flameZ: "[This trophy] keeps us in a run for the era"

Vitality's entry fragger ended the grand final with a 1.60 rating as the team picked up their first title in four months.

Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan prides himself on not being the usual star player for Vitality. But the team's reliable entry fragger had his turn under the spotlight in ESL Pro League's grand final.

He ended it on a 1.60 rating, his best grand final of all time, and was the clear player of the match as Vitality secured an eighth trophy of 2025.

Date	Matches
ESL Pro League Season 22
12/10/2025	Falcons Finished 0:3 Vitality	Match

And it was that form from flameZ that helped Vitality end their relative trophy drought since the summer break.

"Those seven weeks we played Cologne into Bounty and this and that, EWC, we were stuck with the playbook we had before Cologne, and we couldn't have new things, we couldn't improve our game," he explains.

"This time round, we had time to practice, some kind of time to look into our game, explore some different plays, get the best out of different players."

The schedule leading up to the Major for Vitality is more forgiving than the start of this season, and if Pro League is the template for what a well-prepared Vitality looks like, talk of an era may not have been too early in the summer.

IEM Chengdu kicks off on November 3, before BLAST Rivals on November 12, and a two-week window to prepare for Stage 3 of the Major from December 4.

"Our goal is to stay as consistent as we can," flameZ continued. "Sometimes we are not going to win tournaments, but the result of this desire to play consistently, to be competitive, will lead us to some trophies."

Listen to the interview here

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Champion of ESL Pro League Season 22, how did it feel to get that trophy after a bit of a slower start to this season?

It feels good. We saw a lot of good games from us in this tournament. We might have lost a comeback, or we might have gotten beaten really badly, but we still come back into the matches. That's something we used to do in the first season, that we might have lost a map, played like shit, and then we step up.

Afterward, those seven weeks we played Cologne into Bounty and this and that, EWC, we were stuck with the playbook we had before Cologne, and we couldn't have new things, we couldn't improve our game, even though we needed this time. We're just training on a bad engine in practice, in some sense. This time round, we had time to practice, some kind of time to look into our game, explore some different plays, get the best out of different players. That's something that worked out for us, and we proved it here.

I'm happy we won in such a fashion in the final, against such good players individually. It's a lot thanks to the preparation we had going into this tournament, how we prepared for every enemy, and how we stepped back into games when it was quite tough sometimes.

A big part of winning this final was also the way you played. You were on fire on the first two maps, especially on CT side where you were 31-15 or something. Tell me about that hot start, how it felt for you in that sense.

I started trying to give more ideas, in some sense make plays for everyone, not feel uncomfortable in the game. That's something that helped me to play in this final. I think, also, there were a lot of chaotic rounds, and I feel comfortable in those kinds of rounds. Someone is coming out here, someone is coming out there, and you really can play around it.

Thanks to the preparation we had, the coaches and Dan [apEX] did an amazing job, we knew a lot of the stuff we wanted to do and we focussed on ourselves. I think that we did great today to capitalize off it. For myself, I was the opposite of a victim, I don't know the word in English, of the prep. One day it was going to be mezii, one day ropz, and today it was me.

In terms of getting the trophy, the first half of this year might be something we never see again. But, right now, how much of a difference does having this title make for your team's mentality?

It keeps us in a run for the era. Even though we played like shit in the last four tournaments — we didn't play like shit, we were in the semis, the final — now winning this trophy breaks the gap we had, and we're back in the routine.

I think most teams are inconsistent right now, some teams that have been in two or three finals leave in the group stage, and some teams that won a trophy are not contending right now. Our goal is to stay as consistent as we can. Sometimes we are not going to win tournaments, but the result of this desire to play consistently, to be competitive, will lead us to some trophies.

I'm happy we got this one. In London, we felt like we should have gotten it, we were so close. We really wanted to redeem London; it's a shame not to win a trophy because you never know when it's going to be your next trophy. I'm happy I have such an amazing team, and we added eight trophies to the cabinet this year. The goal is a specific other one, the Major obviously, but we are going to give our best in every single tournament. That's something we want to do.

As you said, you never know in CS the next time somebody is going to do a crazy win streak or crazy tournament streak. But for us, the thing is we focus game by game. One day, you wake up and have a 30-game win streak, and that's going to be nice.

The Major is still a while away. Before that, what are you looking for in terms of what you want from Vitality in the next two months?

We still look towards the Major even though it's quite far away. But for us, it's just two tournaments away, China [IEM Chengdu] and Hong Kong [BLAST Rivals]. Once we finish those two, the Major is on the line.

We're going to try to improve our game, we have some time to practice now, and in China and Hong Kong we want to get quality practice, and that will be our last practice before the Major. The best practice is in officials, so we're going to come and try and play our best CS, but also like, get new things for the game and feel comfortable around them.

Onto the Major, we will have a bootcamp, the main focus will be to fix the micro things that made us lose some games, like yesterday's Mirage comeback. We want to dig into it. Maybe we can improve 2-3% which is nothing, but it's going to help a lot in best-of-ones in the Major, that's what we need to stick to. Strengthening the map pool that we currently have, that's the goal that will hopefully lead to a good result in the Major.

You were approaching the MVP this event, m0NESY ended up getting it. How did it feel to be in that kind of form? It's always ZywOo taking it away so how did it feel to be in the conversation?

To be honest, I contributed, and that's why I was in the conversation. Without my team, I would not be able to frag as much in this BO5. I have amazing support in the server and that creates a lot of space for me to kill. For us, it would have been cool to get the MVP, but in some sense, I don't give a fuck; we won the event. That's a bigger trophy to hold. An MVP is something I want to achieve in my career, but it's on the go.

I'm never going to aim for an MVP. I'm going to aim to play the best I can for my teammates, and if that gets me an MVP, I'm going to smile a bit more than having a trophy, but that's about it. It's not a huge thing for me because my ideal goal is that ropz or ZywOo get it, and I let them trade me, that's something you are proud of as an entry. But obviously, if I got one I would be very happy. I'm happy I helped my team today individually, killing, and that's it.

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Vitality end four-month drought with ESL Pro League Season 22 title