Zyw0o’s record-breaking performance speaks a lot about the grit it required to win the ESL Pro League Season 16 Championship. He needed every frag just to keep Team Vitality in the match and to force the 5th map.
Slow Start
The match started slow for the superstar(for the Chosen One’s standards) with 13 frags in inferno.
In danger of going 2-0 in the finals, Zyw0o woke up with a map-leading 19 frags in Dust 2, 14 coming in the way of the AWP. Together with Magisk’s 85 damage per round and 18 frags, Zyw0o and the rest of Vitality held Team Liquid to 7 rounds to tie the series. At this point, the Frenchman had 29 frags to his name with his best performance yet to come.
Heartbreaking Loss at Mirage
Zyw0o got 36% of his frags in the triple overtime loss in Mirage. 34 (67%) of his 51 frags were courtesy of the AWP. As the A anchor, Zyw0o punished Palace and Ramp entries from CT Stairs, Trash, and Ticket. He sometimes extended his reach, getting a few kills in Connector by moving inside A towards Boxes and Palms. If apEX calls for change-ups, Zy would take his big green to B and Window. In B, he positioned in the orthodox positions of Car, Forest, and Kitchen.
His presence, however, was not enough to take out Team Liquid. Zyw0o’s individual performance was weighed down by a lack of support from his team and the solid team plays from Team Liquid.
Taking Over Overpass
Overpass proved to be another strength of the AWPer, with a map-leading 35 frags (20 AWP frags) and a 1.51 rating. The easy access between bomb sites proved beneficial to Zyw0o. Team Vitality’s defense made him the AWP anchor in A, but his range extended to the other end of A-long and Party.
The 1v2 Clutch
But his best performance was when he was called upon to retake B with his trusty AWP. Down 12-9, Team Liquid cleared the rest of Team Vitality. Only Zyw0o was left from A. He sneaked into B through the Underpass and immediately walked down to Pit.
Having just planted the bomb, he caught EliGE looking towards Walkway to take the first kill, setting up a 1v1 against up-and-coming AWPer oSee. After the shot, he immediately repositioned to EliGE’s position, using the Pillar as a barrier between him and oSee. In an Awper vs Awper 1v1 situation, Zyw0o came out on top by moving around the B Pillar and catching oSee’s back.
Saving the AWP the previous two rounds and getting this 1v2 clutch allowed Team Vitality to recover and claw back to even the series at 12.
Rifle Dominance in Vertigo
In Vertigo, Zyw0o proved that he is no one-trick pony by preferring the rifle throughout the map. Team Vitality took the pistols and the second round. They took control of the economy by winning the next 6 rounds to get an 8-0 lead over Liquid. The half ended 10-5 in favor of Team Vitality.
Zyw0o provided the fragging; getting 17 kills in the first half. In the second half, Zyw0o and Team Vitality just needed 6 rounds to close out the match and win the Championship. At 15-11, Team Vitality planted the bomb in B. With EliGE faking the defuse, Zyw0o swings from the Catwalk boxes to get the headshot with his AK to close out the map and the match.
When the grueling 5-map match was over, Zyw0o recorded 143 frags to go along with his stellar 1.39 overall rating. He was the x-factor that Vitality needed to close out this tournament and claim ESL Pro League 16.
The upcoming IEM Rio will be the ultimate test for the young AWPer. Can he and vitality knock down the defending champs, Faze?