ZywOo: “AWP in CS2 is quite strong - people just needed to get used to it”

Team Vitality sniper Mathieu ZywOo Herbaut reflected on the strength of the AWP in CS2. In an interview with HLTV.org, he also noted that he enjoys making kills with the AK and M4 rifles, but the in-game balance doesn't influence his preferences.

"Nowadays, it's easier to play with the AWP than when CS2 first came out. People are adapting. I think the AWP is quite strong right now. At the Major, a lot depended on snipers. I feel like people just needed to get used to it. Many complained when transitioning from CS:GO because they loved the weapon there and tried to use it the same way. That wasn't easy. But I've learned that you just need to adapt. If you have the right conditions, can take the correct angle, and so on, the AWP performs excellently."

Herbaut revealed that he reluctantly became a sniper early in his career. Despite his outstanding results with the AWP, the French player also enjoys using automatic rifles.

"In my first team, aAa, I wasn't a sniper; I played with the AK. ... At the start of my career, a friend invited me to a team that needed a sniper. I was decent with the AWP, and although I wasn't particularly drawn to that role, I agreed because I wanted to play with the team. That's how I became a sniper.

I'm happy with both options, but I enjoy getting kills with the AK or M4 — controlling spray and so on. It's not that killing with the AWP is boring; it's just that you're very slow with this weapon, whereas with the AK, you can play faster."

According to HLTV.org, ZywOo ranked sixth in average kills per round with the AWP in tournaments in the first half of 2024. In this statistic, the Team Vitality sniper trailed behind Ilya m0NESY Osipov, Jame Ali, Igor w0nderful Zhdanov, Adam torzsi Torzsa, and Helvijs broky Saukants.