apEX: "dupreeh and I are tied at 32 trophies, getting to 33 at a Major would be wonderful"
Heading into the playoffs of the BLAST.tv Austin Major, all eyes are on Vitality, with many fans hoping to see them cap off a historically dominant 2025 with a second Major trophy.
For the team's captain Dan "apEX" Madesclaire, it would be his third Major trophy, but it would also break the tie he has with former teammate Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen in overall trophies.
Ahead of the start of playoffs, apEX spoke to Dust2.us about Vitality's Major run so far, their first round opponent in NAVI, and what it would mean to etch his name into the Counter-Strike history books.
You can watch the full interview below on YouTube, or read the full transcription underneath. All questions and answers were slightly edited for clarity.
3-1 run through Stage 3, only losing to Legacy in that best-of-one. How do you rate your performance?
Really cool. I wanted to go 3-0 or 3-1 so I think it’s been great. We’ve been playing good CS except the first game where it was shaky, but overall really happy about the performance.
How are you feeling about your overall preparation for the playoffs? Do you feel like the lack of recent best-of-three’s gives you a disadvantage?
Not really. I think we’ve had the right amount of games already. I’m just looking forward to playing. We’re practicing every day and trying to give our best in the playoffs. We’re excited.
You’re chasing your third Major trophy, which would put you above players like FalleN and into that “legendary” status next to some of the Astralis guys. What would it mean for you to join that exclusive club?
It would be amazing for a lot of reasons. The first would be to become the greatest at winning trophies; I would be number one and that would be the best thing ever. I think dupreeh and I are at 32, and getting to 33 by winning a Major would be wonderful. But not only for myself, it would be awesome for my teammates that have won zero [Major trophies]. We’ve been the best and now we need to do our best to conclude it.
ZywOo has been in incredible form at this Major. Can this keep up in playoffs and can he be the lynchpin in winning another Major?
Of course. When you want to play well at a tournament you need your star to shine, and he’s been shining. Him and ropz have been phenomenal, and the whole team to be honest.
You’ll be up against NAVI. How do you feel playing against them having not played an official against them for over a year?
It’s fine. I don’t feel bad that we didn’t play them for a year. NAVI have been a bit struggling this year, but we have to remember what they did in Copenhagen last year. They were not the favorite but they went all the way to the final and won it. You need to always play your best against NAVI. They’re a good opponent with a good coach and good players. So for us, it’s just about focusing on ourselves and giving our best, and if we play our A-game I think it’s going to be tough for any team to beat us.
Who would your ideal final opponent be?
I guess everyone is seeing us in the final, but it’s step-by-step for us. We want to play the final but first we have a quarter and a semifinal to win. I think it would be ideal to play FaZe in the final. I think the viewers will love ZywOo vs. s1mple, but for me, I don’t care, I just want to win.
