flameZ: “Both Spinx and I started grinding together three years ago, and now weve made it all the way to playing with each other again”

FlameZ continued to be exceptional under the bright lights of the Royal Arena against Cloud9, posting a 1.28 rating on Inferno and putting on another masterclass on Anubis (2.03 rating, 18-6 K-D) for a swift berth through to the semi-final, but there Vitality had their Major run halted by FaZe. A loss to Eternal Fire in the Elimination Stage’s opener — where ZywOo was the only one who finished positive for Vitality — could have spelled doom for the reigning Major champions, but flameZ and Spinx took the reins to help charge past The MongolZ, Imperial, and Complexity to reach the playoffs. “I got different positions and ruggah and kakafu wanted me to have more responsibility which was very valuable for me to explore myself, and the org was always seeking improvement and added people to try to help us in the mental aspect which was very beneficial to me.” OG barely missed out on qualifying for PGL Major Stockholm, the first after the pandemic, and exited in groups at IEM Winter to end the year on a sour note. Aleksib was traded for Nemanja “⁠nexa⁠” Isaković at the start of 2022, but a last-place exit at IEM Katowice and failing to qualify for PGL Major Antwerp brought about more changes with Maciej “⁠F1KU⁠” Miklas, Adam “⁠NEOFRAG⁠” Zouhar, and Abdul “⁠degster⁠” Gasanov joining mid-way through the year. The coronavirus pandemic then allowed flameZ to fully focus on Counter-Strike, and he continued to grind FPL-C while playing for Adaptation.

Vitality extend flameZ contract through 2027

FlameZ took home his third EVP of the year in Cologne courtesy of his 1.19 rating (1.14 playoff rating) and continued consistency throughout the tournament (1.01 KPRW, 101.7 ADRW) and against the best teams (1.20 vs top-five, six maps). “In my opinion, there is no wrong in losing if you are learning and feel that there is progress,” he says about what was going wrong for Vitality around this point. “We lacked closing some of the close games back then, and working on that helped us acquire the trophy in Cologne.” Vitality returned to action at Esports World Cup in July after the break but were cast out early after a loss to Virtus.pro in their second match, with flameZ missing out on a VP or EVP mention for the first time in the year after finishing with a meager 1.00 rating and three out of five maps in the red. FlameZ led the server in the win over The MongolZ (1.49 rating) and against Complexity in Vitality’s qualifying series (1.19 rating), with his K-D, 116.9 ADR, and 1.79-rated performance making all the difference on the Anubis decider to edge out a narrow victory.

Why was flameZ the 7th best player of 2024?

That supremacy continued in the LANXESS Arena, where Vitality shut down SAW’s Cinderella run with a decisive 2-0 to reach the best-of-five grand final. Vitality then reached back-to-back grand finals at ESL Pro League Season 19 and IEM Dallas, but were stopped short of lifting the silverware by MOUZ and G2. ZywOo was back to his best in Malta and helped his team romp through the group stage undefeated with a 1.71 rating over six maps, with flameZ’s own efforts good for a 1.19 rating ahead of the playoffs.

• Seventh was as high as he could go, though, as the group above outperformed flameZ in most ways, both award-wise and statistically.
• “Even though it is the only trophy that we won, it was an amazing experience and memory for me and all the people related to this experience have a dear place in my heart. No matter the circumstances that came later on.”
• FlameZ added that the experience in Cologne was his favorite moment of the year, emphasizing his appreciation of the team environment and how hard Vitality fought for the title.
• With that lineup, flameZ qualified for his first Major, playing in the Challengers Stage of IEM Rio 2022 and falling just short of advancing to the top-16 after losing to Vitality in a three-map series.
• “The Dallas one, well we obviously had this game against G2 and lost to a comeback, but this did not make me lose any belief in the team,” flameZ says.

FlameZ missed out on an EVP again in Dallas, where Vitality came up short in the title decider to a G2 who completed a fairytale run to the trophy with Jake “⁠Stewie2K⁠” Yip as a stand-in. FlameZ ended the tournament with a 1.08 rating and a VP mention despite Vitality’s immediate exit thanks largely to him having a few solid maps without any real disappearances. “I was really happy that it was my first team in the professional scene and super happy the organization didn’t take advantage of my inexperience. They treated me fairly and were super helpful during the whole period.”

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• I didn’t expect the group to unfold like that, even though when you think about it it’s not so far from reality.
• “I just know we didn’t push ourselves and just expected to win. It was something big for us that we worked on a lot in the end, just giving energy no matter the opponent.”
• His only negative map (0.90 rating) came in the decider against G2 in the semi-final, which Vitality lost in overtime to bow out of the Spring Final in 3-4th place.
• But I think we came here from a bootcamp that went quite well in the sense that everybody got into shape and good form.
• “The first one would be the qualification to FPL/FPL-C. This made me grind and sort of push, maybe not with the sole intent of going pro, but enjoying the circuit and improving.

A rejuvenated Vitality arrived at BLAST Fall Groups, a 1.19 average rating by flameZ and overall elevation by the team seeing them bounce past GamerLegion and Astralis (twice) to provide some much-needed confidence ahead of the next Super-Elite event of the year, IEM Cologne. “The Major was a big struggle with the ZywOo situation, but it showed me a lot of character in him,” flameZ says. “He was really sick and playing badly, but he kept giving energy, hyping us, and doing everything he could. For a player who expects and everybody expects him to do well, it was really nice to see him this way, and it made me believe more in the team.” “To be honest I’m not so sure what went wrong, it feels like so long ago,” flameZ says of the result.

Flamez filter tips Holland

He didn’t try to qualify for FPL, believing he couldn’t because of a bad PC, but Roey “⁠ZENCER⁠” Kimhi’s words and advice became a zenith to unlocking flameZ’s potential. FlameZ took part in a few small tournaments early on, but soon gained motivation to step out of his older brother’s shadow after he was taunted online. BLIX got the chance to sit down with flameZ following his move, discussing his thoughts on his time on OG, as well as what it’™s like to replace someone like dupreeh. I didn’t expect the group to unfold like that, even though when you think about it it’s not so far from reality.
Vitality have been on a great run of late with wins at IEM Rio 2023, the BLAST.tv Paris Major and a grand final appearance at BLAST Premier Spring Final 2023. Success did little to quench their thirst for improvement however, and as rostermania roared into action they made the surprising move to replace legendary Danish entry fragger Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen with Israeli star Shahar “flameZ” Shushan. Everybody’s gonna be up to meta, they just need to check their textbook from two years ago and they’re fine. If CS wants to change and make game-changing moves, they need to make a new Overpass, a different Overpass, or bring a map that hasn’t been played in a lot of years.

flameZ on joining Vitality: “The motivation was to succeed with another Israeli guy”

“I feel comfortable playing aggressively and giving my teammates the feeling that someone is sacrificing for them, especially in a team with someone that can Flamez close any 1vs4 round or 1vs3, or 1vs2 like ZywOo. The rifler also explained that the possibility of playing with other Israeli players was a plus in any team he joined. “We are all very good friends, you have to understand. We go once or two times a month to barbeque in Spinx’s house and we talk to his mum and father about everything, with his sister — it’s completely chill. We all know each other very well and we are good friends. ”I think it was pretty good and that we could improve on a lot of things here and we can still find for ourselves what works for us well. I think we find a rhythm that we can stick to so that we can go off it and start playing very good CS.” Shahar “⁠flameZ⁠” Shushan decided to not renew his contract with OG and leave for greener pastures ahead of the 2023 fall season, ending a two-year stint with the European squad.
The roster led by Aleksi “⁠Aleksib⁠” Virolainen immediately made an impression, finishing as runners-up at IEM Summer and reaching the semi-final of ESL Pro League Season 14. FlameZ mustered 1.10 and 1.20 ratings in those efforts, showing he could perform against the best European teams, and slowly OG inched up the world rankings. “I think if you ask any player in Israel at that time, they all would have wanted to play with NertZ,” flameZ adds. “So it was a big boost to my motivation. He was a big voice in and outside the team, always down to talk about CS, life, or anything else and share his mindset and his view on things. I liked him a lot and still like him a lot, he is a player that I have always wanted to compete with at this high level.”
FlameZ was Vitality’s third-best player with a 1.24 rating in the Elimination Stage, just 0.01 below Spinx, and he carried that through into the playoffs with a team-leading 1.54 rating on Nuke for a 1-0 start to the series. He was the only one to go positive on Vitality (1.22 rating) in an 8-13 defeat on Mirage, but dropped off on the decider (0.68) as FaZe stole away the victory and brought Vitality’s season to a dismal end. His worst event of the year followed at IEM Rio, where Vitality lost to HEROIC in the group stage upper bracket final and were eliminated in the quarter-finals by MOUZ. A flat 0.94 rating and three maps rated 0.78 or below left flameZ without a VP or EVP for the third and final time in 2024. With that lineup, flameZ qualified for his first Major, playing in the Challengers Stage of IEM Rio 2022 and falling just short of advancing to the top-16 after losing to Vitality in a three-map series. OG were far from title contenders, however, with flameZ and degster often relied upon for any upset wins, and one of their only notable playoff appearances came at BLAST World Final 2022 with a run to the semis over HEROIC and Vitality.

Game Settings

The move to Endpoint offered flameZ his first true shot at regular tier-two competition, and with them he won ESEA MDL Season 35 Europe (averaging a 1.25 rating over 29 maps) and qualified for his first season of ESL Pro League. Playing alongside his brother was not without its difficulties either, with flameZ recalling how team issues could be hard to resolve. FlameZ, who had become one of the hottest prospects in Counter-Strike thanks to his performances on OG, now steps into one of the best teams in the world where he can hopefully realize his full potential. Train came back after a few years, and it came back quite different – the same principles but quite different. Maybe not overall a map, but a few rounds that were rusty or the communication was a bit sloppy.
This map against MongolZ now we threw some rounds, 4v3 and 4v2 and we’re going for duels, but it’s better for the players to go for the duels than not do anything and be scared. Stay up-to-date with the latest developments in Counter-Strike 2 with our dedicated news and coverage hub. Get in-depth analysis, exclusive insights, and breaking updates on this highly anticipated game. Whether you’re a pro player or a passionate fan, our platform is your one-stop destination for all things Counter-Strike 2. Explore gameplay insights, event highlights, and expert commentary as we dive deep into the world of CS2. Vitality’s newest arrival was ecstatic at the prospect of playing with one of the best payers in the world.
“Then when the new roster came around with F1KU, NEOFRAG, and so on, it became a grind together and I was very committed.” “Around this time I felt like I met a lot of people that were key to keeping me intact with the game,” flameZ says. “I lost motivation not only because of the age restriction; I had a terrible PC, monitor, and mindset. Focus in Israel soon turned to international competition and on making a name for yourself in FPL, but flameZ was still under 16 and ineligible to compete in qualifiers for most big events.