Vitality suffered an upset 1-2 loss to B8 at the 2026 Esports Club World Cup, dropping to the losers' bracket of Group C; following their upset defeat to Liquid in the Round of 32 at the BLAST Bounty, this marks their second consecutive series loss of the new season.
In a post-match interview with HLTV, XTQZZZ attributed the team's slump to a loss of confidence.
The French coach discussed the choice of jL as a temporary substitute for BLAST Open Porto and PGL Masters Bucharest, but did not give a direct answer when asked who would take over the in-game leader role at the Bucharest event.
Vitality has no room for retreat in their remaining matches in Paris, and XTQZZZ hopes the team can improve their performance.
Q: You lost to B8 in three maps at the Esports Club World Cup and dropped to the losers' bracket. First, please share your thoughts on this series.
XTQZZZ: I'm really disappointed. Overall, we played terribly. On the first map, our CT side was decent. We won the pistol round, but then the opponents had a really good plan. Our early-round decisions weren't right, though it improved later. Our start after switching sides was terrible, but eventually we finally started executing our prepared strategies more, things got better, and we ended up winning the map. Inferno was also hard to swallow because I felt we played very well on CT side and had good plans. On T side, I think we were a bit too stubborn about what we wanted to play, and then we lost some rounds we shouldn't have. Even though we got an early advantage on Dust2 by winning the pistol round, we never managed to adjust back. So there are absolutely no excuses. Especially in the early stages, we should have realized what they were trying to do, but we still let them get the opening kill over and over again. After that, we lost the second pistol round, and the match was over.
Q: Before the match, you said you didn't expect them to pick Mirage. You only managed to win that map in overtime, then lost your own map pick, and the third map was even more one-sided. Was there anything about the opponent's playstyle that surprised you?
XTQZZZ: Honestly, no. We played against them in scrims on Dust2, and their playstyle was pretty much the same. We also know them well on Inferno, so no, no, no. We absolutely have no excuses. No excuses. We just didn't show up today. We need to have a thorough discussion tonight to figure out how this happened and perform better in the next match. That's it.
Q: The team's start to the new season has been a bit slow. You lost to Liquid in the first round of the BLAST Bounty, and now you've dropped to the lower bracket at the Esports World Cup. Why do you think the team is struggling so much at the start of the season?
XTQZZZ: I think we definitely lost our confidence. In many rounds, we hesitated and were afraid to make decisions; I'm not even asking for them to be the right ones, I just feel we need to play with more courage. I don't know why, because as I said, we have no excuses. I think our preparation was very good, which is also why it's so painful right now, because I feel we did well. But mentally, we didn't reach the state we should have been in.
Q: A few days ago, Vitality announced that jL would be your temporary stand-in for two tournaments. Why him? Was he your first choice? Did you consider any other players?
XTQZZZ: Yes, we had a few options. We could have promoted a player from the academy team, but after the Major, I evaluated them and felt they weren't ready yet. jL will compete in the BLAST event, though initially it might only need to cover the playoffs stage; it's not ideal to make it to the playoffs, step onto the stage, and then bring in an academy player as a last-minute stand-in. Considering role assignments and our substitute planning, we felt he wasn't a perfect fit, but at least the most suitable one. We had two or three options, and he was the best choice.
Q: This will only be two tournaments, right? But the impact will extend beyond these two events, as players will be rotating in and out of the roster. What goals did you set when the team returned from the off-season? This won't be a regular season, and due to some uncontrollable circumstances, there will be times when you won't be able to perform at your best, right?
XTQZZZ: Yes, I think that's exactly our main issue right now. We have to accept this situation, and I don't think we've managed to do that yet. For us, the Esports World Cup is a major goal for the club and an important tournament for us as well, so we just want to focus on this event first. We want to take it one tournament at a time, because as you said, the situation afterward will be quite unique. But we must accept it and keep moving forward.
Q: After apEX's short break, who will take over as IGL?
XTQZZZ: (laughs) We'll see then.
Q: Well, it's certainly a bit mysterious. You still have one chance to advance to the playoffs, and your next opponent is Lynn Vision. While you're favored to win this match, the biggest question is: do you think we'll still see the best version of Vitality at this tournament?
XTQZZZ: I hope so. We must also achieve it, otherwise it will be a huge failure. First, we need to reflect on what happened today, have an in-depth discussion, and ultimately demonstrate our capabilities, because so far we haven't done that. The first match was a Bo1, so it doesn't count for me. I know our preparation was good, and I believe in our preparation. The issue now is our mindset, and how we want to respond as a team to prove that we can still compete.