flameZ — Shahar Shushan

Shahar “flameZ” Shushan is an Israeli professional Counter-Strike 2 player who competes for Team Vitality as the primary entry fragger. At 22 years old, he is a two-time Major champion, a back-to-back HLTV Top 7 player, and the relentless engine that drives the most dominant team in modern Counter-Strike.

Entry fragging is the hardest and most thankless role in professional Counter-Strike. The entry fragger is the first player through the door, the one who faces pre-aimed crosshairs and defensive utility head-on, and the one whose death is often considered acceptable as long as it creates space for teammates. Most entry fraggers accept this reality. flameZ does not. He swings into bomb sites with the full intention of killing everyone there, and more often than not, he succeeds.

What makes flameZ remarkable is the combination of mechanical speed, fearless aggression, and an infectious positivity that lifts the entire team around him. His teammate ropz has stated publicly that flameZ is “probably above donk at this point,” a staggering compliment from one of the most decorated players in the game. As a team manager, flameZ is the kind of player who transforms a great roster into a dynasty. He is the tip of the spear, and Vitality’s historic 2025 season would not have been possible without him.

Shahar Shushan was born on June 22, 2003, in Israel. He is the younger brother of Shiran “shushan” Shushan, a fellow professional Counter-Strike player who first introduced him to the game. Growing up in Israel’s limited domestic Counter-Strike scene, flameZ faced a unique challenge: there was no clear pathway from local play to the international stage.

flameZ hit several roadblocks early in his career. He was unable to attend important local LAN tournaments because he was under 16. Rather than waiting for the domestic scene to accommodate him, he shifted his focus to FACEIT Pro League Challenger (FPL-C), the online proving ground where aspiring professionals compete against established players for international recognition. His performances in FPL-C were so dominant that they forced European organizations to pay attention.

His mechanical skill was evident from an early age. Even as a teenager competing in pugs and aim maps, flameZ displayed the snappy, high-velocity aim that would later become his trademark. His style looked frantic to observers but felt controlled to him, a description that perfectly captures the way he plays to this day.

Vitality have carried their dominance into 2026, winning IEM Kraków, PGL Cluj-Napoca, ESL Pro League Season 23, and BLAST Open Rotterdam in the first four months of the year. At BLAST Rivals Spring 2026, the team has continued to compete at the highest level. flameZ has been vocal about his goals: maintain his Top 7 placement, help Vitality win as many trophies as possible, and peak at the IEM Cologne Major later in the year.

flameZ is a pure entry fragger, meaning he is the first player to engage the enemy when his team executes a site take. This is the most dangerous and self-sacrificial role in Counter-Strike. The entry fragger’s job is to create space, deal damage, and generate information, often at the cost of their own life. Most entry fraggers are expendable. flameZ is not.

What separates flameZ from other entry fraggers is his ability to survive and thrive. He does not just create space; he takes over bomb sites. His mechanical speed is extraordinary. His crosshair moves aggressively as he checks corners, overwhelming opponents who hold static angles. He swings wide to break defensive crosshair placement, and even when he dies, he typically deals enough damage or gathers enough information for ropz or Spinx to trade him instantly.

flameZ’s IGL, apEX, was himself a legendary entry fragger before transitioning to the calling role. This gives apEX a unique understanding of what flameZ needs to succeed, and the two have developed a tactical rapport that allows flameZ to operate with maximum freedom while staying within the team’s strategic framework.

Off the server, flameZ is known as Vitality’s “vibes commander.” Mic logs frequently capture him cracking jokes, hyping up teammates after lost rounds, and maintaining the kind of relentless positivity that keeps morale high during pressure situations. In a game that can tilt players easily, his mental resilience is a genuine tactical asset that pairs perfectly with the more stoic nature of teammates like ZywOo.

flameZ’s statistical profile reflects the output of a high-impact entry fragger who consistently delivers above expectations for one of the most dangerous roles in the game.

The most revealing statistic is that flameZ fell below a 1.00 rating at only two events in the entirety of 2025. For an entry fragger, a role where dying is literally part of the job description, that level of consistency is almost unprecedented. It means he is not just creating space; he is winning the duels he takes, which transforms the entry role from a sacrifice into a weapon.

flameZ is the younger brother of Shiran “shushan” Shushan, who first introduced him to Counter-Strike. The two brothers have pursued professional careers in the same game, a rare detail in the esports world.

He reunited with his close friend and fellow Israeli Spinx on Team Vitality, creating a dual-Israeli core within the French-international super-roster.

flameZ declined an offer from G2 Esports in late 2024, choosing to remain with Vitality. Given Vitality’s subsequent dominance in 2025, the decision proved to be career-defining.

His standout performance at ESL Pro League Season 22, posting a 1.65 rating with 102.6 ADR and +5.71% swing across three grand final maps against Falcons, was one of the most individually dominant single-event performances of the year.

flameZ has stated that his goal is to finish seventh in the HLTV rankings for a third consecutive year, calling seven his lucky number. He has said he would rather win trophies with the team than chase a higher individual ranking.

He is known as Vitality’s “vibes commander,” the player who keeps morale high during difficult moments. Teammates have described him as the emotional anchor who cracks jokes and hypes up the team after lost rounds.

On donk’s famous 1v5 clutch against Vitality, flameZ commented with characteristic humor: “If we lose to donk, it’s donk. If we lose to anyone else, we’re five bots.”

flameZ has one of the most expensive CS2 skin inventories among professional players, featuring prestige items including rare AK-47 and AWP skins.

flameZ matters because he has elevated the entry fragger role from a necessary sacrifice to a genuine star position. In a scene that has traditionally celebrated AWPers and lurkers as the glamour roles, flameZ has proven that the player who goes in first can be just as impactful, just as consistent, and just as worthy of recognition as the player who holds the final angle.

His story also carries significance for the Israeli esports community. Coming from a country with limited Counter-Strike infrastructure and no established pipeline to tier-one teams, flameZ built his career through sheer mechanical ability and the FPL system. He is proof that the FACEIT ecosystem can serve as a genuine pathway to the top, regardless of where a player comes from geographically.

Within Vitality’s super-roster, flameZ occupies a unique and critical role. He is the player who creates the space that allows ZywOo, ropz, and Spinx to operate. Without his willingness to take the first duel, to absorb utility, and to generate the chaos that opens bomb sites, Vitality’s entire tactical system would collapse. He is the engine, and the dynasty runs on his aggression.

From a team management perspective, flameZ is the ideal entry fragger: mechanically gifted, emotionally resilient, tactically aware, and selfless enough to prioritize team success over personal statistics. Every team in the world wants a player like flameZ. Very few exist.

At 22, flameZ is entering his prime competitive years with the best team in the world around him. Vitality’s 2026 season has started with four tournament wins in four months, and the IEM Cologne Major later this year represents the next major target. A third consecutive Major title would be a historically unprecedented achievement for the team, and flameZ would be central to any such run.

flameZ has set his personal goal clearly: finish seventh in the HLTV rankings for a third straight year, and win as many trophies as possible. His approach to the game, prioritizing team success over individual glory, is exactly the mentality that sustains dynasties. As long as flameZ maintains his current form and Vitality’s roster remains intact, there is no reason to believe the team’s dominance will slow down.

The biggest risk for flameZ’s career is the same risk that faces any player on a dominant team: complacency. He has spoken openly about this, noting that Vitality’s 2025 first half set an unrealistically high bar and that the team needs to focus on continuous improvement rather than trying to replicate past results. That self-awareness, combined with his mechanical skill and emotional leadership, makes flameZ one of the most complete players in professional Counter-Strike.

flameZ’s eDPI of 1200 is significantly higher than most professionals. For context, ZywOo plays at 800, donk at 1000, and ropz at 932. This high sensitivity allows flameZ to turn quickly, check multiple angles in rapid succession, and react to flanks, all critical capabilities for an entry fragger who is constantly moving through contested spaces. The trade-off is reduced precision at long range, but flameZ compensates with his raw mechanical speed and crosshair placement. His zoom sensitivity of 1.10 is slightly above the standard 1.0, adding a touch of extra speed when scoped.

flameZ plays on stretched 4:3 at 1280x960, the most common resolution among professionals. He keeps shadow quality on high for tactical information but sets most other graphical options to low for maximum frame rate. Notably, his ambient occlusion is set to medium rather than disabled, which adds subtle depth shading that can help spot player models against walls. His brightness is lower than average at 79%, which is a personal preference that some players find reduces eye strain during long sessions.

flameZ uses a Legacy-style crosshair (style 5), which is less common among top professionals than the standard Classic Static (style 4). The legacy style provides a slightly different visual feel during movement and shooting. His crosshair includes a center dot, which gives a precise aiming reference point for close-range spray transfers, critical for an entry fragger who frequently engages at short to medium distances. The cyan color and moderate size create a clean, visible aiming point without obstructing targets.

flameZ uses presetpos 3 with viewmodel recoil disabled and minimal shift amounts. The reduced shift values (0.5 left, 0.25 right) keep the weapon nearly static during strafing, creating a calmer visual experience that helps maintain focus during the rapid-fire engagements that define his playstyle. The standard far-right, lowered positioning maximizes screen visibility.

Below is a consolidated console command snippet that replicates flameZ’s core settings.

// flameZ CS2 Config Snippet — May 2026

// Mouse & Sensitivity

sensitivity "3"

zoom_sensitivity_ratio "1.1"

// Crosshair

cl_crosshairstyle 5

cl_crosshairsize 1.5

cl_crosshairthickness 0.5

cl_crosshairgap -2

cl_crosshaircolor 5

cl_crosshaircolor_r 0

cl_crosshaircolor_g 255

cl_crosshaircolor_b 255

cl_crosshairalpha 255

cl_crosshairdot 1

cl_crosshair_drawoutline 1

cl_crosshair_t 0

// Viewmodel

viewmodel_fov 68

viewmodel_offset_x 2.5

viewmodel_offset_y 0

viewmodel_offset_z -1.5

viewmodel_presetpos 3

viewmodel_recoil 0

cl_viewmodel_shift_left_amt 0.5

cl_viewmodel_shift_right_amt 0.25

// Radar

cl_radar_always_centered 1

cl_radar_scale 0.3

cl_radar_icon_scale_min 0.6

cl_hud_radar_scale 1