ZywOo Wins IEM Krakow MVP — His 29th Career Medal

The IEM Krakow tournament concluded on February 8 with Team Vitality defeating Brazilian side FURIA 3–1 in the grand final. Once again, Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut stole the spotlight, earning the MVP award from both HLTV and ESL.

The French superstar delivered an incredible tournament performance, finishing with a 1.59 rating. In the grand final alone, ZywOo recorded 90 kills while dying only 41 times, playing a decisive role in Vitality’s dominant run to the title.

This award marks the 29th MVP medal of ZywOo’s career, further extending his lead in the all-time standings. His closest rival remains Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, who currently holds 21 MVP medals.

The IEM Krakow trophy also marks ZywOo’s first individual award of 2026. Earlier this year, Nikola “NiKo” Kovač earned the MVP title at BLAST Bounty Winter despite finishing the tournament in second place. With this victory, Vitality and ZywOo have started the new season in strong fashion.

Throughout his career, ZywOo has built a legacy filled with championships, including three Major titles: BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, and StarLadder Budapest Major 2025. Notably, he was named MVP at each of those events, reinforcing his reputation as one of the greatest Counter-Strike players of all time.

Vitality Crowned IEM Krakow Champions After 3–1 Victory Over FURIA

Vitality won’t have much time to rest. Their next challenge will be PGL Cluj-Napoca, scheduled for February 14–22, featuring a $1.25 million prize pool. After their triumph in Krakow, Vitality head into the tournament as one of the clear favorites.