This is a tough one! Should we say yes and be done with it? It's not that easy. There's no arguing that at one point team Vitality rose to the top of the CS2 pyramid. It was an unofficial title of the greatest Counter-Strike 2 team of all time, and they were jealously holding onto it. In collective sports, greatness comes and goes, and remaining at the top is never easy. Yet, there's no doubt that Vitality deservedly was seen as the best CS2 team out there due to everything they have done in the sport.
The Trophy Cabinet Doesn't Lie
Team Vitality was founded in 2018, and since then they've been steadily rising to the top. At first, the team was focused on developing young French Esports talent and having a full-French lineup. Once they were prepared for greatness, they went international, and you could argue that the blueprint of greatness they've copied was the one from Astralis. Rise to the top was not an overnight success. Instead, it took Vitality five years to establish themselves in the CS2 universe. Behind Zyw0o's leadership, the team added the first major trophy to their cabinet with BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023. From there, the history of Counter-Strike was rewritten with new kings on the throne.
After securing the first Major ever, Vitality started to move upwards. What followed was a series of wins that cemented them as one of the best teams that ever played CS2. After their first Major in 2023, they added another one in 2024 with IEM Cologne 2024. With two major prizes that were $500,000 for the first one and $400,000 for the second one, Vitality has laid down a nice foundation for future endeavours. In 2025, it became evident that we've had greatness on our hands.
From the start of 2025 till the end of the year, Vitality went on an unprecedented run. It all started with IEM Katowice 2025, only to be followed up with BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, IEM Dallas 2025, ESL Pro League Season 22, and StarLadder Budapest Major 2025. This year is deemed one of the best team years in the history of all Esports. It is hard to imagine that another team will be able to go on a similar historic run anytime soon.
Even in 2026, they've won IEM Kraków 2026, showing signs that they're still going strong after 3 years of dominance. Unfortunately for Vitality and their fans, 2026 was proven to be far from perfect. A slump in form came their way, and the team, as of now, is a pale shadow of its former self.
The Slump in Form is Real
When it rains, it pours. It's been a while since we last saw team Vitality failing to perform in consecutive tournaments, and major ones at that. IEM Atlanta 2026 was the one that's easy to understand. The team entered it without too much practice, and the schedule was too congested for any type of sustained success, team Vitality or not. While fans were not in panic mode after that exit, a warning light started to blink after their exit at IEM Cologne Major 2026. Two in a row was alarming, but everyone was expecting that the team would bounce back in no time. The anger was visible in the eyes of Robin “ropz” Kool, Dan “apEX” Madesclaire, and Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut, but the results just weren't there.
When ropz was added to the lineup, winning became easier for Vitality. Even with him the team has failed to qualify for BLAST Bounty Season 2 2026 playoffs, and all signs pointed out that something was wrong with the best team in CS2. Losing at three major tournaments, and in a row no less, was not something Vitality was accustomed to during their dominant stretch that started in 2023.
The good news is that it's not a matter of the overall quality of the team. Vitality is still the top ensemble. What's worrisome is that some of their main stars have massively dropped in form, and we need to single out mezii and flameZ. Their ratings have dropped below 1 and stand at 0.94 and 0.89, respectively. These two will need to up their game in the coming weeks if Vitality is to wrap up the year in style. Luckily, they still have more than enough time to recapture the form that was there at the end of 2025 and at the start of 2026.
Should Vitality Enter Panic Mode?
No! Absolutely not! Is there room for improvement? Yes. Should the team be criticized for their poor run of form and abysmal results? Definitely! No one should be pardoned when they lose, the same way we don't stop the praise when they're playing well. Vitality is going through a rough patch, and the fall season is the time when they can turn it around. A couple of bad months will not make us forget that we are talking about one of the greatest teams of all time, and the best one out there in recent memory. Vitality cannot be defined by a slight slump in form. After all, even the greats of the past, such as Astralis, have had patches when they've lost three consecutive times on the biggest stage.
Vitality must be the team that has the most credit both with their fans, opponents, and the general Esports public. It is only a matter of time before they pick themselves up and continue where they left off earlier in the year. None of their losses were devastating enough for anyone to think that Vitality needs a reset. Just remember that earlier this year the team completed the ESL Grand Slam. Their defeat at IEAM Atlanta came as a consequence of rest and no training that they underwent due to the congested schedule. It was almost an intentionally dropped tourney, or one the GOATs believed they could cruise to win.
The Cologne Major showed some of the weaknesses this team might possess, and revealed that their approach to the summer part of the season was not the right one. While losing three in a row was not perfect by any means, for Vitality, the defeat at BLAST Bounty comes as no surprise. Even when they were at their pinnacle of performance, this tournament was a tough challenge for them.
Vitality has been good for so long and has been clearly established as the best CS2 team of all time; there's no need to make excuses for them. What we can give them is the benefit of the doubt, and trust that they're coming back at their best. With the hectic CS2 schedule, they will have this opportunity sooner rather than later. The competition is not as interesting when Vitality is not everyone's bogeyman.
The Bookmakers Still Trust Vitality
Professional esports has a lot of ties with sports betting. Online casinos and sportsbooks have entered the domain, considering that the interest was massive in sports betting markets for CS2 and other Esports. One of the companies that has the most to offer when it comes to CS2 betting and Esports betting in general is Stake. This online casino and sportsbook is also the general sponsor for team Vitality, and they proudly sport their brand name on the front of their shirts.
While Stake remains the official betting partner for team Vitality, as far as creating odds for the event, they remain unbiased. The deal to sponsor the best CSGO and CS2 team of all time is strictly a business one. As we said, Vitality's jerseys have the Stake logo displayed at the front of their jerseys, and all of their gear has Stake sigils. The two entities have a lot in common. Both were founded in the late 2010s and have risen to the top of their respective domains in the early 2020s. Considering just how deep Stake entered Esports, the cooperation between two great names in their fields of operation and Stake Partnership with team Vitality almost came naturally.
As far as the odds go, team Vitality is still the main favourite in every tournament they enter. This was visible in the weeks coming into the IEM Cologne Major 2026. While their drop in form was more than evident, the bookmakers cannot make assumptions and bet against the best teams in the world. So, Vitality saw their chances drop, but at the start of the tourney were still seen as a favorite, just not as big a favourite as they were entering tournaments at the start of the year.
The best example of odds not shifting all that much for Vitality is the upcoming ESL Pro League Season 24. Despite not showing their brightest colours in recent months, they still remain one of the main favourites to go deep into the tournament together with MOUZ, Spirit, and Falcons. Now that many people believe that the days of Vitality being the greatest CS2 team of all time are over, everyone will be aiming for their head. But is that really true? We don't think so, and apEX, ropz, ZywOo, flameZ & mezii will be out there proving their greatness in the coming months.
Even Legends Can Fail
Esports are not all that different from most other major sports. Dynasties come and go, and regardless of the competition, it is not an easy task to remain at the top. One of the best examples of this is Faker and his T1 team. Even if you're not into Esports, you have heard of League of Legends. As far as Esports go, LoL is one of the biggest games out there. Faker, who is the best player on his T1 team, is deemed one of the best LoL players of all time, and T1 is one of the most dominant teams in the history of the sport.
T1 has 6 League of Legends World Championship titles. They're the best team ever, and Faker is Lionel Messi of Esports. So, where's the catch, and the comparison with Vitality? T1 won their first title in 2013. After that, they did a two-peat, winning two in 2015 and 2016. At that moment, they were already crowned the best team of all time with three titles to their name and two consecutive ones. What followed was not a couple of months of bad play, nor a short slump in form. T1 has failed to win the Worlds for six years, losing a couple of finals in the process. It didn't take too long for everyone to start doubting their greatness.
Yet, neither Faker nor T1 was ready to relinquish their GOAT statues. The giant wasn't slain; it was merely sleeping. After a years-long hiatus, T1 got back to their best. Three titles were not enough. That's why they won three more in a historic three-peat. T1 and Faker won a title in 2023, repeated it in 2024, and then added another one in 2025, regaining their GOAT status, if it was even lost in the first place.
Team Vitality finds itself in a similar situation at this moment. They're great. One of the best CS2 teams of all time, and for most of us, the best one ever. This is not a status they will willingly relinquish. Yet, eras come and go, as we saw with Astralis, and that's something Vitality needs to be aware of in the coming months.
What's Next for Vitality?
Patience! That's everything this team needs at this moment. Vitality knows how to win, and in a dominant fashion at that. A couple of lousy results are not taking anything away from the success we all witnessed during the past couple of years. They just need to be patient, regroup, and get back to winning. This is easier said than done, especially with the hectic CS2 schedule, but the season is still long, and with more than a few major tournaments coming our way, Vitality has every chance to be their old self. The fans want it, and they can do it. One win will change it all, and in no time, no one will doubt Vitality anymore.
Disclosure: This is a paid guest post. The author or an affiliated third party paid for its publication, and the article may contain promotional links. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of GameTyrant or its editorial staff.
