Team Vitality's apEX takes temporary leave from CSGO

Fariha Bhatti Published 09/02/2021

Team Vitality’s in-game leader Dan “apEX” Madesclaire has decided to take a breather and temporarily step down from the active roster amid BLAST Premier Spring.

Taking to Twitter, the French team’s coach Rémy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam made official that apEX won’t be calling the shots during the BLAST spring series as he’ll be going inactive for an indefinite period.

Official statement from our CS:GO coach @XTQZZZ.

TL;DR: our captain @Vitality_apEX takes a break due to personal reasons. We hope to have him back in the team as soon as possible. pic.twitter.com/UxSTDrzC0N
— Team Vitality ???? (@TeamVitality) February 9, 2021

The exact duration of the break is unknown, but the coach has confirmed that apEX has the discretion to take his time to recover from his “personal problems.” Vitality’s roster will fend without the skipper throughout BLAST Premier spring, while the team’s leadership in future tournaments remains uncertain.

The official statement is a mix of various issues that the team has dealt with over the past few months. It’s hard to put the finger on one particular problem that may have led apEX to step down. However, the Esports Integrity Commision recently fined the team $10,000 for breaching a code during a match against Team Liquid. The coach has likely hinted at the event as he mentioned that “unjustified accusations” coupled with apEX’s personal issues prompted him to pull back.

Team Vitality issued $10,000 fine for stream-sniping during BLAST Premier

Vitality loses leader apEX temporarily

Apart from recent events, Team Vitality has had an overwhelming 2020 where the Frenchmen accommodated a new recruit in Nabil “Nivera” Benrlitom and displayed the first official mid-match substitution in the history of top-tier pro Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Despite numerous changes to the roster, the team remained stable for most of the year.

The French squad was left without a leader after Alex “ALEX” McMeekin quit the team. apEX quickly assumed the office and guided the team to several finals, including a first finish at Intel Extreme Masters XVl. The newly minted skipper has solely saved the team from a much-anticipated plunge after ALEX’s departure. The events of the past year may have impacted XTQZZZ’s decision to allow apEX a break. The coach did touch on the subject of physical and mental health of players in his statement.

“Despite this temporary complication, the team will continue to fight tirelessly. We will also continue to innovate and work to find solutions to enable out athletes to evolve in an optimal physical and mental environment that is ever more conducive to maximum performance,” XTQZZZ said.

It remains to be seen who’ll step into apEX’s shoes to grab the wheel for the tim being. Fortunately, the organization’s decision to work with a six-man roster helps the team as it will mitigate the damage caused by apEX’s departure.

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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