apEX names the greatest moment of his career — and why Paris still tops Austin

On October 15, 2025, Team Vitality’s in-game leader Dan “apEX” Madesclaire reflected on the single best moment of his professional Counter-Strike career. Speaking on Team Vitality’s YouTube channel, the French captain said the top spot still belongs to BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, won on home soil in front of family and French fans. He added that BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 “was tougher” in many ways and “in a sense better,” but Paris remains No. 1 because of the unique emotion of winning at home. 

apEX has competed since 2009 and has lifted numerous tier-one trophies, including three Major titles in his career and the ESL/Intel Grand Slam with Vitality earlier this year. Vitality became just the fifth team ever to claim the Grand Slam after triumphing at IEM Melbourne 2025, a run capped by a final against Falcons. 

Related updates and quotes

On returning to trophies at EPL S22 (Stockholm, Oct 12, 2025): after Vitality swept Falcons 3–0 in the grand final, apEX posted, “Feels great to lift a trophy again — I missed this.” He called it their first title of the second half of the year following a rough post-Major stretch. 

On handling pressure before the Austin Major (June 2025): apEX told HLTV that Vitality arrived as “one of the biggest favorites ever” on a six-tournament win streak, stressing that the Major is “the most important tournament.” Vitality would go on to win Austin. 

On the Austin crowd (summer 2025): in multiple post-match interviews around Austin, apEX leaned into the hostile atmosphere with lines like “Keep hating us, it’s working,” a sentiment that became part of Vitality’s swagger during their title run. 

Grand Slam milestone (April 27, 2025): Vitality sealed the ESL/Intel Grand Slam at IEM Melbourne, becoming the fifth organization to do so; ZywOo earned MVP of the event. 

Snapshot of the résumé behind apEX’s pick

• Major championships with Vitality: Paris 2023 and Austin 2025 (ZywOo MVP at both), with apEX’s career Major tally now at three overall. 

• Grand Slam winners: Vitality added the ESL/Intel Grand Slam in 2025. 

Source note

This rewrite is based on Cybersport.ru’s report of apEX’s comments from a Vitality video, with added context and quotes from HLTV, Vitality’s official releases, and Cybersport’s follow-up coverage of EPL S22.