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.
Flamez metalen grinder
- It started with the Israeli spacetaker tallying his highest-rated map of 2024, a 2.47 rating in a 13-0 over Astralis, and was followed by five maps with a 1.23 rating or better (three above 1.40).
- The coronavirus pandemic then allowed flameZ to fully focus on Counter-Strike, and he continued to grind FPL-C while playing for Adaptation.
- 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.
- FlameZ chose to join Vitality and reunite with Lotan “Spinx” Giladi for the first time since 2020, when they both played in the same FPL/FPL-C circles and coincided in mix-teams such as Tikitakan and Elites.
- 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.
- Considering the names around him and especially above, the aforementioned awards were not the strongest, as he was never in MVP contention other than in Cologne.
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.”
Game Settings
“It was very weird,” flameZ says of how winning two trophies at the end of the year set up expectations coming into 2024. “We just got mezii and had a staff change and it instantly clicked, we were all hyped and won these back-to-back BLASTs.
flameZ on joining Vitality: “The motivation was to succeed with another Israeli guy”
- The announcement of the Israeli’s contract extension came just two days before the start of Vitality’s campaign in the Perfect World Shanghai Major Europe RMR A, where the team will fight for one of seven spots at the Major on offer.
- Three matches into the new season, Vitality still have yet to lose a map as they have extended their series win streak to 37 with a run straight through to the IEM Cologne semi-finals.
- 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.
- 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.
- “We were all on the same page, very hungry, very sharp, very friendly with each other,” he says.
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.
Why was flameZ the 7th best player of 2024?
“We were all on the same page, very hungry, very sharp, very friendly with each other,” he says. “It felt like we were a really solid family, and lifting the trophy is super nice obviously but the journey there was extremely unforgettable.” 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. “Before the Flamez 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.” “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.
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.”