Since signing ropz in January 2025, Vitality has been the team to beat. This international lineup has added 14 championship trophies to its trophy cabinet, including two Major titles at the Austin Major and the Budapest Major, as well as two Intel Grand Slams.
Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Vitality announced ZywOo and apEX have extended their contracts until 2028, although the situation in the esports world often changes in an instant.
By their own extremely high standards, Vitality underperformed at the end of the first half of the season, followed by a loss in the BLAST Bounty online stage, which has already sparked discussion about whether Vitality can maintain their previous level. And with jL set to join the team as a stand-in, it brings even more uncertainty to this previously almost untouchable team. Despite that, both ZywOo and apEX told HLTV they never considered other options.
When talking about the reason he chose to renew his contract, ZywOo said: “I think it's the most logical thing to do. I didn't even really think about it, there was only one thought in my mind: we were definitely going to renew with Vitality. I think this is probably one of the most natural renewals ever.”
apEX added: "I never thought I would stop at the end of this year. So considering the team we have now, and the level I am still able to show, both as an in-game leader and as an individual player, I feel I am still in that position.
“For me, renewing with Vitality was a completely natural thing, because I love this club, we have a deep trust in each other, and we now have a really excellent team. I don't feel like any of this will end anytime soon, so for my future and the final stage of my career, this is the right step.”
ZywOo and apEX have played together for Vitality for nearly eight years. They first played side by side in the club's French lineup, before Vitality gradually built the international powerhouse it is today. During that time, the team has experienced countless glorious moments as well as plenty of disappointment and regret, but ZywOo says his relationship with the French in-game leader hasn't really changed much.
“In the game, we sometimes argue, sometimes laugh together, and sometimes he does crazy things, and everyone knows that. Over the years, our relationship has basically always been like this, whether it's that craziness, the happiness, or the enjoyment of the game itself, nothing has changed,” he said.
When asked the same question, apEX revealed that he had never even discussed the contract renewal with ZywOo.
"It's actually quite funny, because we never even talked about it, but we all knew without a doubt that we would do this, we wouldn't leave this team," he told HLTV, "It just feels so comfortable playing together, and it's the same feeling for the lineup as a whole."
Then, the topic turned to the career longevity of CS professional players. With FalleN recently announcing his impending retirement, along with ongoing retirement speculation surrounding several other veterans who have competed for many years, apEX revealed that he has never truly considered hanging up his mouse.
“This might be my last contract, because by the time it ends, I'll be almost 36.”
“I never knew I could play for this long. I thought my career would pretty much be over by around age 30. But now, as I keep playing and giving my all every day, I feel that signing another extension is just a natural thing for me,” the 33-year-old veteran said.
“I haven't seriously thought about stopping playing CS or retiring. Of course it could happen in the future, maybe this contract will be my last one, because when it ends I'll be almost 36. But right now, I can fully imagine myself playing for another two and a half years, and that in itself makes me really happy.”
Regarding career longevity and his place in history, apEX has actually been thinking about it for a long time. In an interview with HLTV in April 2025, he said that being regarded as one of the greatest of all time is something he really wants to achieve.
Now, after a period of near-total dominance with Vitality, the French captain finally feels he deserves to be part of the discussion about the greatest in-game leaders in history.
“I just try to do my job well, try to win matches, and try to be my best every day. As for how others judge me, that's up to them. Some can say karrigan is the best, and some can say gla1ve used to be the best, I have no problem with that at all, they can all have their own arguments. But I think I should at least be part of that discussion.”
For 25-year-old ZywOo, the situation is completely different. Despite his young age, he is already considered one of the greatest players of all time, and his entire top-tier career so far has been spent with Vitality. As such, he also has the opportunity to become a true "one-club man" for this French club.
“When I first started playing CS, I never thought I would become a one-club player,” ZywOo said, “But when you think about it, if I only play for one club and don’t go anywhere else, while still achieving so much, then in the end, it really does have a special meaning. When my career is over, if I look back and think, ‘I only ever played for one club in my life,’ it will be a really wonderful feeling.”
“But I don't have time to think only about these things right now because we still have too many games to play.”
At the time of this interview, the second half of the season had just kicked off with the BLAST Bounty online stage, where Vitality suffered a surprise first-round loss to Liquid.
“We are indeed facing more difficulties now, and we're struggling more in matches, but considering that we have maintained such excellent team performance over the past year and a half, I think this is actually quite normal.”
“For a few months, in a sense, we almost never lost.
"We are indeed struggling a bit more now, but we will definitely find a solution. As for getting back to the highest level, we are not worried, because we know we are actually not that far from it."
apEX also told HLTV that he is not worried about the team's recent form, because looking back at the five goals set since this lineup came together, they have already accomplished four of them.
“Overall, this team has accomplished something truly incredible, and this run will undoubtedly go down in history,” he said. “If you look back over the past 18 months, we had five goals in total. The first Intel Grand Slam, the Austin Major, the Budapest Major, and then winning the second Intel Grand Slam outright in Rio — and we achieved all of them. The fifth goal was to win Cologne, but we failed to do it.
“This shows that we are only human after all, and people make mistakes, and there are times when things don't go well. Looking back at our performance in Cologne, I think the biggest problem was, in a sense, that we lacked a bit of hunger.”
Now, the team's attention has turned to EWC. The importance of this tournament comes not only from the generous prize money, but also because it will be held in Vitality's home country, France. ZywOo and his teammates have an excellent track record in the French capital, Paris, where they won the Major title in 2023, and ZywOo said this event will be very special for them.
“This is truly a very crucial moment for us, because we want to be able to perform well in front of the French crowd, and this is equally very important for Vitality. We don't feel any extra pressure because of it, but we know that being able to see our families, friends, and all the fans who support us in Paris will be really important,” said ZywOo.
When the topic turned to what the two hope to achieve during this new Vitality contract cycle, they gave exactly the same answer — champions.
“Throughout my career, proving my doubters wrong has always given me a lot of motivation. When it was announced in 2020 that I would be the in-game leader, a lot of people laughed, thinking it could never work, thinking I was a brainless in-game leader who couldn't think at all.” apEX began to look back on his time at Vitality so far.
“I don't feel like I have anything left to prove anymore. My goal is just to win. Win Majors, win titles, win anything there is to win, win everything I possibly can before I end my career, because I don't want to waste my time. I just want to give my best every day, and that's what drives me forward every day.
“If my career ended today, I would be proud of myself for the championships I have now.”
ZywOo added: “I think winning more tournament titles will be the main goal. As for personal goals, I don't really have anything specific I'm chasing... I just want to win titles. I don't want to put more pressure on myself because I'm already very satisfied with everything I have now. So if in the future I can win one, two, three, four, five more MVPs, or more titles, I'll be very happy.”
These two Vitality core players are currently at completely different stages of their careers. apEX talked a few years ago about a bucket list he hoped to complete before retiring, and now he has unlocked almost every major honor achievable in a CS career. So when exactly will the French captain decide to officially end his career?
"The problem is, you never really know the answer," he said with a smile, "I think if one day I choose to stop, there might be several reasons. The first is that my teammates no longer trust me. If they no longer trust me, feel that I'm done, then of course.
"The second reason is that I'm tired of competing," apEX continued, "The third reason, which should actually be first, is family. My life has also changed a lot, because in a few months I'm going to be a father, so I have to consider my family's needs as well. For the past 20 years, I've basically only had to think about myself, but now, I have to start thinking about the other people in my life.
“To give an example, suppose it's the end of 2028, I'm still in good competitive form, and maybe I still want to keep playing. Then Vitality offers me another one-year contract extension, and I will definitely discuss it seriously with my family. Maybe in the future my children and partner will say to me, ‘We really want you to come home, we need you by our side,’ then I might retire; or they might say, ‘Keep playing at the highest level you can, enjoy another year of your career.’ I don't know which it will be in the end, but life will make the choice for me.”