IEM Dallas 2025"Even when we play bad" apEX yells after Vitality barely cling on to winstreak against The MongolZ
Sloppy play and a lack of practice nearly led Vitality to their first defeat since January 24.
The MongolZ nearly brought Vitality's 27-game winstreak to an end in shocking fashion in IEM Dallas' Group A upper bracket final, but immensely impactful rounds from Shahar "flameZ" Shushan in the closing moments of the Mirage decider allowed his team to scrape a 13-11 win and extend their unblemished record to 28 in a row.
It was a series filled with uncharacteristic mistakes, poor teamplay, and questionable decisions from a Vitality that has looked near-unstoppable in 2025, and so far from their A-game that Dan "apEX" Madesclaire made his feelings clear after the game.
"Even when we play bad boys, even when we play bad with one week practice," the visibly relieved captain shouted after the series.
"For us this tournament is a bit special," apEX added on the desk. "We came here without the best preparation because we really focused on getting some rest after Melbourne and Rivals. So for us, this tournament also means what we have to work on for the Major, but we still make semis which is pretty impressive, to be honest.
"We had four days of practice before coming here, we didn't touch the game for one week, and even though it's a bit shaky, it's not the best Vitality you can see, but we're still winning and that means something."
It is the second near-miss for Vitality after they were up against the ropes to Falcons in the final of IEM Melbourne, but holding on to the winstreak is still not something the team is prioritizing.
"Robin [ropz] said it in an interview, but we don't really care about the winstreak ourselves, it's not something we're focused on," apEX said. "What we are trying to focus on is ourselves, the way we play each game, the energy we give in each game, and that's the key, to be able to be good at that."
That energy was, at many times throughout the series, visibly frustrated as The MongolZ got the better of Vitality in several late-round scenarios, particularly once the series turned to Nuke.
The MongolZ picked into Inferno, the very map Vitality had a flawless 14-game winstreak on until they were handed their first loss by Falcons at BLAST Rivals and were now 15-1 on, but came alive too late to blemish that record further.
Vitality ran away with the lead on the defense with flameZ and Robin "ropz" Kool providing key opening frags, with The MongolZ struggling to break through the depth of Vitality's individuals despite good trading in the early round. Multi-kills and clutches from Ayush "mzinho" Batbold and Azbayar "Senzu" Munkhbold nearly turned the game in the second half, but Vitality turned the tide with an Apartments pop with pistols to scrape a 13-10 win.
Usukhbayar "910" Banzragch, Garidmagnai "bLitz" Byambasuren, and mzinho took turns tearing apart Vitality's offense on Nuke, however, and the mood in apEX's camp quickly turned sour as they fumbled several late-round scenarios to let The MongolZ romp to a 7-0 lead.
Uncharacteristic misses from Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut in the pistol round, paired with miscommunication and sloppy crossfires from the rest of Vitality in the rounds that followed, let The MongolZ extend that lead in the second half and steal away Vitality's pick, 13-7.
910 and bLitz continued to find crucial impact early doors on Mirage, and with mzinho winning a 1v2, Senzu adding a stunning triple kill, and Sodbayar "Techno" Munkhbold sitting a 10-second defuse under Vitality's noses in the second half, The MongolZ rapidly approached bringing an end to Vitality's streak.
flameZ bailed his team out of trouble at the dying moments of the map, however, winning a crucial 1v2 to give his team an 11-10 lead before cracking open A with a Tec-9 at 11-11, ultimately turning the game in Vitality's favor.
More highlights from Vitality vs. The MongolZ:
  Vitality |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56 - 44 | +2.92% | 88.3 | 71.6% | 1.26 | |
| 49 - 42 | +1.40% | 79.4 | 79.1% | 1.17 | |
| 45 - 50 | -2.30% | 80.0 | 67.2% | 1.02 | |
| 45 - 44 | -0.02% | 70.9 | 70.1% | 1.02 | |
| 33 - 45 | -3.92% | 61.5 | 71.6% | 0.87 |
 The MongolZ |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 - 44 | +0.89% | 92.5 | 73.1% | 1.28 | |
| 51 - 45 | +2.36% | 72.7 | 71.6% | 1.09 | |
| 51 - 47 | -0.23% | 81.3 | 70.1% | 1.05 | |
| 38 - 47 | +0.77% | 71.6 | 59.7% | 0.91 | |
| 31 - 48 | -1.90% | 58.4 | 68.7% | 0.77 |
Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač
Emil 'Magisk' Reif
Ilya 'm0NESY' Osipov
Damjan 'kyxsan' Stoilkovski
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