flameZ on Team Vitality: “We have some issues with communication and consistency”
Team Vitality CS2 player Shahar “Rilfer” “flameZ” Shushan commented on his team’s current form in an interview at the IEM Cologne Major 2026, discussed their losses on Dust2 in more detail, and shared his thoughts on the upcoming match against BetBoom Team.
On the team’s current form
Yes, of course, I think we’re actually playing a little worse right now than before. We have some issues with communication and consistency, especially when it comes to best-of-3 series. Some maps end up being too one-sided, while on others, it’s the opposite—things just feel really sluggish. So the team is currently trying to get back to our previous form. We might have a rough road ahead in the playoffs, but once we get there, we’ll see how much things can change. Over the past three days, I haven’t been able to shake the feeling that the team could play much better. Before today’s match, we had a good discussion about what we want to do on the server, so I’m really looking forward to the start of the match.
On the losses on Dust2
I sincerely hope that the other teams will perceive our recent results on it as a weakness. We really didn’t play those matches at all like we usually do—not even close to how we play in practice. A lack of focus—that’s what was the main reason for those setbacks. I have no doubt that every one of my teammates still believes in us on Dust2, because we have a lot of great strategies and plays there.
About the match against BetBoom Team
To be honest, I think we need to approach the match with a sense of responsibility and play at a level worthy of ourselves. That should be enough to make it to the playoffs today. Of course, if ZywOo just racks up more than thirty kills, that’ll help us a lot too.
- Read also: flameZ on Team Vitality’s performance at IEM Cologne Major 2026: “We need to step up our game”
Team Vitality is currently battling BetBoom Team in the third stage of the IEM Cologne Major 2026 in a match to advance to the event’s playoffs. At the time of publication, Shahar “flameZ” Shushan’s team
Photo — Sophie Barrowclough, BLAST.
