Vitality win first clash with Astralis to move into 2-0 Challengers Stage pool of PGL Antwerp Major

Team Vitality claimed a vital victory over Astralis today at the PGL Antwerp CS:GO Major in what was the two teams’ first collision since the monumental move that sent Magisk, dupreeh, and coach zonic to Vitality.

The two teams met in a best-of-one on Mirage in the Challengers Stage, with a chance to move to 2-0 in Swiss stage play on the line. The first half went back-and-forth before ZywOo, fresh off a victory over Complexity where he didn’t die once, finally woke up to propel Vitality to a 9-6 lead after their T-side.

ZywOo’s top form continued immediately after switching sides, getting three kills with three clicks of his USP pistol in the first round of Vitality’s CT side. Virtually everyone on Vitality got a confidence boost thanks to ZywOo’s playmaking, with apEX’s victorious screams echoing off the studio walls after every round win. Vitality coasted to a 16-8 win thanks to a dominant CT side.

Vitality added the dynamic Danish duo and the famed coach following the conclusion of their 2021 campaign, while Astralis filled in their gaps with k0nfig and blameF before eventually adding farlig as the AWPer. In almost half a year since Vitality formed their “superteam,” they and Astralis had yet to face off until today, but both teams have somewhat underperformed since starting out the year.

With this win, Vitality now move into the ideal 2-0 pool of the Challengers Stage, meaning they have three opportunities to advance to the Legends Stage of the PGL Antwerp Major by winning a single best-of-three series. Astralis fall down to the 1-1 pool, meaning they’ll play one more crucial best-of-one before facing either elimination or qualification series.