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"It's not an easy task" Team Vitality IGL apEX on Resetting from Bad Form Amid Player Breaks
After making a name for himself as an entry fragger in the stacked French Counter-Strike scene, Dan “apEX” Madesclaire has established himself as one of the best IGLs of the new generation.
While tackling competing at the highest level of esports, apEX will soon also tackle another massive change in his personal life — becoming a father.
Ahead of the new journey, Stake conducted an in-person interview with apEX, allowing Strafe an opportunity to ask the Vitality IGL questions about everything inside and outside of the game.
French vs. International
Starting his professional Counter-Strike journey way back in CS:Source, apEX is part of an exclusive club of players who have found success across multiple iterations of the game.
The entry fragger-turned-IGL has shared the stage with the who’s who of French CS, evolving alongside the esport as it underwent massive changes.
This long and illustrious career has seen apEX experience both the era of national teams and the current fad of international rosters. apEX is also amongst the select few who won Majors in the two distinct eras of CS esports.
Alongside Nathan "NBK-" Schmitt, Vincent "Happy" Cervoni Schopenhauer, Fabien "kioShiMa" Fiey and Kenny "kennyS" Schrub, he won the Dreamhack Open Cluj-Napoca Major in 2015. apEX noted that this EnVyUs roster would be his favorite if he had to choose a favorite from the era of National teams.
"If I have to choose one lineup, I will say I will go with the EnVyUs lineup with KennyS, NBK-, Happy, KioShiMa and me, because that's the lineup I won my first Major with."
After spending over a decade playing on only French rosters, apEX transitioned to a international roster under Team Vitality and won the last CS:GO Major in Paris.
The organisation’s most successful iteration, however, came in under 2 years, in 2025, when they added Robin "ropz" Kool to the core of Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut, Shahar "flameZ" Shushan and William "mezii" Merriman. ApEX was the IGL of the squad and led them to two Majors, one Intel Grand Slam and 9 S-tier titles in a single calendar year.
It is this iteration that apEX also regards as his favorite team he has been a part of.
"I don't miss anything from the French rosters because I have the most success now with the international team. I think I won more in the last two years than I won with any French teams. So for me, it's key that I don't miss France."
Struggles of 2026
After an immensely successful 2025, the Vitality roster kicked off 2026 in style. They won five titles and another Grand Slam ahead of the Cologne Major. Unfortunately, they fell to the eventual champions Team Falcons in the Quarterfinals. This loss also underlined the brief period of struggle for Vitality.
Being the IGL, apEX had to take on the brunt of the pressure. As the leader of the squad, it's his responsibility to talk to the players and try understanding why things aren't working. This includes managing various personalities on the team, which apEX has to consider while finding a solution to the team’s troubles.
"With flameZ, you don't need to ask him what's going wrong in a way, because he will tell you straight. While the others take more time. So you need to go to them and ask them how they feel, if we can change something for them, or if they're not playing that well lately, why they're not playing well lately. Do they lack confidence or do they lack something in the game?
And then, yeah, I just try to have this approach overall to make sure that all my players feel comfortable and they feel better. And that's my main thing to do right now. You need to manage people differently, and that's what I'm trying to do."
The period of struggle also coincided with the player breaks for mezii and apEX, giving Vitality limited time to reset ahead of the second Major of the year. This becomes a test not only for Vitality but also for apEX as the IGL of the squad.
"The thing is that it's not an easy task, because we knew from the beginning of the season that mezii and I would be away for one event. So we had to find a solution.
I also think it was not easy for the other players that we were going to be away, because it's not easy at all for them to be sure that we're gonna perform.
So what my stance is, we have to try to get the most out of it. We had a successful first part of the season. And our goal is to be the best team of 2026 and to win the Major. So for that, we have to stay aligned and keep united to be sure that we're gonna play as well as possible.
And yeah, it's not easy for everyone. That's a sure thing. But we're working on it and we're trying to solve it as much as we can."
Since the interview, apEX and Vitality have won StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026 and ESL Pro League Season 24 to become the most successful organisation in Counter-Strike. They have once again climbed to their rightful throne and will enter the Major with a target on their back.
A Big Change Outside of the Game
Outside of the game, apEX will soon enter a massive chapter in his personal life. The new responsibility paired with the existing one would require apEX to walk a tightrope.
Talking about this, apEX highlights how he has always prioritised balancing life with the demanding work.
"The truth is balance in my life has always been one of the most important things. So right now I will have to find a new balance overall to see how it will affect me in my game and how much I can do on both sides.
It’s really an unknown for me, and I’m just looking forward to living it because, yeah, it’s really new stuff for me."
Acknowledging the uncharted territory ahead, apEX wishes to make his own way, and understand the new life in his own way.
"I think I need to live my own experience, to be honest. I need to live it by myself. I'm not asking for any advice yet. I just want to be sure that I'm gonna be the best version of myself for that kid and for my wife, and just give my best on a daily basis."
ApEX will now go on a break and only returning BLAST Rivals Hong Kong ahead of the PGL Singapore Major 2026. jL will substitute for this brief period.
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Featured Image Credit: Adela Sznajder / EPL S24 Katowice
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