Thorin on Team Vitality: “It seems their era isn’t over yet.”
Analysts Duncan “Thorin” Shields and Jacob “Pimp” Winneche commented on Team Vitality’s victory at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026 in a new episode of the Counter-Points podcast and also discussed the team’s performance with stand-in Justinas “jL” Lekavičius.
On Team Vitality’s victory at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026
Thorin: The old Vitality is truly back. For this team, winning StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026 was the perfect way to make a statement. It seems their era is far from over. The team’s next tournament will be ESL Pro League Season 24. Although there are strong teams there, the only real competition will likely come from the Falcons and Spirit.
Pimp: Vitality had to win the last tournament, since Spirit and the Falcons weren’t on the roster. With mezii’s return, the team needed to prove its worth. On top of that, the events following the Major didn’t go particularly well for Vitality, so it’s nice to see them getting back into top form. I was also pleased with ZywOo’s performance—thanks to yet another MVP award, he’s back in the running for Player of the Year.
On the team’s performance with jL
Thorin: Vitality is currently in a very tricky situation with their stand-in—jL played in one tournament, is now sitting out two while the main roster competes, and will then return to action. How much does the team practice with him? How does this affect the other players’ preparation? When Vitality played with jL at BLAST Open Porto 2026, flameZ and ZywOo looked like shadows of their former selves, but then posted excellent stats again in Barcelona. That’s exactly why I’m looking forward to the return of the full roster. The team has shown that it’s still capable of defeating opponents like Aurora, MOUZ, and FURIA.
To be honest, I don’t believe Team Vitality will win PGL Masters Bucharest 2026 with a stand-in, even given the weak field. Theoretically, jL is a stronger rifler than apEX, but without the captain’s confidence and calls, the team will rely solely on individual skill. Vitality will likely put on an interesting performance, but they’ll falter in the decisive matches and finish in second or third place.
Read also: Pimp: “It will be much harder for ‘broky’ to find a suitable team than many people think.”
Earlier on the podcast, Thorin and Pimp discussed the need for roster changes at Natus Vincere, assessed the form of Drin “makazze” Shakiri and the coaching skills of Andrey “B1ad3” Gorodensky, and also shared their thoughts on the current standing of the “Born to Win” team on the pro scene.
Photo by João Ferreira, BLAST.
