context grasp what I am trying to say and what I mean. Not sure if this is the case for obvious reasons but I atleast sure as hell hope so. This might just be mostly a you issue tbh.

2025-05-05 11:49

7 replies

You bring up literacy and grasping information, yet you've misunderstood the very comment this reply is under. I already said that what you wrote is logically sound, but it's simply not relevant. I'm aware Counter-Strike has gone through multiple iterations, but separating 1.6 and Source, 1.6 and GO, or Source and GO (or any combination other than CS2 and GO) just isn't the same. CS2 and GO are fundamentally more alike than the others

2025-05-05 12:05

6 replies

Just because I did not wrote the word "relevant" does not mean that I misunderstood what you wrote in #104 at all. I simply thought you could read between the lines and grasp it on your own, as you can just replace the words "make sense" with "make it relevant" and it still applies. Thus also making it atleast somewhat a literacy issue. I understand what you are saying and that you do not think what I said is "relevant", none of this is confusing me at all, I simply disagree with you.

2025-05-05 12:13

5 replies

You still haven't presented a solid argument for why separating CS:GO and CS2 is equivalent to separating 1.6 and Source, or any other pair in the franchise. The rigid categorisation you're defending falls apart the moment nuance is considered. You're free to disagree with me, of course, but your reasoning for doing so is shaky at best

2025-05-05 13:04

4 replies

"You still haven't presented a solid argument for why separating CS:GO and CS2 is equivalent to separating 1.6 and Source, or any other pair in the franchise." I litterly have never wrote or meant that CS:GO and CS2 is the same exact thing as separating 1.6 and Source. I have given my reason as to why I chose to write all the games/itterations/whatever seperately before already! Explain to me why in hell I need to present a solid argument for a conversation that you are seemingly having inside of your own head (as I litterly never wrote or meant what you are saying I have). If you disagree with me, that is fine. If you think I am wrong, that is also fine. However I am not fine with you straight up lying, claiming I wrote crap that I would not and have not wrote!

2025-05-05 16:13

Because your intention was to challenge ZywOo's GOAT status. I quote from #54 "So in what category or game is Zywoo the "GOAT" in again?" Within that framework you have to bring forth arguments to back up your stance. You're acting like your comment simply stated an objective reality, when in fact you chose a side of the argument but you're unwilling to stand on business

2025-05-05 16:34

I litterly have stood on the same grounds this entire time and you have not even tried providing any evidence that I have not. I have also provided several examples already that points toward you either being willfully ignorant to what I am trying to write or that you perhaps do not fully grasp what I was writing. Then in my last comment I gave examples when you just straight up lied and said I wrote stuff that I have not done. This will be my last comment regarding this conversation. As you are no longer being civil and have started to outright lie about my statements. All while at the same time not providing any matter of evidence to back up your claims. From my side it is now not only a pointless conversation but also getting more uncomfortable, as you continue to lie.

2025-05-05 16:50

Dude, you said ZywOo doesn't deserve the GOAT status because he's not the GOAT of one iteration of the game. I - and several others - said his CS:GO and CS2 legacies combined are enough for him to be considered in the conversation. For your argument to have any legs, you had to prove CS:GO and CS2 are so different that no reasonable person would merge the two together. You failed to do that and instead kept repeating and victimising yourself

2025-05-05 16:59

Why are you separating GO and CS2? Or Source and 1.6? There are two periods of Counter-Strike: The classic age and the modern age. The modern age is GO/CS2 and the classic age is pre-CS:GO, so 1.6, Source and Condition Zero.

2025-05-04 22:08

I am seperating them because these were all (major) different iterations/games from the same franchise. I was doing so to give the one who wrote #1 the benefit of the doubt. As if we are assuming he meant that Zywoo is the "GOAT" of the whole franchise then that is obviously even more of an insane/incorrect statement to make. The way you put it is essentially the same as mine just even more simple. As you just clump together "two periods of Counter-Strike", while I listed all the major itterations/games of the franchise. In the end it is just two different ways of saying largely the same thing and as such should not even matter.

2025-05-04 22:35

GOAT is who you define it to be using your own criteria, so I don't have an issue with respecting your opinion or that you want to separate periods, it's just unnecessary to do so when Source was never as popular as 1.6, and GO and CS2 are not two completely separate periods of CS, as CS2 exists as an extension to GO as a prettier and more updated engine. The iterations of CS exist as separate games but not completely separate periods, so assuming a "GOAT" exists for separate games as opposed to separate periods or ages of Counter-Strike? That's where the confusion lies.

2025-05-04 22:52

Then I understand the source of your confusion. However, this whole conversation (both your comment that I am replying to and the one I am currently writing still applies to this) can be boiled down to something you wrote at very start of this comment you made. As you put it "GOAT is who you define it to be using your own criteria". This very logic of yours can be applied to this whole conversation, as it all comes down to how you define it using your own criteria. So in large (as was the case I made in my last reply aswell) it should (still) not even matter.

2025-05-04 23:54

You can’t put 1.6 and Source players together - the scene was separate for a few years

2025-05-05 05:20

You're correct, but they exist in the same period of CS, as both games existed alongside one another and existed on the same website, despite being an inferior game to 1.6, of course. GO and CS2 are different games but also exist on the same website alongside each other but on a completely separate period of CS. To assume GO and CS2 exist outside one another only to push the narrative that s1mple is the GOAT is disingenuous, in my opinion. Having a GOAT contender for separate periods is debatable but separate games? Where would it end?

2025-05-05 14:32

Yeah true - I think when games are around as long as any of the CS versions it is impossible to have a 'GOAT' as new players come through within the same game, but if you had to I would say... 1.6 - f0rest Source - shox CSGO - s1mple CS2 yet to be decided as it is too early - between donk & ZywOo at the moment I think splitting CSGO/CS2 is just more fun to do noting so get another GOAT choice lol

2025-05-05 14:47

nice try, m0nesy

2025-05-04 22:26

Bad faith cope lol Very convenient to completely remove 5 years of Zywoo's amazing career by drawing an arbitrary line between CSGO and CS2. It's the same game and the same pro scene. The only people who keep drawing to make them distinct are fanboys who know their favorite player doesn't stand a chance in a good faith GOAT conversation.

2025-05-04 23:04

"It's the same game and the same pro scene." Wrong but I get what you are trying to get at and even more objectively wrong on the second point. CS2 has a completely different engine (from CS:GO) resulting in different graphics and even has VERY different movement mechanics and feel to it. Objectively and quite obviously it does not have the same pro scene. For that to be true all pros from CS:GO would have had to stay pros at CS2 atleast for a while, something that is completely unreasonable to assume. Also, flair checks out.

2025-05-05 00:16

Tell me: Is it fair to remove 5 years of Zywoo's career from his legacy. Yes or no? If you answer yes, then you are clearly too biased to argue in good faith. Valve themselves treat it as the same game. You are objectively WRONG. 1. CS2 replaced CSGO and retains its unique game ID of 730. New titles cannot take over an existing title's unique game ID. So if it retains the ID, it is an update to an existing title. 2. Go look at the game files. Many files and directories still say CSGO. 3. Go find CS:GO in the steam store for me? Oh wait, you can't. But I can find CS1.6, Condition Zero, and Source. 4. "CSGO" is marked as "csgo_legacy" for version rollback Games go through major updates all the time. And older games go through engine upgrades/replacements all the time. World of tanks upgraded from the HavoK engine to their in-house "core" engine. I never saw anyone claiming that it was a new separate game. Dota 2 also upgraded from source to source 2, is it also considered an entirely new game by their community? What are you yapping about? Every CSGO pro transitioned to CS2 with their existing teams. Like literally everyone transitioned to the new game simultaneously because there is no choice to stay on the previous version. Keep coping bud. Zywoo is the new GOAT, and you just look insane claiming otherwise. More and more people are recognizing the new reality.

2025-05-05 07:13

"What are you yapping about?" First things first, I do not think it is fair for you to say that I am "yapping" when you write an even larger block of text with just a different perspective of the same (at least mostly) kind of "yapping" that I did. "Tell me: Is it fair to remove 5 years of Zywoo's career from his legacy. Yes or no?" Counter question, tell me: Is it fair to more or less reduce all of what I said to a single "yes or no?" question, whilst removing all my context that supported my claims? Can I get a yes or no?

2025-05-05 11:56

I call it yapping not because of the length of your comment, but because it is incoherent and makes no sense. I mean that's literally what it comes down to, is it not? By arbitrarily separating CSGO and CS2, which Valve treats as one and the same, you are advocating that we remove 5 year of Zywoo's legacy. Because otherwise, Zywoo has surpassed s1mple in achievements while donk hasn't been in the scene long enough to make the claim. Only by arbitarily separating the two games can you make the s1mple and donk arguments. I think it's pretty clear that Zywoo is the GOAT of modern(CSGO and onwards) CS if we look at numbers and character. s1mple already loses by achievements, but he loses even harder when he consider that he is: 1. a convicted cheater banned by ESL twice! once for cheating and another for ban evasion 2. a scammer and fraud who stole skins from fans, withheld a knife that he was supposed to give away, and did the whole "play like s1mple" course 3. toxic teammate who treated his teammates like shit, and was even kicked from flipside and forced to leave liquid for that reason

2025-05-19 00:29

Bro it has been two weeks since I posted that, why do you still care? Regardless I do not find it that important anymore so I agree to disagree or whatever ig.

2025-05-19 14:45

m0NESY outfragged him in the series, zywoo just had less deaths essentially and better team (mates)

2025-05-04 22:25

1.2 rating outfragger is impressive tbh

2025-05-04 21:32

NiKo masterclass

niko made a core contribution to this champion

NIKO is really cursed

not cursed, just a choker

2025-05-04 22:44

yup, niko easily tilt in bad situation, that mentality zonic need to fix

2025-05-05 03:38

zygoat

yet another finals choke from niko kek

Change GOAT in hltv search bar for Zywoo

I just now noticed that simple comes up if you search that lmao

2025-05-04 23:33

deserved

Another day another zywoo mvp

zygoat congratulations

prewritten lol

Same with upcoming major.

2025-05-04 21:35

Ni0.9Ko

2025-05-04 21:34

Give Vitality Team of the Year ZywOo the GOAT of CS sorry s1mple

25 W 5 trophies Team of the year 2025

It's not fair that they got all of these players for free 😭😭

we call that good and cleaver management

2025-05-04 21:39

it's not fair that they are obvious masterminds at what they do, even if it takes time to work out (danes in 2022 sucked)

2025-05-04 21:41

no one can blame the org to be smart...

2025-05-04 21:42

They built this team for YEARS. They didnt come in 3 months like falcons oil stars.

2025-05-04 21:54

Ropz mvp please

Might as well consider sh1ro then

Donk mvp 1.4 rating masterclass

who can stop them?

prob falcons during major... with niko for his first one

2025-05-04 21:40

AleksiB

ZywOO skilled player but that is not normally, This very very insane....They need to check him pc and game.....Maybe he not cheating but maybe he using the game deficit. Thanks NiKo.

ropz :)

5 trophies in a row is crazy

GOAT

If we get back into 6man rosters and we let niko play whole tournament and sub him with anyone else in the finals we might get a era actually

Switch him out for magixx, the biggest grand finals abuser

2025-05-04 22:48

Vitality era will be something special and never seen before 🔥 GGWP ! ZywOo is the real GOAT 🐐

GOAT season

The ropz effect is real man. Ropz magic. He’s gonna win another major. And because he’s making vitality so unstoppable along side zywoo, now Niko won’t get a chance to lift a major trophy

win-win if u ask me.

2025-05-04 21:51

Agreed

Vitality era continues

2025-05-04 21:38

so happy to see falcons fail, another NiK0 disasterclass

LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO VITALITY NICEEE BOIS WP!

Choco

I'm wondering if Vitality vs. Falcons will be the new Astralis vs. Liquid or smth like that. We have a clear top team with Vita and a clear second in Falcons. The next few events will get spicy, let's see if FAlcons can snatch a trophy from "the invincibles"!

spirit can manage something if they use donk good again

2025-05-04 21:43

People actually wanted Liquid to win against Astralis because they were had aura. Falcons has negative aura.

2025-05-04 21:47

NiKo played so great, vitality has to thank him

Counter strike won today , congrats vitality

despite results, i think teses deserves great praise. he did many nice things in this event.

yeah teses did a great job, also he has few impact round falcon need to replace magisk with someone like ropz, anchor and lurker in T side with great timing to make space, then it will very hot between vita and falcon

2025-05-05 03:54

magisk played good for his role. ropz is just a better player overall anjink

2025-05-05 03:56

finaly NiKo isnt so far away from s1mple, if he tilts, the team doesnt work. if he can work on this, Austin Major isnt impossible

If it were not for Vitality getting ropz, we would still probably be having a three way race between Falcons, Mouz and Spirit. Instead, we got a king and 3 servants, basically. Close game right up until the confusing 20 second call on Nuke.

Its was panic mode movement where the just screw...

2025-05-05 05:22

I have to say yes zywoo is crazy consistent the past 8 years, yes m0nesy has this crazy skill and insane flick shots a la s1mple, yes donk is the current best rifler in the game but in cs2 ropz is the best player. This mf has such a huge influence in the game that is insane! If vitality had another top player they would have lost today and in melbourne 100%

100% agreed bro. Complete player ever.

Ropz is the definition of an "asset".

2025-05-05 08:24

Faze is so stupid right now. They have rain who is stable player they have karrigan who is a top tier igl, and had ropz who is the best all around player in the moment and instead of kicking broky and frozen and get 2 top tier players they let him leave and get elige who havent been outside of US his entire life.

2025-05-05 08:46

Idk if FaZe wanted to spend the money on upgrades. I think the org is fine with falling out of the top 10, even if the players aren't. But yes, they should have kept ropz and replaced broky. I think they also should have gotten a replacement for rain instead of frozen, but that is up for debate.

2025-05-05 09:35

Rain is a big match guy. He has cold blood

2025-05-05 10:21

That's great, but he's still a liability when it comes to getting to the big games. Plus he is not a player that takes over matches, he simply just plays better. I don't think he's worth keeping over frozen.

2025-05-05 11:33

What a Team <3

apEX>N0K0

Niko lowest rated player in the entire server. Bro is mentally checked out. what is Lars Robl doing?? and Niko ffs change your viewmodel back to your original one this shit isnt working out for you. even zywoo is back to his normal viewmodel instead of that centered bullshit that only iM and biguzera can use

masterclass, congrats guys

dude the zyropz combo is insane, amazing how well he's gelled in with the team

Another hard day for zywoo haters

may the 4th was with you jedis! gg vita

Ropz I love you baby

It was very entertaining match, congratz to Vitality .. ★

After Inferno I was sure that Vita would lose 3-2, but somehow they managed to win. Congrats. What people are not talking about is that Zywoo was probably the "weakest" awper (among m0nesy, shiro and torzsi) of the tournament which is weird. But then AWP is so nerfed in CS2 only few can handle it.

zywoo AWPing maybe slightly below m0nesy, m0nesy is lightning fast with his awp flick but shiro and torzsi have lot of miss shot, I don't think they are better than zywoo

2025-05-05 04:00

m0nesy is definitely a dlashier AWPer, but I don't think he's better than Zywoo overall. Torzsi and sh1ro aren't even in the discussion unfortunately.

2025-05-05 08:26

Congratulations Vitality!

2025-05-04 22:00

Honestly when your star rifler is the lowest rated player of the final, across five maps i might add, then you have the reason for the loss right there. You can blame magisk or teses or even kyx all you want, but if niko had a better day, falcons would have won. Just winning mirage in regulation would have given them more cofidense going into nuke.

2025-05-04 22:03

It is pointless to say "if [player] had a better day, the [team] could have won" because what stops other players from also playing better? If Dan and Shahar logged on, it would have been 3-0, it works both ways. Shutting down a star rifler is part of the game and Vita is the best at this at the moment and probably the best team at this ... ever. No star rifler gets to shit on them.

2025-05-04 22:11

I agree that Vitality put a target on Niko, but honestly he sought it out aswell. I love that he keeps trying even when having an off day, but he took so many bad fights without possibility for trades.

2025-05-05 00:56