⁠Dupreeh returns to Team Vitality for EPL S17 playoffs

After about a month’s break due to the birth of his first child, Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen returns to Team Vitality’s starting lineup for the ESL Pro League S17 playoffs.

Undoubtedly, having a four-time CS:GO Major champion in your lineup is a tremendous advantage for any team. However, the performance of Audric “JACKZ” Jug, the replacement until now, had been exemplary and spectacular. Therefore, many fans consider Team Vitality “unfair” to this player.

Team Vitality announces that they will play in the EPL S17 playoffs with their full roster

Through a statement on their Twitter account, Team Vitality announced their schedule for the week, which showed the match of their LoL division in the LEC, their FIFA ELIGUE 1, and the first match of the EPL S17 playoffs. In addition, this message was accompanied by “CS:GO full roster is back 🫡”

This is undoubtedly marking dupreeh’s return to the team after being on leave for almost a month due to the birth of his first child. The experienced and highly awarded Danish player must wear the Team Vitality jersey and face a competitive playoff.

As mentioned, JACKZ had been taking dupreeh’s place as a substitute. However, the French player displayed an impressive level of play to such an extent that many fans highlighted that Vitality played much better with JACKZ than with dupreeh in recent months.

JACKZ proved that he still has what it takes

The 30-year-old experienced player proved he still has much to give in the competitive CS:GO scene. In the six maps he played with Team Vitality in ESL Pro League S17, he scored 1.26, according to HLTV. In addition, the player helped the French squad win all three matches in Group C without breaking a sweat, as they did not lose a single map in this journey.

Thanks to this performance, many fans showed a lot of empathy for the veteran and did not like the announcement made by Team Vitality at all.

In only six maps played so far this year, JACKZ showed many qualities that, without a doubt, right now dupreeh may no longer have. The 30-year-old Frenchman is currently HEET’s understudy and hasn’t played a match at CS:GO’s top competitive level since December 2022, which makes what he did in the EPL S17 group stage much more valuable.

If we dig a little deeper and compare some stats between these two great and experienced players, we can notice that dupreeh, since joining Vitality in January 2022, has a Rating of 0.98, according to HLTV. The Dane has only performed well in terms of stats at the IEM Rio Major 2022 and BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023.

Now, with the return of dupreeh, Team Vitality’s lineup remains as announced before the start of the season:

• Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen
• Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut
• Dan “apEX” Madesclaire
• Lotan “Spinx” Giladi
• Emil “Magisk” Reif
• Danny “zionic” Sørensen – Head Coach

The team finished first in Group C and got their direct ticket to the ESL Pro League S17 playoffs quarterfinals. With the playoffs starting in just a few hours, the team is comfortably waiting to play their first game next Friday, March 24.

Header: Stefan Petrescu | PGL