FlameZ Ranked 7th on HLTV's List of the Best Players of 2024

On Jan 7, 2025, HLTV announced the 7th place in its ranking of the Top 20 players of 2024 in Counter-Strike 2. This spot was claimed by Israeli player Shahar "flameZ" Shushan. Notably, this is the first time he has made it onto the list of the best, making it a significant milestone for him.

This year, the young star from Team Vitality delivered an impressive performance and showcased strong statistics at the top tournaments. His overall rating was 1.13, KPR – 0.68, KAST – 75.5%, and Impact Rating – 1.17. It is worth mentioning that despite not the best year for Team Vitality, flameZ maintained excellent form throughout most of the season's tournaments.

Career Highlights and Achievements

FlameZ has been playing Counter-Strike for over 10 years, starting with the early versions of the game and later transitioning to CS:GO, where he became a professional player. He began his career with several local teams, competing in C and B-tier tournaments and delivering solid performances. In 2020, the young talent caught the attention of Endpoint, who invited him to join their roster. Together, they competed in their first large-scale tournaments and even secured a few victories.

FlameZ’s talent was further recognized by OG, and in 2021, he joined their lineup. At the time, OG was just beginning its journey into the elite tier of Counter-Strike and faced numerous challenges, with flameZ playing a crucial role in their successes. With OG, he even qualified for his first Major, though they couldn't achieve significant results there.

True breakthrough victories came in 2023 when flameZ joined Team Vitality. In his first year with the team, they won Gamers8 2023, BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2023, and BLAST Premier: World Final 2023. With the transition to CS2, flameZ didn’t lose his momentum but continued to excel. In 2024, alongside Team Vitality, he triumphed at Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2024.

2024 Recap and Bold Prediction

The year 2024 was quite a mixed one for Team Vitality, as they achieved fewer victories than expected. However, flameZ delivered consistent performances, ranking 2nd or 3rd in the team by rating on average and having a significant impact in matches. Still, the team managed to secure only one major trophy in 2024, which the player commented on:

"Even though it’s the only trophy we won, it was an amazing experience and memory for me, and all the people associated with this experience hold a dear place in my heart, regardless of the circumstances that came afterward."

The player also expressed his determination to perform at his best to secure a higher ranking in 2025.

Bold prediction: Drin "⁠makazze⁠" Shaqiri, a NaVi Junior player who had an average rating of 1.19 in 2024 and helped his team win six trophies.