Apex Talks About His Growth in CS:GO as IGL and Vitality's Current Form
Vitality definitely knows how to end on a high note!
The French esports organization, Team Vitality is ending the year on a high note. Right after the PGL Major Stockholm 2021 reports had come out highlighting that Vitality will be signing the Danish trio of Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen, Emil "Magisk" Reif, and Danny "zonic" Sørensen. It was pretty evident that the current roster would not be sticking together, but nevertheless Vitality has not given up on winning.
Along with the team's transition to securing more podium finishes even their IGL (In-Game Leader), Dan "apEX" Madesclaire, has shown tremendous growth in his role of being the shot caller for the side.
Apex talks about his growth as an IGL along with Vitality's form towards the end of 2021
Vitality has clearly not had a great year when it comes to competitive CS:GO. For the better part of the year, the team found it hard to keep up with Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut's fragging potential, resulting in early exits from big events.
Things turned around for the French lineup in the last quarter of the year. They started registering top-three finishes more consistently, but a mediocre 5th-8th placement at the PGL Major Stockholm 2021 meant that changes were in order.
However, there was no change when it comes to the team's attitude to keep fighting and winning. This led to Vitality recently winning their first top-tier CS:GO tournament of the year, IEM Winter 2021, along with a runners up at BLAST Premier: Fall Finals 2021.
ApEX in an interview with HLTV spoke about this change that came forth in the team's momentum and explained how they were managing to play well despite being labeled as a 'dead team'. ApEX claimed that though the team never spoke about it they all wanted to finish on a high note.
Everyone is confident and we've been playing really good CS. Not just individually, but even our team play has been on point which is something I really like because I'm the in-game leader and that's something I'm really working for.Dan "apEX" Madesclaire - Interview with HLTV
The last part about apEX working on Vitality's teamwork is a sign of his growth as an IGL, since taking on the responsibility last year following Alex “ALEX” McMeekin's departure.
Speaking about his transition into the role and how he is currently doing as a shot caller, apEX said that he strives to be one of the hardest workers in this industry despite being unsure initially if this change would work, all he did was give it his very best.
Being able to travel around the world and earn such good money, to live from my passion. That's something I never forget when I wake up every morning. I'm never mad when I wake up because I know that it's the best job. It was the same when I tried to become an in-game leader. Now I'm feeling really comfortable doing it and it's also because my mates trust me 100%. That's one of the most important things.Dan "apEX" Madesclaire - Interview with HLTV
Though Vitality's French roster is parting ways for the 2022 competitive season, it will be interesting to see how apEX adapts to the new changes, especially with the lineup now going international.