French Counter-Strike megastar Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut is setting a precedent not seen in the esport after taking out his third HLTV top player of the year overnight at a glamorous awards show in Belgrade, Serbia. The win marks five straight years with ZywOo reaching the top two.
ZywOo and Ukranian star Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev have dominated the professional CS2 (formerly CS:GO) scene for years, with the pair trading blows for half a decade. In the last two iterations of the HLTV top 20, he’s been a runner-up behind s1mple, but ZywOo’s win for 2023 marks his unprecedented third, proving that the young talent has what it takes for a legendary status among esports personalities. The only other player in HLTV award history to win three times was s1mple himself, who this year managed seventh after sitting out half the season just after CS2’s release.
The awards evening, which took place in Belgrade on Jan. 13, also saw ZywOo’s Team Vitality win Team of the Year—an achievement that would definitely not have happened without the young star. When commenting on his wins, ZywOo said to HLTV that he never really focused on winning awards; instead, he poured his effort into remaining consistently good and not being a nuisance for his allies.
“I must admit that it’s never been my objective like all these years, I’m looking above all to be as consistent as possible for my team and not to be a nuisance for them,” ZywOo said. His humility in victory is highly commendable, and his nod towards his teammates with whom he’s been playing since his rise to stardom is a welcome sight.
According to HLTV stats, ZywOo has performed five to 25 percent better than the average professional player at all major events of 2023. He won five tournament MVP awards and wrapped the year with the BLAST Fall Finals and World Finals trophies. Performances at both events contributed significantly towards his eventual award as 2023’s best player.
But one thing should also be considered: s1mple, due to personal reasons, decided to take a break for over half a year and hasn’t been active in CS2 that much. The fact that his most prominent opponent in the awards withdrew from the scene also likely played a part. Still, with all the stats considered, one player’s absence wasn’t all too important, as the numbers speak for themselves.
ZywOo has only recently turned 23, and with this great of a career behind him already, who knows what we will see from him next and whether his ceiling can go any higher. His first step; qualifying for CS2’s first Major, the PGL Copengahen Major, via the European RMR starting Feb. 14.
