Team Vitality cruise through CS_Summit 4, take the chicken trophy

Team Vitality are the champions of CS_Summit 4.

The French squad looked excellent throughout the house party-style tournament, crushing the group stage and making a strong run through the playoffs to hoist the trophy. The final victory for Vitality came at the expense of the favorites to win the tournament, Team Liquid.

Vitality entered the grand finals coming off a dramatic win over ENCE Esports, and the team seemed to be inspired by that in the early goings of game one on Nuke. They pressed the CT side advantage early, racking up a strong lead with tight teamwork and the occasional big play from Nathan “NBK-” Schmitt. That allowed Vitality to amass a 12-3 lead by halftime. While Liquid started to bridge the gap after swapping sides, the difference was too much to overcome, leading to a 16-9 opening victory.

Liquid looked ready to even the score in the early goings of game two on Overpass, breaking off the first three rounds thanks to some heroics from Jake “Stewie2K” Yip. Once Vitality started to get the ball rolling, the wheels completely came off on Liquid with the team struggling with both execution and coordination en route to another lopsided halftime score of 11-4. Liquid settled down and nearly mounted a comeback, but a Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut clutch stuffed the rally and Vitality closed things out from there 16-13.

Vitality was one of the biggest surprises of the IEM Katowice Major and the team has only gotten better since. Though they came up just a hair short of the Champions Stage playoffs, they proved themselves to be one of the most hottest rising teams in CS:GO during the group stages. The lineup stuck together during the post-major shuffle and has hit its stride over the last month with a strong showing in the Esports Championship Series Season 7 European division and a first place finish at Charleroi Esports 2019.

Though some could nitpick the relatively weak competition or the fact that one took place online, Vitality’s performance at CS_Summit 4 had it all. The team competed on LAN, looked strong in the group stage, and knocked out two of the best teams in the world in the playoffs to seal the deal, with each individual player having a big moment along the way.

The win likely gives Vitality an extra shove of momentum heading into what is going to be a busy summer for the squad. They will make a quick turnaround for DreamHack Masters Dallas and will go from there to the ECS Season 7 Finals.