Vitality Triumphs at Austin Major: Apex Silences Critics with Victory

The team captain first gave the American audience the middle finger. Then he played brilliantly and won the Austin Major with his team, Vitality.

– I love being the villain, says Apex to Blast.tv after the victory.

The final began with French Vitality captain Dan “Apex” Madesclaire showing the American audience the finger after being booed since the championship started.

The underdog and crowd favorite Mongolz, however, began the Austin Major final in CS2 by overwhelming the favorites on Mirage with a 13–5 score.

This did not shake Vitality, who responded with an even more convincing win on Dust2 with 13–4.

The final was decided on the classic tiebreaker map Inferno, which is normally a very strong map for Vitality, but where the team had lost both attempts during the tournament.

Silencing the Crowd

In the beginning, it was Apex who played brilliantly and silenced the American audience. The Mongolians had a steep climb of six rounds to catch up when the sides switched.

They never even came close.

Team Vitality wins their second Major in history after a 13–6 victory, and the title is also Vitality's seventh in a row during the team's historic season.

When Apex took the stage for the winner's interview, the boos had turned into cheers.

– I love being the villain, says a happy Apex to Blast.tv and continues:

– I proved the haters wrong.

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