“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.
- 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.
- 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.
- “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.
- Stay tuned to our Top 20 Players of 2024 ranking and learn more about how the players were selected in our introduction article.
- “The Major obviously is a hard tournament, but the challenge of being together for a month with a not-so-optimal relationship was tough on many. In the end, we gave our best, and if you do that you can’t judge yourself.”
- “Two days before the RMR, nexa goes on leave and we take niko from the eternal bench and free agency,” the rifler said.
Stat check: How will flameZ fit into Vitality?
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 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.” “Not making the Majors and being very inconsistent in the important games made me realize I had to start exploring myself and get better at the mental game,” flameZ says. “Then when the new roster came around with F1KU, NEOFRAG, and so on, it became a grind together and I was very committed.” “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.”
flameZ on joining Vitality: “The motivation was to succeed with another Israeli guy”
- 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.
- “But I love niko so I was convinced and very happy with this decision. It starts off and it was so shaky, it did not feel stable at all, and Pro League was just a shit show for us.
- The rifler also explained that the possibility of playing with other Israeli players was a plus in any team he joined.
- There may be teething issues, but flameZ should be more than comfortable in his role even if his exact spots might change.
- 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.
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.
“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.
apEX
“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 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.
Top 20 players of 2024: flameZ (
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. Flamez “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.”
Team Vitality
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.
Game Settings
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.