Why Vitality’s 2nd place curse is paving the way for CSGO greatness

Team Vitality’s CS:GO squad seem to be inflicted with what’s being called a “second place curse,” but the series of runner-up finishes might be setting the stage for a French takeover of the esport.

Some say that finishing second place can feel worse than finishing last. Whether that’s true for the Vitality players remains to be seen, but constantly coming up just short of the ultimate prize can’t be a great feeling.

The French side already has four second-place outings since June 2020, the latest being at the DreamHack Open Fall 2020, where they fell 3-2 to Heroic, the same team who’d upset them 3-0 in the grand final of the EU ESL One: Cologne 2020 Online.

But the team is currently ranked second in the world for a reason, as ironic as that may be, and despite the loss, star-man Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut’s tremendous performance at DreamHack is a sign that the team could be close to shedding this dreaded curse.

If Vitality can find a way to get over their grand final jitters and end this cursed run, there’s a good chance the squad can finish the year strong and pick up a trophy along the way. The agony of falling short at DreamHack is all too real, but it could yet be a promising indication that the team is on the verge of reaching that dominant level that many expect them to be at.