flameZ on Team Vitality’s CS2 roster: “We want to climb the VRS rankings and start winning trophies.”
Team Vitality rifler Shahar “flameZ” Shushan, in an interview at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026, compared his team’s play with that of Justinas “jL” Lekavičius and William “mezii” Merriaman, assessed Dan “apEX” Madeskler’s current form, and reflected on the “Bees’” goals.
On the difference between jL and mezii
jL played with us at the last tournament—he’s a good player who’s very different from mezii; he plays completely differently and chooses different timings. It took us a long time to get used to his style and start competing with the top teams. Now that William is back, playing has become much easier because we have a special understanding. We know what to expect from him on the server.
On apEX’s form
apEX is playing incredibly well. After a poor performance at the 2026 Esports World Cup, he trained a lot. I think he’s managed to improve his form. He’s playing with much more confidence now—he’s less fixated on the radar and doesn’t die needlessly. apEX’s kills take the pressure off ZywOo and ropz, and they also help us achieve better results.
On Team Vitality’s Goals
Tournaments with our full roster are very important to us. At these events, we need to perform better and go as far as possible—we want to climb the VRS rankings and start winning trophies. It’s been a long time since our team last made it to the finals. We really want to win and are giving it our all in every match.
Team Vitality lost to Aurora Gaming 1-2 in the upper bracket match of StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026. Today, the “Bees” will face FURIA for a spot in the tournament’s grand final—their match will take place at 3:00 p.m. Moscow time.
Photo by Rachel Mathews, BLAST.
