Paris (AFP)
The Vitality team, main representative of esport in France, formalized Sunday the extension until 2024 of its nugget Mathieu Herbaut, alias "Zywoo", superstar of the Counter-Strike video game.
To mark the occasion, Vitality had Zywoo holograms projected in various emblematic Parisian districts.
The player was seen in particular towards the Pantheon, at the Trocadero, near the Arc de Triomphe and at Montmartre.
"A player like him, it only happens once in a generation and we couldn't be happier to compete with him," Vitality boss Fabien Devide said in a statement.
The 20-year-old prodigy has been defending the colors of the bee team for two years now on Counter-Strike, a first-person shooter that is one of esports' most popular video games.
A phenomenon of precocity, he was voted the best player in the world last year by the benchmark site HLTV.
"As soon as I was asked, I re-signed. The team is perfect, I did not want to move," Zywoo told AFP.
Gifted at the keyboard, the one who is sometimes nicknamed "Zinédine Zywoo" has become in record time the spearhead of the French team and the ambassador of a new generation of players, thanks to his talent and his sense of the game which seem intuitive.
With him, but also RPK, Apex, Shox, Misutaa and the little new Nivera, Team Vitality rose in 2020 to the place of world No. 1 on Counter-Strike.
The team have won two titles this year and lost four times in the final.
"We managed to stay together despite the coronavirus," said Zywoo.
"The objectives next year are to continue our journey, to continue working as a team, not to worry, be a family, have fun all the time and try to win all the tournaments."
Vitality had offered the services of Zywoo at the end of 2018 when he had just obtained his Bac and was coveted by many professional teams.
The Counter-Strike virtuoso is now linked to the French club until the end of 2024, a very long period for a contract as an esports player.
© 2020 AFP