Team Vitality secured a dominant 3-0 victory over Natus Vincere in the Grand Final of BLAST Open Rotterdam, extending an impressive map win streak and claiming another tier-one trophy. Following the match, Israeli rifler Shahar “flameZ” Shushan spoke about the team’s continuous drive for perfection, a chaotic map on Anubis, and the internal race for the Most Valuable Player award.
Striving for perfection
Vitality’s run in Rotterdam was characterized by a flawless map streak, yet the roster remains highly critical of its own performance. Speaking after the Grand Final, flameZ noted that the team felt they could have exerted more dominance over their regional rivals, NAVI.
We kept the map streak going, but there were a lot of maps that we felt like we played slow,” flameZ explained. “Even today, we felt like we could have dominated them a bit more. Even though we won everything in this tournament, we’re going to still go back and watch a lot because we have a lot to learn because we haven’t played the best Counter-Strike we can.
Surviving the chaos on Anubis
The series against NAVI featured several tense moments, particularly on Anubis, a map known for favoring the Terrorist side in the current Counter-Strike 2 meta. Vitality had to rely on individual clutches and a creative triple boost to close out the game.
Reflecting on the Anubis match, flameZ described the map as inherently difficult, requiring teams to fight for every possible advantage.
It is just a shit map, to be honest,” he said. “If you are CT, you just need to grind rounds and do your best. And if you are T, you’ve got to squeeze as much as you can out of the rounds you play. Even if you win by some gimmicks and you do not play the best CS, it is fine. We just want to win the game.
Despite feeling occasionally unlucky during NAVI’s B-site executes on Anubis, flameZ maintained that Vitality remained one step ahead of their opponents throughout the series.
Trophies over accolades
On an individual level, Rotterdam was a standout event for the 22-year-old Israeli player. He was a frontrunner for the MVP medal right up until the Grand Final’s conclusion. However, his teammate ropz ultimately secured the award, surprising the community by beating out both flameZ and Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut.
Rather than expressing disappointment, flameZ highlighted the sheer firepower and depth present within the Vitality lineup. He emphasized that the roster prioritizes championship victories over individual accolades.
It shows how much this team has, that me and ZywOo pop off this tournament and the MVP is fucking ropz,” flameZ said. “There is so much skill across this team and so many players who can pop off. Getting an MVP is nice and all, but having a team that consistently gets trophies, nobody gives a shit who is MVP.
He also praised ZywOo, who holds numerous MVP records across his career, for his unselfish mindset and dedication to the team’s overall success.
Even if ZywOo won’t get it for the next two tournaments, he wouldn’t give a fuck,” flameZ concluded. “As long as we win trophies, that is what matters for him. He is the number one MVP. Maybe if me and ropz have the best tournament of our life we can win one, but his average is still the best.
