FlameZ secures seventh place in his debut appearance on the Top 20 Players of the Year list by 1xBet and SkinClub thanks to an impressive stat sheet in the toughest environments.
FlameZ tallied a team-leading 1.40 series rating in exDT’s semi-final win over ShapeShift, but finished as runners-up to Aequus. A confident display, their stars were firing on all cylinders across the two maps they played against the German organisation, and there’s now a belief within the team that they can get revenge on G2 for their loss in the final of IEM Dallas earlier this year. His 1.11 overall rating only improved with the competition getting harder, as his 1.16 Elite+ (5th), 1.15 Super-Elite+ (8th) and 1.14 Major (8th) ratings show, and unlike most he didn’t drop off when playing against the best teams, averaging a 1.10 rating vs. top 5 (7th) and 1.09 rating vs. top 10 (9th) teams. 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.

apEX

“We expected and felt like we played well at the time, but we were not able to close this close match against them. This best-of-three was also tough for us back then with the veto, but EF proved to be very lethal against any team. 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). 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. “It felt like we were a really solid family, and lifting the trophy is super nice obviously but the journey there was extremely unforgettable.” 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. 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. “Before the season started it felt really good, we came with confidence and I was already thinking ahead of time that this was our year as a team, but I’m not sure if it was the pressure or just that our effort didn’t match our expectations.” “But to be honest, I loved sitting behind shushan and watching him play. And later on when I got a PC, it was my place to be social with people, to talk, share experiences, and have a common goal. Also to some extent, it was an escape route that made me feel really at peace.”

Why was flameZ the 7th best player of 2024?

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 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. At the turn of the year, four players in HLTV’s Top 20 Players of 2020 list named flameZ as their Bold Prediction — a projection that took four years to come true. Four months into 2021, flameZ got called up to OG to replace Issa “⁠ISSAA⁠” Murad, getting the opportunity to consistently test his abilities against top international opposition.

Flamez grinder 50mm

  • The coronavirus pandemic then allowed flameZ to fully focus on Counter-Strike, and he continued to grind FPL-C while playing for Adaptation.
  • “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.
  • His 1.13 rating in arena matches is once again even better than his average and even on par with the next group of players above.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • FlameZ regularly played for exDT alongside shushan early in his career, recording his first recorded officials on HLTV with the team at Game In Mako Fest in March 2018.

“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.” The coronavirus pandemic then allowed flameZ to fully focus on Counter-Strike, and he continued to grind FPL-C while playing for Adaptation. 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. Playing alongside his brother was not without its difficulties either, with flameZ recalling how team issues could be hard to resolve. Before Spring Groups, we sat down with flameZ to discuss the move for mezii, proving the doubters wrong, and the future star recently signed by OG.

flameZ

FlameZ recorded a 0.78 rating in a 0-2 loss to Spirit, but even with a stand-in Vitality recovered by defeating Liquid and MOUZ to reach the semi-final before toppling to G2. 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. Local LANs offered flameZ and other youngsters the opportunity to prove themselves, but the Israeli scene remained isolated, focused mostly on forming the best teams to win the few local LANs held each year.

  • Winning Cologne could have marked a new period of success for Vitality after a difficult start to the year, but any momentum they hoped to ride off of the victory was brought to a grinding halt after they were cast out in the quarter-finals of ESL Pro League Season 20 by Eternal Fire.
  • He improved from a 1.06 rating in groups to 1.14 in playoffs, but it wasn’t enough to make up the difference and edge him past teammate mezii for the final EVP.
  • “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.”
  • A young star who continues to impress at every event he attends, he and mezii have reinvigorated this Vitality team and will possibly be the main reasons as to why they stay at the very top for a long time coming.
  • This gold sticker was autographed by professional player Shahar Hai Shoshan playing for Vitality at the BLAST.tv Austin 2025 CS2 Major Championship.

Freshly crowned IEM Melbourne 2025 champions, winners of the prestigious ESL Grand Slam, and riding an incredible 21-series win streak – it’s Team Vitality! A young star who continues to impress at every event he attends, he and mezii have reinvigorated this Vitality team and will possibly be the main reasons as to why they stay at the very top for a long time coming. “Krabeni deserves a shoutout as well, I feel like they will be super good as a duo. But I was also very happy to play with both of them individually and was super impressed.” 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 recovered to a 1.08 average (1.14 playoffs), which was good enough for another VP mention before the team traveled to Shanghai for the Europe RMR. FlameZ missed out on a VP or EVP mention for the second time this year with a 0.99 rating, but wasted no time in entering a renaissance at BLAST Fall Final where he had his best event of the Flamez year.

Teammates

Despite a year with only one trophy, albeit at the prestigious IEM Cologne, flameZ says there isn’t a specific moment or memory that he would rather forget. 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. Losses to ENCE and HEROIC, the series against the latter featuring a win and two defeats, gave a brutal reality check to a Vitality that arrived in Poland hoping to coast off their late 2023 success. “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.

Flamez filtertips rasta

FlameZ was back to his best at the BLAST Spring Final with a 1.16 rating across 12 maps, but it was only good enough for a 3-4th finish. He tallied his second-highest-rated map of the year against FaZe in the quarter-finals (2.32) and was Vitality’s best performer in the semis against Spirit, ending the series with a 1.22 rating. 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. ZywOo put up mind-boggling 2.97 and 2.68 ratings to get his side past GamerLegion and HEROIC in the best-of-one openers, and the team recovered from a loss to Cloud9 in the 2-0 pool by exacting revenge for Katowice over ENCE in two maps (where flameZ averaged a 1.51 rating) to advance to the Major. Days after being crowned the 2023 Team of the Year at the HLTV Awards Show, Dan “⁠apEX⁠” Madesclaire’s troops made their way to Copenhagen for BLAST Spring Groups and locked in a spot at the Spring Final.