Team Vitality has appointed a new analyst for its Counter-Strike 2 roster, and fans can’t stop themselves from rolling out jokes because of his name.
Pablo “VdaK1NG” Escobar is the Austin Major 2025 champions’ new CS2 analyst whose main mission, according to the team’s X (formerly Twitter) post, is “to build a data unit that helps players and staff make better decisions through advanced analytics.”
At this point, you might have guessed why the community is making funny comments. If you cannot relate, Pablo Escobar is the name of a notorious Colombian drug lord and leader of the Medellin Cartel, who controlled almost 80 percent of the international cocaine trade at one point. Since the Spanish data analyst shares the same name, the original X post and this Reddit thread are overflowing with jokes and intended puns.
The first hilarious post was a reply to the X thread, where a fan edited the announcement photo and replaced it with the old drug lord’s face.
Another fan asked the French organization to do a “background check on this one.” On Reddit, a fan joked, “Will the data he analyzes be about the game or the whereabouts of opponents’ loved ones?” To this, a witty reply flew by, “He’ll burn the closest Porsche dealership whenever ropz has the simple thought of getting a new car.”
A fan wished the best for VdaK1NG but in a fun way, saying. “Good luck to ‘King of Cocaine’ in the new CS2 endeavor!” Some players think the visa processing staff will have a gala time processing his documents: “They’re gonna LOVE this guy at the visa processing department.”
While many made fun of the announcement, others were quick to put out clarifications. “Bro Pablo Escobar is an obscenely common name in Colombia. Escobar is like Smith,” one Redditor said. “I’m pretty sure they’re aware that they’re not actually dealing with the (in)famous drug lord who’s been dead for like 30+ years,” another replied.
According to his Rush B Media author page, Pablo Escobar started out as a CS:GO coach and manager for a few years and later switched to analyst and management roles. Last season, VdaK1NG entered Team Vitality as a data analyst. On Sept. 16, he joined the French org’s CS2 staff alongside Rémy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam (coach), Mathieu “MaT” Leber (assistant coach), Jack Birtwhistle (performance manager), and Matthieu Péché (team manager).
As the powerhouse team’s new analyst, Pablo Escobar is set to crunch the numbers for Vitality to help them finally regain their winning form after faltering in four tournaments since winning the Austin Major. Of course, he’s going to do it in a legal way.
