ZywOo — Mathieu Herbaut

If you follow Counter-Strike at any level, you have almost certainly encountered the name ZywOo. Mathieu Herbaut, known to the competitive community as ZywOo, is a French professional Counter-Strike 2 player who competes for Team Vitality. He is widely considered one of the greatest players in the history of the franchise, and a legitimate contender for the title of the best to ever touch the game.

ZywOo earned his first HLTV Player of the Year award in 2019, becoming both the youngest recipient and the first French player to claim the honor. Since then, he has won the award four times total, surpassing the record previously shared with Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev. He has won three Major championships, earned over thirty MVP medals, and maintained a world-class rating across thousands of professional maps.

What makes ZywOo remarkable is not just his mechanical skill, though that alone would place him among the elite. It is the consistency, adaptability, and quiet composure he brings to every match. He transitioned seamlessly from CS:GO to CS2, continued to dominate the scene, and has built a legacy that only a handful of esports players in any discipline can match.

The 2020 season was disrupted by the global pandemic, with most events moving online. Despite the changed landscape, ZywOo earned a second consecutive Player of the Year award, joining an exclusive club. Over the next two years, Vitality went through roster changes and structural adjustments, and while ZywOo continued to perform at an elite individual level, the team’s results at Majors were not yet matching expectations. He finished second in the HLTV rankings in both 2021 and 2022, behind s1mple and then NiKo, respectively.

ZywOo is classified as an AWPer, but that label significantly undersells what he brings to a team. He is a true hybrid star, equally dangerous with the AWP, AK-47, or M4A1-S. His ability to shift between the primary AWP role and a secondary rifling role depending on the economy and tactical situation makes him one of the most versatile players in the game’s history.

His AWP play is characterized by aggressive peeks, fast reaction times, and an uncanny sense of timing that often catches opponents off-guard. Unlike some AWPers who rely on passive angles, ZywOo frequently takes initiative, creating openings for his team through individual plays. When he does hold a position, his shot accuracy is among the highest ever recorded at the professional level.

On the rifle, ZywOo demonstrates spray control and crosshair placement that rival dedicated entry fraggers. His ability to clutch rounds in high-pressure situations has become legendary, and his composure in elimination matches is a significant reason Vitality have been so dominant in playoff brackets.

ZywOo’s statistical profile is consistently elite across every metric that matters in professional Counter-Strike. The following table summarizes key performance indicators from his recent competitive output.

One of the most memorable statistical performances came at the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, where ZywOo posted an exceptional tournament rating and was the clear standout performer. His 2025 season featured a 1.30+ rating at six consecutive events, a level of sustained excellence that very few players have ever achieved.

1. ZywOo shares his birthday, November 9, with the original release date of Counter-Strike (November 9, 2000). He was quite literally born alongside the game he would go on to dominate.

2. Despite his status as one of the most successful esports athletes in the world, ZywOo is known for being reserved and soft-spoken. He lets his in-game performances speak for him, rarely engaging in public trash talk or social media controversies.

3. ZywOo’s approach to practice is notably disciplined. He has stated that he never pulled all-night gaming sessions growing up and that his family always maintained boundaries around his screen time. This stands in contrast to many professional gamers who describe spending entire days grinding from a young age.

4. He has his own signature mouse, the Pulsar ZywOo The Chosen, designed to match his claw-fingertip hybrid grip. The mouse reflects his preference for lightweight, precise peripherals.

5. ZywOo was awarded the Esports Breakthrough Player of the Decade at the 2025 Esports Decade Awards and was nominated for Best Esports Athlete at The Game Awards 2025.

6. Vitality completed the ESL Grand Slam Season 5 with ZywOo on the roster, a feat that requires winning four different ESL premier events within a set timeframe.

ZywOo’s significance extends well beyond his personal accolades. He represents what sustained, quiet excellence looks like in an industry that often rewards loud personalities and viral moments. In a scene where narratives around players can shift dramatically from year to year, ZywOo has remained at the pinnacle for the better part of a decade.

His career arc also illustrates the global reach of competitive Counter-Strike. As a French player, ZywOo brought new attention to the Western European scene and proved that the region could produce generational talent on par with anything from Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, or Brazil. Team Vitality’s dominance with ZywOo as their centerpiece has elevated the organization into one of the most prestigious brands in all of esports.

For aspiring players, ZywOo provides a model of how to build a career. His emphasis on consistency over flashiness, his willingness to adapt his role to serve the team, and his approach to practice all offer lessons that extend far beyond Counter-Strike. He is proof that you do not need to burn yourself out to reach the top — you need to be deliberate, focused, and patient.

As of early 2026, ZywOo and Team Vitality remain the team to beat in Counter-Strike 2. Vitality have continued their strong form, winning BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026, and ZywOo shows no signs of slowing down. He is 25 years old, which places him in what is traditionally considered the prime window for professional Counter-Strike players.

The question is no longer whether ZywOo can win another Major or claim another Player of the Year award. The question is how many more he will collect before his career is over. With the CS2 competitive ecosystem continuing to grow and prize pools expanding, ZywOo has every opportunity to further extend the records he has already set. Barring injuries or unexpected roster changes, expect to see him competing at the highest level for several more years.

From a team manager’s perspective, ZywOo is the kind of player you build an entire roster around. He elevates everyone around him, brings calm under pressure, and delivers when the stakes are highest. Whatever comes next in his career, ZywOo has already earned his place among the greatest competitors in esports history.

The following sections detail ZywOo’s current CS2 configuration as of April 2026. These settings are sourced from verified professional settings databases and reflect his active tournament setup. Settings can change over time, so always cross-reference with sources like prosettings.net or specs.gg for the latest values.

ZywOo’s eDPI of 800 sits squarely in the middle range for professional CS2 players. This balance allows him to execute precise rifle sprays while retaining enough speed for AWP flick shots. His philosophy is to find a sensitivity and commit to it permanently, letting muscle memory develop over months and years rather than constantly adjusting.

ZywOo plays on a stretched 4:3 aspect ratio, which is common among professional AWPers because it makes enemy character models appear wider on screen. He keeps shadow quality high because player shadows provide critical tactical information about enemy positions around corners. Particle detail is set to low to reduce visual clutter during firefights.

ZywOo uses a small, clean crosshair with no center dot. The tight gap creates a compact aiming point that allows for precise headshot placement at long range without obscuring the target. The static style ensures the crosshair remains stable during movement and firing, which helps with consistent aim under pressure.

The viewmodel is positioned to the far right and slightly lowered, which keeps the weapon model out of the center of the screen and maximizes visibility. This is a common choice among professionals because it provides a cleaner field of view for spotting enemy movement while still keeping the weapon model visible enough for recoil reference.

Below is a consolidated console command snippet that replicates ZywOo’s core settings. Paste these into your CS2 autoexec.cfg or developer console to apply them instantly.

// ZywOo CS2 Config Snippet — April 2026

// Mouse & Sensitivity

sensitivity "2"

zoom_sensitivity_ratio "1"

// Crosshair

cl_crosshairstyle 4

cl_crosshairsize 1.5

cl_crosshairthickness 0.1

cl_crosshairgap -2.6

cl_crosshaircolor 4

cl_crosshaircolor_r 255

cl_crosshaircolor_g 255

cl_crosshaircolor_b 255

cl_crosshairalpha 255

cl_crosshairdot 0

cl_crosshair_drawoutline 1

cl_crosshair_t 0

// Viewmodel

viewmodel_fov 68

viewmodel_offset_x 2.5

viewmodel_offset_y 0

viewmodel_offset_z -1.5

viewmodel_presetpos 2

// Launch Options

-novid -tickrate 128 -allow_third_party_software