Vitality’s Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut is known for his incredible AWP plays, but his recent clutch against Astralis in the IEM Global Challenge 2020 may have been one of his best plays yet.
Team Vitality failed to outclass Astralis in the final match of group stage but ZywOo’s extraordinary performance throughout the game turned heads.
ZywOo seemed in a great shape from the outset. His excellent KD on Nuke and Dust II kept Astralis on its toes throughout the maps. In the second map, Dust II, Astralis was leading with six rounds. It was the final run before the switch came down to ZywOo and Nabil “Nivera” Benrlitom against Astralis’ four. It seemed like a doable round until Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen took down Nivera, leaving the fate of Vitality on ZywOo’s shoulders and he did not disappoint.
The AWPer initiated his killing spree by taking Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth down on A long with a smooth AWP shot. By this time, ZywOo knew that it was him against the three best rifles of Astralis.
The AWPer took over the bombsite A, turning it into a no-go area. ZywOo slowly walked to A default. Dupreeh, who was expecting him at A goose, was struck down with ZywOo’s unforgiving AWP while trying to jump peek from the elevator. This no scope sent a warning to Astralis that Vitality’s AWP is functioning well.
Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz was next to become prey to ZywOo’s AWP. Vitality’s prized player, ZywOo, shut down Astralis’ ace AWPer dev1ce in a simple kill on A short. And he wasn’t done yet. ZywOo wrapped up the half in a terrific round-winning no scope against Emil “Magisk” Reif. The action-packed 1v4 lasted for almost one minute, reaffirming ZywOo’s agility with the AWP.
His 1v4 wasn’t the only prominent performance against Astralis. ZywOo saved many rounds with his AWP while his team was struggling to gain some control. His performance in Dust II, however, was exceptional. With 20 kills in Nuke and 40+ kills in the second map, ZywOo was firing on all cylinders throughout the game.
Despite his excellent performance, Vitality failed to secure a spot in the playoffs of IEM Global Challenge. Astralis bested the Frenchmen in inferno and Dust II. However, ZywOo culminated the final tournament of 2020 with a striking rating of 1.40, proving that he’s considered one of the best players in the world for a reason.
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
