Counter-Strike player ZywOo becomes L’Équipe cover star

French Counter-Strike 2 esports player Mathieu ‘ZywOo‘ Herbaut is set to appear on the front cover of French sports magazine L’Équipe.

The Team Vitality AWPer is one of France’s most successful esports players, winning three Counter-Strike Majors and several Tier 1 tournaments

Unveiled as the magazine’s cover star for February 18th, ZywOo becomes the latest esports player to appear on one of France’s longest-standing sports publications. In January 2025, League of Legends player Caliste ‘Caliste’ Henry-Hennebert appeared on the magazine’s cover as part of L’Équipe’s expanding coverage of esports in the country.

Founded in 1946, L’Équipe is a daily newspaper focusing on all sports and is best known for its coverage in football, cycling, and motorsport. Since December 2025, it has covered France’s esports scene, highlighting the country’s players and teams competing in a variety of international events across a range of titles.

2026 marks ZywOo’s 12th year of competing in Counter-Strike esports. Since 2018, the 25-year-old has represented Team Vitality, which has cemented its place as the world’s best Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) team over the past 12 months.

Over the past 12 months, the team has won 11 Tier 1 tournaments and Season 5 of ESL Grand Slam, an incentive awarding teams that win four high-profile events with a $1m (~£738,200) prize. In addition to a wealth of in-game success, ZywOo has joined forces with the likes of Pulsar and ASUS ROG to launch a range of esports peripherals.

In recent years, France has continued to expand its focus on esports by increasing the country’s appeal to tournament organisers looking to host events in the country. 2023 saw its government reveal plans to create a national ecosystem designed to support the industry and assist players in securing visas for international tournaments.

In 2025, 12 notable French organisations formed the French Union of Professional Esports Clubs with the aim of raising awareness of esports and assisting with industry development. On February 7th, 2026, the union announced its application to become a partner team for the inaugural Esports Nations Cup taking place in November.

Since the reveal of France’s national esports strategy, several high-profile tournaments have taken place. Most recently, Ubisoft hosted the Six Invitational at the Adidas Arena in Paris.

With ZywOo becoming the latest esports player to feature on L’Équipe, it’s clear to see that France is embracing esports as teams and players from the country continue to find success.