apEX Defends XTQZZZ After Coach of the Year Controversy, Reflects on Vitality’s Historic 2025 and Goals for 2026

apEX Defends XTQZZZ After Coach of the Year Controversy, Reflects on Vitality’s Historic 2025 and Goals for 2026

Dan “apEX” Madesclaire, captain and in-game leader of French powerhouse Team Vitality, responded at length to online discussion around the team’s coach winning the HLTV Coach of the Year award for 2025, emphasizing the value of his coach’s contribution amid debate within the Counter-Strike community.

Acknowledging 2025’s Historic Run

Reflecting on one of the most successful seasons in Counter-Strike history, apEX highlighted that 2025 was exceptionally strong for Vitality, even compared to Astralis’ dominant 2018 season. The team amassed an unparalleled trophy haul — finishing with nine titles across the year — and maintained top-tier consistency at every event entered.

Vitality’s record included several premier wins, such as IEM Katowice 2025, ESL Pro League Season 21, BLAST Open Lisbon 2025, IEM Melbourne 2025, BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 1, IEM Dallas 2025, and the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 — culminating in a Major championship run. The team later added the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 title, becoming one of the few rosters to secure back-to-back Major victories.

Defending Coach XTQZZZ

Amid online reactions questioning the Coach of the Year accolade earned by Rémy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam, apEX delivered a thorough defense of his coach’s impact. He stressed that criticisms often overlook the substantial strategic, preparation, and team-management work that a coach performs behind the scenes.

apEX pushed back against the notion that the award was somehow unmerited, arguing that a coach’s role — especially in preparation, team cohesion, and strategic development — is often undervalued by external observers. He noted that when players excel and perform well together, it often reflects deep preparatory work led by coaching staff rather than luck or players managing everything independently.

This defense came after community commentary about how XTQZZZ’s contributions compared to other finalists such as Erdenedalai “maaRaa” Bayanbat and Sergey “hally” Shavaev. The broader context of this discussion was the prestigious HLTV Awards 2025, where Coach of the Year is decided by a panel that balances many aspects of performance and influence over a full season.

Motivation and Future Goals

Looking forward to 2026, apEX outlined Vitality’s goals beyond past accolades. While 2025’s success was extraordinary, the team is focused on continued competitiveness, pursuing trophies, and maintaining their status among the top squads in the world. He stated that aiming to be “the best team of all time” remains a driving ambition, though he acknowledged this will be difficult to achieve.

Despite skipping certain online events like the Pro League to manage preparation and avoid burnout, apEX emphasized a step-by-step approach — prioritizing peak performance at key LAN competitions, including upcoming Majors.

Context: Vitality’s Awards and Accolades

At the HLTV Awards 2025, Vitality’s dominance was reflected across multiple categories:

• Team of the Year — Vitality topped the list, finishing ahead of Spirit and MOUZ.

• Coach of the Year — XTQZZZ was recognized as the top coach, completing Vitality’s sweep of panel awards that also included several player honors.

• IGL of the Year — apEX himself was honored for his leadership across a trophy-filled season.

These accolades underscored Vitality’s competitive depth and strategic excellence throughout Counter-Strike 2’s 2025 calendar.