Vitality have secured a spot in the BLAST Open Rotterdam playoffs after overcoming The MongolZ 2-0 in the upper bracket semi-final, taking Mirage 13-4 and grinding out a 16-13 win on Overpass.
On Mirage, Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and Shahar “flameZ” Shushan were virtually untouchable. ZywOo produced several highlight flicks and won important clutches, while flameZ matched his teammate blow for blow, combining to allow Vitality to concede only a handful of rounds on the map.
The match was partly shaped by a few uncharacteristic errors from Dan “apEX” Madesclaire’s side. Those mistakes — including running out of time after delaying a bomb plant and dropping a round to pistols in the second half — gave The MongolZ life at key moments on Overpass.
The Overpass story began with The MongolZ taking the first pistol and upgrading to rifles, only to lose the subsequent round to a single Deagle from ZywOo. He opened the round but fell soon after; flameZ then turned in an incredible 1v3 clutch to push Vitality to a 3-1 lead.
Momentum swung back when Vitality’s delay on a bomb plant allowed Anarbileg “cobrazera” Uuganbayar to pull off a 1v4 clutch for The MongolZ, sparking a comeback that saw Mongolia’s squad lead 8-4. The MongolZ capitalized on further opportunities, including a crucial round won with Tec-9s that put them on map point.
Vitality, however, steadied themselves. flameZ continued to be a major factor — he opened rounds, converted a pistol sequence into an ace against pistols, and helped the team claw back into contention. As the pressure mounted, Vitality’s mistakes faded and their individual stars found form.
Robin “ropz” Kool was pivotal in the latter stages, finding consistent impact as Vitality forced overtime. He finished the map with a huge kill tally, registering multiple multi-kills across decisive rounds and ending the map with 38 kills to 18 deaths, which helped seal the 16-13 victory.
With the series win, Vitality advance to the playoffs and will play a seeding match for the semi-finals against PARIVISION. The result continued a dominant recent trend: Vitality entered the game holding an 11-2 record in series play versus The MongolZ.
Key individual stats from the duel underline Vitality’s dominance. For Vitality: flameZ posted 58 kills and 27 deaths with an ADR of 115.0 and a rating of 1.81; ZywOo went 42-23 with an ADR of 92.6 and a 1.70 rating; apEX finished 33-28 with an ADR of 80.8 and a 1.15 rating; ropz ended 32-26 with an ADR of 81.4 and a 1.01 rating; mezii closed at 26-26 with an ADR of 59.0 and a 0.98 rating.
The MongolZ fought hard but were hampered by several modest individual lines. Techno finished 34-38 with an ADR of 80.7 and a 1.15 rating; cobrazera went 27-37 with an ADR of 68.9 and a 0.91 rating; 910 posted 28-37 with an ADR of 67.8 and a 0.84 rating; mzhino closed 23-41 with an ADR of 53.5 and a 0.65 rating; and bLitz ended 17-38 with an ADR of 49.1 and a 0.50 rating.
Map breakdown: Vitality won Mirage convincingly, 13-4, then edged The MongolZ on Overpass 16-13 after overtime. The final series score was 2-0 to Vitality.
Schedule notes: earlier in the event, Liquid were set to face The MongolZ on 22 March 2026, and Vitality were scheduled for a seeding match against PARIVISION on 23 March 2026 as they pursued a place in the BLAST Open Rotterdam semi-finals.