Dan “apEX” Madesclaire spoke to James “BanKs” Banks after Vitality defeated Aurora 3:1 in the Grand Final and became champions of StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026. The captain discussed the difference between their two series against Aurora, the work on Vitality map pool, Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut individual level and why the trophy was an important step toward rebuilding confidence.
Vitality had lost to Aurora in the Upper Bracket Final a day earlier before returning through the Consolidation Final and winning the rematch for the title.
VITALITY LOOKED COMPLETELY DIFFERENT IN THE GRAND FINAL
apEX admitted that Vitality were far from their best individually in the first match against Aurora. In the Grand Final, however, he felt the entire lineup showed up at a much higher level.
He highlighted Anubis and Mirage in particular, with Vitality winning both maps 13:4, while Inferno was the only part of the series where their game became messy.
Yesterday we were like really off individually and they played also really good. But today we showed up and the whole day we played really well. I think winning Anubis and Mirage in that fashion is showing also a message.
apEX explained that the T side on Inferno suffered from too many ideas and not enough communication around map control. Still, he was satisfied with the progress Vitality made across the tournament and said the team are moving in the right direction.
THE TROPHY MATTERED MORE THAN THE SIZE OF THE EVENT
apEX also acknowledged that StarSeries Fall did not include every top team, specifically mentioning Falcons and Spirit.
For Vitality, however, that did not reduce the importance of finally returning to winning.
Of course it’s not the biggest tournament, to be honest, as a top team. Some top teams were not there. Falcons, Spirit for the biggest ones. But we don’t really care, to be honest. We just want to get a trophy and then be getting ready for the next one.
The victory gives Vitality another result to build on after a more difficult period and comes before another event where the team will still be able to use its full five-player lineup.
ZYWOO GAVE VITALITY THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL THEY NEEDED
The captain pointed to individual confidence as one of the main areas Vitality needed to recover.
ZywOo was the clearest example in the Grand Final. He finished the series against Aurora with 71–44 K–D, 95.3 ADR and a 1.51 Rating 3.0 before receiving the tournament MVP award.
I think we needed a bit of more confidence individually and I think today, like, ZywOo showed up like never. I think he just wanted to play rifler and run everywhere and it worked. Crazy. So, hey, let him go. Let him enjoy and do two taps everywhere.
apEX also noted that Vitality only had two short practice days with mezii after BLAST Open Porto. Much of their development therefore happened during the tournament itself, with the team using the matches to test and improve new ideas.
“IF VITALITY PLAY LIKE THAT, IT’S TOUGH FOR ANYONE”
apEX was also satisfied with his own contribution after previously being unhappy with his individual form.
He explained that his main responsibility is to make the correct plays and find important moments rather than constantly producing star-level numbers.
I put a lot of hours individually to be a good player and not be like a garbage for the guys. Everyone showed up, mezii, like ropz as well on some moments. That was insane. So if Vitality play like that, it’s tough for anyone.
For Vitality, the StarSeries Fall trophy represents another step toward rebuilding the confidence and consistency that defined their strongest period earlier in the year.
