flameZ on Team Vitality’s performance at the IEM Cologne Major 2026: “We need to step up our game significantly.”
Alexey Mikhailov
Team Vitality rifler Shahar “flameZ” Shushan spoke in an interview at IEM Cologne Major 2026 about the performance of the revamped MOUZ roster, reflected on his team’s struggles on Dust2, and assessed the current form of the “Bees.”
On MOUZ
It seems like MOUZ is playing a little differently, but I think their system and ideas are the same. As for xertioN, he was already making a significant contribution to the team’s play before. You could say that MOUZ’s style hasn’t changed much, but the team’s play in the late stages of rounds has improved significantly.
On Team Vitality’s play on Dust2
It’s clear that we’re a bit slow with our rotations, and because of that, our opponents catch us off guard. I don’t know, maybe it’s the pressure of the Major, but sometimes we can’t execute what we usually do well. We make mistakes, and they cost us dearly. In some of the rounds we lost, MOUZ played excellently—they deserve credit for that. Despite all this, I think we’re still confident in our play on Dust2.
On the team’s form
We need to step it up significantly. Yes, we’re still shooting well, but we’re playing with some hesitation. I hope we can resolve this issue. Next time, we need to walk onto the server and show confidence.
Team Vitality defeated MOUZ in a Group Stage match at the IEM Cologne Major 2026 with a 2-1 map score (13-9 on Mirage, 7-13 on Dust2, and 13-4 on Inferno). Today, the flameZ team will face BetBoom Team for a spot in the tournament’s playoffs.
Photo by Rachel Mathews, BLAST.
Alexey Mikhailov
