ZywOo Explains His Love for Cache After Vitality’s ESL Pro League Season 24 Win

Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut has made his feelings about Cache clear after another MVP-winning tournament for Vitality.

Following Vitality’s ESL Pro League Season 24 championship, the French superstar explained why the returning map feels so natural to him, pointing to his familiarity with its fights, positioning and teamplay. The numbers backed up his enthusiasm: ZywOo averaged a 2.03 rating across three Cache maps at the event, according to HLTV. 

The comments came after Vitality swept MOUZ in the best-of-five grand final and secured a second consecutive tournament victory. ZywOo finished the final with a 1.65 rating and subsequently received the 34th MVP award of his career. 

Quick Summary

What ZywOo Said About Cache

ZywOo's attachment to Cache goes much further back than its current place in competitive Counter-Strike.

Speaking to HLTV after ESL Pro League Season 24, he recalled that Cache was already one of his favorite maps around 2017. Its return has therefore reunited one of Counter-Strike's most accomplished players with a map he understood well before becoming a global superstar. 

His explanation also offered more substance than simply calling Cache a favorite.

ZywOo said:

“I know what to peek, I know what to swing, I know how to help my teammates on this map.”

He additionally confirmed that he plays the A position on Cache, an important detail when trying to understand why the map has produced such immediate results for him. 

That comfort translated into an extraordinary 2.03 tournament rating on Cache across three maps. The sample is small, and ZywOo himself was discussing only one tournament, so it would be premature to treat that figure as his sustainable long-term Cache level. It nevertheless provides an early indication that the map could become a significant strength for both ZywOo and Vitality. 

ZywOo and Vitality Turn Cache Into an Immediate Weapon

The clearest demonstration came in the ESL Pro League Season 24 grand final.

MOUZ opened Cache with a 5-1 advantage on the CT side, but Vitality responded with six consecutive rounds to take control of the half. After switching sides, ZywOo helped close out the map with 21 kills, 107 ADR and a 2.00 rating as Vitality won 13-7. 

Vitality went on to take Inferno 13-8 and Dust2 16-12 in overtime, completing a 3-0 sweep of MOUZ. ZywOo recorded 64 kills against 33 deaths across the series and led the server with a 1.65 grand-final rating. 

The Cache performance therefore was not an isolated highlight inside a losing series. It helped establish the platform for Vitality's championship victory.

Why Cache Could Matter to Vitality’s Map Pool

ZywOo's individual numbers are only part of the story.

Vitality had also been dealing with the removal of Overpass, which ZywOo described as one of the team's strongest maps. He said the squad was “a bit disappointed” to lose it from the pool, while offering a generally positive assessment of the current selection and identifying Anubis as the map that could be improved. 

That makes Cache particularly interesting.

If Vitality can establish it as a dependable map rather than merely a strong early result, it could offset some of the strategic cost of losing Overpass.

There is also an obvious individual advantage. ZywOo's explanation suggests his success is tied to familiarity with the geometry and timing of the map: he already feels comfortable choosing his fights, swinging into engagements and supporting teammates.

For a player capable of determining entire series, putting him on a map where those decisions feel instinctive could have implications for future vetoes.

Tactical impact of ZywOo on Cache

ZywOo's comments provide one confirmed positional clue: he plays A on Cache. 

Beyond that, detailed conclusions about Vitality's permanent Cache structure would require a larger map sample.

Still, his description highlights three areas worth monitoring: how aggressively Vitality allows him to contest opening fights, how the team supports his A-side positioning on CT rounds, and whether opponents begin altering their defaults specifically to limit his opportunities.

The most important question is whether teams can force ZywOo away from the engagements he currently appears extremely comfortable taking.

ESL Pro League Season 24 Put ZywOo Back on Top

Cache was only one part of an outstanding tournament.

ZywOo finished ESL Pro League Season 24 with a tournament-best 1.44 rating and led Vitality's rating board in all three playoff series: 1.66 against PARIVISION, 1.44 against Aurora and 1.65 against MOUZ. 

HLTV also recorded him as the tournament leader in kills per round at 0.86 and round swing at +4.33%, while he ranked second for damage per round at 85.0 and KAST at 79.2%. 

Those performances earned ZywOo his sixth MVP award of 2026 and the 34th MVP medal of his career, extending his record total. 

ZywOo’s ESL Pro League Season 24 Playoff Run

Source: HLTV MVP coverage. 

The consistency is particularly notable. Instead of accumulating his tournament rating primarily against weaker opposition earlier in the event, ZywOo remained Vitality's highest-rated player throughout each stage of the playoffs. 

Timeline: Vitality, ZywOo and the ESL Pro League Title

Why ZywOo’s Cache Form Matters

The immediate significance is not that ZywOo had another exceptional tournament — that is hardly unusual at this stage of his career.

What makes Cache important is what it could add to Vitality's veto structure.

A map on which the team's biggest star is exceptionally comfortable can create pressure before a series even begins. Opponents eventually have to decide whether they are comfortable challenging that strength or whether the map deserves additional attention during preparation and vetoes.

That effect cannot yet be declared after three maps.

But a 2.03 rating across those first three ESL Pro League Cache appearances, followed by a 2.00 performance in the grand final, makes Vitality's future results on the map worth tracking. 

Historical Context: Cache Is Not a New Favorite for ZywOo

The most revealing part of ZywOo's interview may be the timeline.

His preference for Cache predates his rise to the highest level of professional Counter-Strike. He told HLTV that it was already potentially one of his favorite maps back in 2017. 

That history offers one plausible explanation for how quickly he has appeared comfortable on it.

There is an important distinction, however: familiarity with an older version of Cache does not automatically guarantee dominance in modern CS2 competition. Team structures, utility usage, mechanics and the competitive environment have evolved.

The ESL Pro League run provides strong early evidence, not a final verdict.

Impact on Vitality

Vitality leave ESL Pro League Season 24 with more than another trophy.

The championship was their second tournament victory in succession following StarSeries Fall, helping the team recover momentum after what HLTV described as a slower start to the Fall season. 

There was also a symbolic breakthrough.

ZywOo said winning at the Spodek felt particularly satisfying after six years of quarter-final exits there, declaring that the team's “curse” was finally broken. 

More importantly for future competition, Vitality now have another potentially dangerous map in their pool at a time when the loss of Overpass could otherwise have disrupted their established strengths.

What Changes Now for Vitality

Vitality's next challenge introduces a much bigger structural variable than Cache.

apEX is set to miss PGL Masters Bucharest because of the birth of his child. ZywOo confirmed that jL will play with the team, while mezii is expected to take on at least some of the in-game leadership responsibilities. 

ZywOo also suggested that the remaining players will need to communicate more and assume additional responsibility while apEX is absent. 

That means Vitality's next tournament will test whether their current form can survive a temporary leadership change.

Expected Vitality setup for PGL Masters Bucharest

The arrangement is based on ZywOo's post-EPL comments and should be treated as the expected Bucharest lineup in this context. 

What to Watch Next

Several questions now become more valuable than ZywOo's initial 2.03 Cache rating itself.

First is sample size. Three maps are enough to identify an exceptional start but not enough to establish a durable performance baseline.

Second is opponent adaptation. Teams now have tournament footage showing how Vitality use ZywOo around A and which fights he prefers. His results after opponents specifically prepare for those patterns will provide stronger evidence about the map's long-term ceiling.

Third is Vitality's map pool. Cache becomes especially valuable if it can consistently compensate for losing Overpass as one of the team's established strengths.

Finally, PGL Masters Bucharest will test a different variable altogether: whether Vitality can maintain championship-level Counter-Strike without apEX directing the team.

Related Teams, Players and Events

Vitality: The reigning ESL Pro League Season 24 champion and ZywOo's team. The current lineup listed by HLTV features apEX, ropz, ZywOo, flameZ and mezii under coach XTQZZZ. 

MOUZ: Vitality's opponent in the ESL Pro League Season 24 grand final. Vitality won the best-of-five series 3-0. 

ZywOo: Vitality's French superstar and ESL Pro League Season 24 MVP, finishing the tournament with a 1.44 rating. 

apEX: Vitality's in-game leader, who is set to miss PGL Masters Bucharest for the birth of his child. 

mezii: Expected to assume additional leadership responsibility during apEX's absence. 

jL: Set to stand in for Vitality at PGL Masters Bucharest, according to ZywOo's interview. 

ESL Pro League Season 24: The tournament where Vitality defeated MOUZ in the final and ZywOo collected his 34th career MVP. 

FAQ

Why does ZywOo like Cache?

ZywOo said Cache was already one of his favorite maps around 2017. He explained that he feels comfortable identifying when to peek and swing and understands how to support his teammates on the map. 

What was ZywOo’s rating on Cache at ESL Pro League Season 24?

ZywOo recorded a 2.03 rating across three Cache maps at ESL Pro League Season 24. Because the figure comes from only three maps, it should be viewed as an exceptional early sample rather than a long-term average. 

How did ZywOo perform in the ESL Pro League Season 24 final?

He finished Vitality's 3-0 victory over MOUZ with 64 kills, 33 deaths, 90.3 ADR and a 1.65 rating. On Cache specifically, he recorded 21 kills, 107 ADR and a 2.00 rating. 

How many MVP awards does ZywOo have?

ZywOo's ESL Pro League Season 24 award was the 34th MVP medal of his career and his sixth of 2026, according to HLTV. 

Will apEX play with Vitality at PGL Masters Bucharest?

No. According to the post-final interview, apEX is stepping away for the event because of the birth of his child. ZywOo said Vitality will play with jL and indicated that mezii will take additional in-game leadership responsibility.