ZywOo Delivers Double Aces to Kick off Vitality’s IEM Cologne Major Campaign

It’s Day 1 of the CS2 IEM Cologne Major 2026 Stage 3, and Team Vitality have already announced their arrival to the competition. Facing FUT, the defending Major Champions started with a map loss only to reverse-sweep their opponents in dominant fashion.   

The highlight of the series, however, was the performance of the team’s "Ace"—ZywOo. 'The Chosen One' recorded two aces in the Bo3, despite a terrible Map 1. 

Reverse Sweep to Kick-start Cologne

Coming into IEM Cologne 2026 Stage 3, Team Vitality were the favorites to go 3-0 and qualify for the LANXESS. Many expected them to sweep the first round; FUT, however, had other plans. 

On their map choice of Anubis, the rookie squad limited Vitality to 5 rounds, completely outclassing the tournament favorites in the second half. 

Now on the back foot, Team Vitality stepped up their performance going into their map choice—Overpass. Despite starting as Ts, they dominated the half, with flameZ getting crucial entries and apEX manipulating CT-rotations. The 10-2 deficit overwhelmed FUT as apEX and co. closed the map to force a decider. 

On the final map of Nuke, Team Vitality delivered a repeat performance, winning 10 rounds on the CT side. Despite FUT’s best attempts, Vitality closed out the map 13-7, to complete the reverse-sweep.

A Start Deserving of the GOAT

As mentioned at the start, the highlight of the series was definitely ZywOo. The Frenchman started his Major expedition posting one of the worst maps of his career. In the 18 rounds of play on Anubis, ZywOo recorded a 7/15/5 KDA and a 63.6 ADR. 

The reset came in quickly on Map 2—Overpass. ZywOo started the map hot, getting an ace on round 5 to convert a disadvantageous 3v5 into a round win. He continued the hot streak, closing the map with a 19/5/3 KDA and 114 ADR. 

He followed up this performance with an ace to kick off the decider — Nuke. 

Not to mention the 1v2 clutch in round 8 that put the nail in the coffin for FUT’s T-half, helping Vitality secure a 10-2 half on Map 3. He concluded the map with a 27/10/4 KDA and 124 ADR. 

While the performance is impressive, ZywOo’s ability to shake off a slower Map 1 to reset and still dominate Maps 2 and 3, to bounce back from a disadvantage, is what further cements his position as one of the best to ever touch CS.

The two aces in the series also bring him closer to matching and eventually breaking donk’s record for most aces (4) at a Major. 

If ZywOo and Vitality continue on this path, they will undoubtedly establish themselves as the greatest Counter-Strike roster and cement ZywOo as the undisputed GOAT of Counter-Strike. 

The Cologne Major action continues. Check out our Viewer’s Guide for information on where you can catch the games live. 

You can also follow IEM Cologne Major 2026 Stage 3 on Strafe with live scores, stats, streams, and more. 

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Featured Image Credit: ESL Counter-Strike

Read More: IEM Cologne Major 2026: The Only Stage 3 Pick'Em Challenge Guide You Need.