by On Monday, Team Vitality announced the return of four-time CS:GO Major champion Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen to their starting five after spending a month away on parental leave.
The player welcomed his first child earlier and took some time off competitive gaming in mid-February to focus on his family. Dupreeh returns in time for the team’s campaign in the ESL Pro League Season 17 playoffs, which will take place this week.
French rifler Audric “?JACKZ?” Jug filled in during dupreeh’s absence, recording impressive numbers as the team went unbeaten in the ESL Pro League Season 17 group stage. With him on the squad, Vitality defeated FaZe Clan, Grayhound, and OG to finish top of Group C and clinch a spot in the quarterfinals.
JACKZ recorded a 1.26 average rating during the group stage, second only to Mathieu “?ZywOo?” Herbaut on the lineup. Also, he finished on top of the leaderboard in terms of headshots per round at 0.49 – significantly higher than some of the top CS:GO players during ESL Pro League Season 17, ZywOo and Sergey “Ax1Le” Rykhtorov included.
In contrast, dupreeh did not have the most impressive start to the year, recording a 0.98 rating in the past six months and a 0.91 average rating during IEM Katowice. The Dane’s only positive rating in the past few months was at the BLAST Premier Spring Groups, where he posted a 1.12 average.
Vitality’s current lineup includes dupreeh, ZywOo, Dan “?apEX?” Madesclaire, Emil “?Magisk?” Reif, and Lotan “Spinx” Giladi. The team will play their first match with dupreeh back in the starting five on Friday, March 24, when they are slated to face one of Movistar Riders, ENCE, or G2 in the ESL Pro League quarterfinals.
