Nivera steps down from Vitality's roster

William Davis Published 12/03/2021

Belgian AWPer Nabil “Nivera” Benrlitom is stepping down from Vitality’s starting roster, as the team abandons its six-man roster in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

Nivera joined Vitality back in October of last year, being introduced as the team’s sixth player. He initially only played on Dust II and Inferno but was later given playtime on Nuke as well. With Nivera on the roster, Vitality won IEM Beijing-Haidan and the Blast Premier Fall Finals. While Nivera didn’t win any MVP medals, he proved that a rotation system with six players has potential in CSGO. 

With Valve recently announcing new rules to substituting players during Road to Major events, the concept of a six-man roster no longer seemed like a viable option. In their announcement, Vitality said the following about the situation: “Unfortunately, following the recent announcement, questions arose regarding the 6-man (sic) format and we aren’t feeling confident regarding the future of this structure. We are coming back to a 5-man roster for the time being”. 

While substituting players is still possible in the Road to Major events, teams will lose a certain amount of points for every substitute. Following the announcement, all teams that are using a six-man roster were rumored to make changes. Vitality is now the first to make a roster change, but Natus Vincere and Astralis are expected to follow suit.

Who is Nivera in CSGO?

His tenure with Vitality was Nivera’s first breakout into the highest tier of CSGO. Previously, he played for French teams like Warthox Esport and Team Heretics. While still under contract with Vitality, Nivera expressed his interest in a (temporary) transfer. 

Vitality CSGO roster in 2021

Vitality will start using this new iteration of their roster at the ESL Pro League Season 13, where it will be competing in Group B along with teams like G2, FaZe Clan, and mousesports.

With Nivera no longer on the active roster, Vitality is left with:

• Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut
• Cédric “RpK” Guypouy
• Kévin “misutaaa” Rabier
• Dan “apEX” Madesclaire
• Richard “shox” Papillon

Read Also

Counter-Strike

IEM Cologne Major 2026 CS2 Stage 3 Pick’Em Predictions Owen Harsono It’s that time of the year again, as the next Counter-Strike 2 Major is right around the corner. The IEM Cologne 2026 Major is set to start on June 2, meaning you still have some time to lock in your Pick’Em predictions. The Pick’Em Challenge is one of the most exciting parts of the CS2 Majors, as it allows you to test your knowledge and predict which teams make it ...

Counter-Strike

Team Spirit concede just 10 rounds in Stage 2 of the IEM Cologne Major Owen Harsono It was pretty weird seeing Team Spirit having to start the IEM Cologne Major from Stage 2, but they quickly proved why that was a mistake. With donk shooting on all fronts, the Eastern Europeans speed ran the competition to book their spot in Stage 3. With how they’ve been playing, it’s hard not to wonder whether they can actually win the entire thing. These boys can sometimes be known ...

Counter-Strike

BIG pull off 0-12 comeback to stay alive – IEM Cologne Major Stage 1 recap Owen Harsono We’ve just witnessed arguably the worst choke in Counter-Strike Major history, and we’re only on the first stage of the IEM Cologne Major. If you didn’t tune into the Stage 1 matches, here’s what you need to know heading into Stage 2. Many fans tend to underestimate Stage 1 teams for fair reasons, but some survivors in this tournament look extremely promising. Two Eastern European teams, BetBoom Team and B8, ...

Counter-Strike

Who will win the IEM Cologne Major 2026? Owen Harsono If you’re looking to play it safe and back one team at the Counter-Strike 2 IEM Cologne 2026 Major, traders prediction markets platforms have a clear frontrunner – it’s Team Vitality. But if it’s not meant to be, there are a few other candidates that could lift the trophy. Here’s what traders on Polymarket and Kalshi think. If you haven’t been watching CS2 this year and are only jumping on ...

Counter-Strike

The 10 best CS2 players who have never won a Major Owen Harsono In Counter-Strike, winning a Major immediately puts you into legend status. It’s an achievement that proves you won the game’s biggest trophy. However, there have been some really good players that could never get their hands on the biggest trophy that Counter-Strike esports has to offer. Here is WIN.gg's list of best CS2 players who have never won a Major. ScreaM is one of Counter-Strike's most famous players for one ...

Counter-Strike

IEM Cologne Major 2026: All the teams, favorites, and outright betting odds Owen Harsono Mark your calendars, as the IEM Cologne Major kicks off on June 2, 2026. We’re going to see the best teams in the world compete, but which ones are actually favored to take the title? This will be the first time in 10 years that IEM Cologne will return as a Counter-Strike Major, so the stakes this year are much higher than they’ve been in a decade. In this guide, ...

Esports Betting

All IEM Cologne winners and rosters in Counter-Strike history Owen Harsono IEM Cologne is one of Counter-Strike’s biggest events, happening every single year. Some seasons, the event is labeled as one of Valve’s two Counter-Strike Majors of the year, but if not, still stands as one of the big events every player chases to win. With the IEM Cologne 2026 Major right around the corner, let’s take a trip down memory lane and check out every single winner of the tournament, ...