16 Feb 2024

«Spinx, NertZ, and xertioN are very good friends of mine, but they are also very good players. The motivation was to succeed with another Israeli guy, reunite and speak my language, some Hebrew, in my free time. I think it’s very valuable for me to have a few people on the team that I am very connected to. 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. Vitality played BLAST World Final with Audric «⁠JACKZ⁠» Jug as a stand-in for mezii, who took time away after becoming a father, and the event in Singapore started in predictably poor fashion.

FLAMEZ CHICKEN INC

«With Katowice I was sick, so it was the tournament we just throw out the window, we don’t really care about it. It could have been better. 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 Israeli rifler immediately became one of the most sought-after free Flamez agents on the market, and quickly found a new home with the current Major champions, Vitality. The 20-year-old appeared on HLTV Confirmed on Thursday and opened up about the issues with OG, his decision to leave, and why he chose Vitality.

How to Apply «flameZ» Crosshair

The conversation then moved on to his decision to not renew his contract with OG ahead of the summer break. «What I wanted to do in CS is to pick trophies up and try to achieve an era with a team, a legacy, and play the best I can,» flameZ explained. «I think with OG, for many years it’s not going to be possible or as possible as I see for a team like Vitality.» «Two days before the RMR, nexa goes on leave and we take niko from the eternal bench and free agency,» the rifler said.

Game Settings

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. Vitality’s campaign in Germany started with utter domination over FURIA and a 1.87-rated map from flameZ, followed by a hard-fought 2-1 win over FaZe and 2-0 over MOUZ to lock in a spot in the playoffs. 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.

  • Whether you’re a pro player or a passionate fan, our platform is your one-stop destination for all things Counter-Strike 2.
  • Vitality had little time to recover from that defeat as the Europe RMR for PGL Major Copenhagen approached, but they met that challenge with aplomb.
  • «It was very weird,» flameZ says of how winning two trophies at the end of the year set up expectations coming into 2024.
  • «I feel like there were many moments or people that changed something for me or my mindset toward going pro,» flameZ says.
  • 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).
  • He was among the contenders for the MVP award but was pipped by teammate ZywOo, who wasn’t quite as consistent as flameZ throughout the event but stepped up when it mattered most in the playoffs to consign his teammate to an EVP instead.

apEX

FlameZ joined Vitality in mid-2023 on a free transfer from OG and quickly established himself as an X-factor player for Vitality. He has earned seven EVP nods for his highlight performances in that time, including four in their title runs at Gamers8, BLAST Premier Fall Final and BLAST Premier World Final in 2023 and IEM Cologne earlier this year. The duo have been on NAVI’s academy roster since October 2023 and put up impressive numbers in 2024, with makazze averaging a 1.19 rating (1.34 impact) over 189 maps and Krabeni averaging a 1.10 rating (1.17 impact) over 203 maps. FlameZ named NAVI Junior rifler Drin «⁠makazze⁠» Shaqiri as his Bold Prediction, becoming the second player to do so after Helvijs «⁠broky⁠» Saukants, and also gave a nod to makazze’s teammate, Aulon «⁠Krabeni⁠» Fazlija. FlameZ averaged a 1.33 rating, 1.54 impact, 1.08 KPRW, and 117.2 ADRW over seven maps, but the team missed another shot at a title and flameZ couldn’t ride the individual high of his performance for long.

Teammates

  • Known for his aggressive play, pinpoint aim, and sharp utility usage, he helped Vitality win IEM Cologne 2024 and multiple BLAST events.
  • It must be something that he enjoys, and that can only have made him an appealing prospect for Vitality to pick up.
  • «With Katowice I was sick, so it was the tournament we just throw out the window, we don’t really care about it. It could have been better.
  • 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.
  • «Around this time I felt like I met a lot of people that were key to keeping me intact with the game,» flameZ says.

«Around this time I felt like I met a lot of people that were key to keeping me intact with the game,» flameZ says. Some of that concern can be allayed by the fact that, despite nominally being a lurker in passive defaults, he was OG’s dedicated entry fragger. In OG, Nemanja «⁠nexa⁠» Isaković, Nikolaj «⁠niko⁠» Kristensen, and Adam «⁠NEOFRAG⁠» Zouhar were on map control in defaults but because those spread out defaults were so rare, it is unlikely flameZ will be too uncomfortable slotting into Vitality’s pack with apEX and Mathieu «⁠ZywOo⁠» Herbaut. The Israeli rifler appeared on HLTV Confirmed to discuss the last months with OG, his decision to not renew his contract, and his arrival in Vitality.
His consistent showings against the best teams, 1.25 playoff rating, 1.02 KPRW, and 99.5 ADRW sealed the case for his second EVP of the year, but Vitality still went into the tournament break without lifting a piece of silverware. FlameZ and mezii headed to Copenhagen for the Major proper looking for their first Major titles, with the added pressure of Vitality fighting to defend their status as reigning Major champions. The team was hamstrung early into their effort, however, when illness befell ZywOo and left Vitality with a deflated superstar when it mattered most. FlameZ found immediate success upon his move, making it to the semi-final of IEM Cologne in only his second event with the team and lifting a trophy at Gamers8 immediately afterward, where he was also named an EVP with a 1.12 rating. 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.

FlameZ secures seventh place in his debut appearance on the Top 20 players of the year list thanks to an impressive stat sheet in the toughest competitions and against the best teams. «In Malta I was really demotivated sadly, I had a lot of excuses and wasn’t professional at all,» he explains of his up-and-down performances post-Cologne. «But I was really excited for Denmark. Around this time I feel like a lot of things popped up in the team which was tough for me to handle at the time and made my showing wobbly.»

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