The 25-year-old rifler is set to make his debut later this month, joining the lineup for the BLAST Premier Fall Final.
This acquisition marks the second change to Vitality’s team since the release of Counter-Strike 2, following the return of R��my “XTQZZZ” Quoniam as head coach last month.
Mezii steps into the shoes of Emil “Magisk” Reif, who is reportedly close to joining Falcons.
Super excited to announce that I'll be joining @TeamVitality !
I'm so pumped to begin this new journey with these guys and spend countless hours grinding CS2 togetherhttps://t.co/wYWrE8Lo6Z
— MEZII' (@kingmezii) November 8, 2023
The move sees mezii taking on the role previously held by Magisk, a player integral to Vitality’s success, including their victory in the BLAST Paris Major and an 18-week stint as the world’s No.1 team.
From a statistical perspective, mezii is expected to seamlessly replace Magisk, and his track record supports this transition.
Despite sometimes flying under the radar on the playing field, mezii is recognized as an experienced player with the capacity to adapt to any situation.
Mezii’s professional journey dates back to 2017, gaining significant attention during his tenure with Cloud9’s “Colossus” roster in September 2020.
His prowess as the standout player on the team has since led him to Endpoint in 2021 and, more recently, fnatic in August 2021.
Mezii showcased his leadership skills as the in-game leader and later transitioned into a star rifler role.
Now, on Team Vitality, mezii faces the challenge of filling Magisk’s shoes, particularly in the anchor roles on the CT side.
Magisk’s contributions were pivotal in securing notable victories, including the BLAST Paris Major.
Mezii’s task will be to prove his versatility once again and contribute to Vitality’s continued success in the competitive CS2 scene.
The team is gearing up for the BLAST Premier Fall Final in Copenhagen from November 22�C26, with an eye on the BLAST Premier World Final scheduled for December 13�C17 in Abu Dhabi.
]]>The final 16 teams will battle it out across the next two weeks, to earn the right to call themselves the Paris Major champions and take home their own share of the massive $1.25 million prize pool.
Joining Heroic, Natus Vincere, Team Vitality, FURIA, Fnatic, Bad News Eagles, 9INE and Into The Breach, who automatically qualified for the Legends Stage through the RMR, we will have G2 Esports, FaZe Clan, ENCE, Team Liquid, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Monte, Apeks and GamerLegion.
Of the remaining CS:GO rosters left in the Paris Major, G2 Esports still remain the favourite at $4.00 with esports betting sites, closely followed by Heroic ($4.33), Team Vitality ($5.50), Natus Vincere ($5.50) and FaZe Clan ($6.50).
Below you will find our best bet to take out the BLAST.tv Paris Major.
Best Bet �C Team Vitality
After finishing third at the Europe RMR B and taking out IEM Spring (IEM Rio 2023) before making their way to Paris to take part in the BLAST.tv Paris Major, Team Vitality look primed and ready to win their first CS:GO Major.
Coming into the Paris Major, Vitality will be looking continue their six-series undefeated run, after they rattled off six-straight wins on route to becoming the IEM Rio champion.
With two hometown guys on their roster in Mathieu ��ZywOo�� Herbaut and Dan ��apEX�� Madeslaire, there is no other place that these two guys would love to win their first and second CS:GO Major of their careers.
For apEX, a Major win in France would be the icing on the cake after such a consistent Counter-Strike: Global Offensive career, which has seen him win several tournaments and one Major. With the 30-year-old in the twilight, he could finish it off with one of the best wins of his career in his home country.
For ZywOo, he is only 22 years old, and considered one of the best players in the world, after being ranked inside the top two in four-straight years and a win in the BLAST.tv Paris Major would see him breakthrough for his very first Major victory.
Couple those two with Peter ��dupreeh�� Rasmussen and Emil ��Magisk�� Reif, who bring seven Major wins between them from their time at Astralis, and Lotan ��Spinx�� Giladi – who is another rising star – and this Vitality team has all the tool that they need to go all the way in the Paris Major.
Team Vitality – Outright Win
After losing to OG in their first-round match at the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament, Vitality went on to win five straight matches to reach the final, defeating BIG (2-0) and Cloud9 (2-1) in their quarter-final and semi-final series, respectively.
When the first map went all the way to round 29 of 30, with Vitality taking their map pick 16-13, it looked like we were in for a great final series.
Heroic needed to win their map pick Inferno to keep the series alive, but after a 5-10 first half, the match was all but over.
No-one on the Vitality roster finished with a negative kill/death difference for the second map, with Emil “Magisk” Reif ranking lowest with an even record.
Vitality went on to win Inferno 16-12 and clinch their first tournament victory since August of last year, when they won ESL Pro League Season 16.
WE ARE YOUR #IEM RIO CHAMPIONS
Paris, we are coming #VforVictory pic.twitter.com/mJLIvatHn6
— Team Vitality
(@TeamVitality) April 23, 2023
To cap off a successful event for Vitality, their star sniper Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) for his outstanding performance at IEM Rio.
After amassing an event-high 1.31 rating across 15 maps played, the French superstar won his 14th career MVP award.
ZywOo carried Team Vitality to the playoffs, finishing with ratings of 1.61 and 1.45 in their lower-bracket round one series win over FURIA and lower-bracket final win over OG, respectively.
Fro Heroic, the story of the perennial bridesmaids continues after reaching another grand final only to lose again.
The Danes have finished second in three of their last six S-Tier tournament appearances, including IEM Rio Major 2022, IEM Katowice 2023, and IEM Rio 2023.
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