Nikita “HeavyGod” Martynenko isn’t the only Endpoint Alumni gracing the stage here in London. Shahar “flameZ” Shushan was on Endpoint nearly five years ago. He joined OG, then moved on to Vitality, where the honorary Brit has soared.
flameZ has flourished at Vitality, winning multiple trophies, including his first major in Austin, along with William “Mezii” Merriman. Here in London, flameZ would like to get back to the winning ways of the first half of the year.
Chatting to UKCSGO, flameZ talks about the support of the UK scene, the win versus MOUZ and taking revenge for Cologne.
First game on the stage, First win, how are you feeling after that?
I’m feeling great, it’s been a while since we were in the final. Not a long while, but it was last season. Beating them in the fashion that we did, very proactive, we do a lot of stuff. That’s something we like to do, I think everybody is happy right now in the team because we played really good Counter-Strike today.
Obviously, you came through Endpoint, you’re a little bit of an honorary Brit. Did it feel like a home crowd for you as well?
They focused on mezii, but for me it’s still special. The English players and the organisations help me step up to where I am right now, so there’s always something nice about coming to England. And I love coming to England because of that. Last year, when we came to London, I wanted to win it for William, but I wanted to win it for me as well. I think London is an amazing city, and the English people helped me big time in my career. Max [MIGHTYMAX] and Surreal, and everybody there, so I want to win a trophy in this country.
flameZ talking to UKCSGO after their win over MOUZ
On Inferno, it was kind of close at the start, 6-6 on the half, and then you began to pull away in the second half. Were there any changes going into the second half, or did you just get into the groove a little bit more?
I think we just talked. Every round we lost, we didn’t have a plan; every round we won, we did have a plan. So we just kept forcing plans, we didn’t care if it was a shit plan or a plan that didn’t make sense “Let’s play together, let’s have a plan.” Even in the eco rounds, we had a plan, we took it slow, and we took the rounds.
It’s got to feel good getting revenge against MOUZ from Cologne. How did that revenge feel?
That Cologne game was a bit personal for me because I played like shit. So I really wanted to play really good today and do my best, even if it’s not headshots, it could be communication. I feel like I did really well in this department. I don’t really care that it’s MOUZ, but I’m happy that we beat them.
