FlameZ on rise of juggernauts Vitality: “Ropz changed our work ethic”

DFRAG had a chat to Shahar “flameZ” Shushan from Team Vitality at IEM Melbourne on Friday before their match-up against The MongolZ, where he talked about Vitality's incredible run of form and hopes of a Grand Slam win in the Victorian capital.

Before that, however, we got to more important details: Is Melbourne better than Sydney? For flameZ, he loves both all the same.

“To be honest, I kinda love Australia," he said. "I think the weather is amazing. I've been in Sydney once and Melbourne twice now, and this time and to be honest, I enjoyed Melbourne more because I had more time to explore.

"Last time I was in Sydney, I was there for two days so I didn't do much, we didn't really get time to see the city.”

Team Vitality are not only coming in as favourites to take out IEM Melbourne, but hold an unbeaten 19-series streak. Should they extend it, not only will it be the longest in modern CS history, but Vitality will also add a coveted ESL Grand Slam to the cabinet. 

FlameZ agreed there is pressure on them to perform, but it is nothing more than they put on themselves. They also have the experience within the team to handle that pressure.

He believes the reason why they have such a streak is because they focus solely on the series before them. “We don’t have a 19 win streak as we aim to have a 19 win stream. We have a streak because every game, we took it step by step.”

FlameZ and Vitality ended their group stage undefeated with a 2-0 over Falcons, and while it was closer on the scoresheet than many expected, flameZ said the result didn't affect him.

“I think in the Falcons game, we just had like a very slow start and they had good at-shots and good plans at the beginning and we sort of got on top of it,” he said.

He added that sometimes great teams win ugly and you don’t have to destroy every team to be a great team, noting Vitality’s slow start and Falcons landing shots early on.

“When you want to stay [on] top is that even when you start slow, you start pushing the gas a bit more and more and that is what we did.”

When asked whether Falcons would be a threat to Vitality in the major as well as future tournaments, FlameZ said they have a roster that could be a big threat to him and the team—going so far to say they could be the best in the world.

“I think they have a roster that could be a big threat to us, but also they could be the best in the world. It just depends on them in the sense that they have the tools and abilities to seize the potential.

“From what I know, the coaches, staff, and the players in there, I think they obviously will have this possibility and they have a team who knows how to win. They have players who [have] won four majors.”

Vitality levelled up in a big way with the addition of Robin “ropz” Kool, and from the outset, flameZ noted the work ethic and positive attitude he brought to the team. 

FlameZ added ropz was always last out of the practice room and was an inspiration to him and the team. “[You think] ropz is like the chill, quiet guy, but he’s very social, he’s very happy, ongoing and talking a lot,” flameZ said.

“That’s something that is giving a lot of release and I think some freshness because [our] roster in 2024, we couldn’t find our feet.”

“The moment he joined, I never saw him leaving the practice room. He usually goes back last to his room. As a player next to him, you want to be [as] efficient as he is.”

FlameZ shares something in common with our own Declan “vexite” Portelli where he has an older brother who competitively plays Counter-Strike: Shiran "shushan" Shushan. FlameZ noted his path to the pro level differed to his brother.

“It is tough to make it in CS nowadays, like there is a limit," he said. "If you entered FPL four or five years ago, you would have gotten the team nowadays. It’s not the same so I think for him, it’s kind of tough to find a team but I think he plays really well.”

“It is unfortunate because most of the teams are already, they already have players and [when] you start the season, you don’t have time to change players.”

Onto flameZ’s vision for pro CS2 and whether he put more focus into his mechanics or his mental approach. To him, it takes a bit of both, but it can also depend on who Vitality faces on the server.

“Once you have five people who can trust each other and they like each other to some extent, like a family, [then] they can fight and have down periods—this is where you get the potential out of most people. People [act] with confidence and I think that's where you get to a big level.”

“We've been together for four months, the other players over a year together. We always want to strive for better and more and more; we'll get it to some extent, but it's a healthy grind.”

“Obviously if you have a ZywOo or a donk in your team, you're probably going to get a few tournaments in a year. But for others you might have to [take] one step back and two steps forward.”

It should be no surprise with a team atmosphere and environment like one found at Vitality that they are currently on such a streak. We’ll see if they can extend it when they take on The MongolZ at 8pm AEST later today.