flameZ
Appearances
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I had so many opportunities. I think at some point you also realize that you had opportunities and you did good. You didn't play bad, you just didn't shoot that well. And that can happen. And sometimes you know you fucked up. And that's where the games you don't want to go to, but they're going to happen.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I think also education in Turkey is quite high.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I think I would always have, we were in, I don't, in Lisbon, we played against Navi in OG 2022. Okay. And I full choke that. It was my first stage game. And I remember waking up in the morning and I don't have appetite. And I remember going back when I was a kid.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
whenever I have to do the first thing in my life, like, whenever it's the first time of something, I'm full of stress, anxiety, I don't want to eat any food, like, I can't eat any food, and then we come up on stage, I don't have energy, and I remember, like, I was, it was like a... quite a close game. I remember Neofrag was like even, wow, guys, we can win that.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Like we won a map or something of them. And then, and it was Navi with SDY, but it was still like, they won this tournament. So, and, and we beat them this tournament in the group stage. And I remember like, oh my, like, oh my God, I'm just, I can't focus. and I'm not even thinking about the stage or the crowd. I'm just like, my eyes are not focused on the screen. They're somewhere else.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And I can't focus, like I'm dying and I can't focus on, on nothing. And, and this is where I was like, mate, what the fuck? Like this game is like, maybe I'm not fit for that kind of stage game. Okay. I took it like really bad. I, I probably slept two hours after, but yeah, but, but also like, it's very tiring. Those kinds of games, like, you know, you know, like you, you,
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Yeah. The thing is, in 2022, in the end, we played Abu Dhabi or Dubai, I don't remember which one, Blast World Final.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Yes, and we played against Liquid, and we lost to Liquid, and I also played bad. But then I was very motivated to find what I can do to improve the stage games. So I went on my drive, on my docks, and I wrote, it's all in Hebrew, sadly, so I can't hear you. I would have showed you.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
We can translate, but it's just like, how am I going to treat this play break differently than other ones in order to become better on stage? And I was like, you know, I will watch YouTube videos, and there is this guy, I'm sure you know, Jordan Peterson. Mm-hmm. I was like every video is on YouTube. I would have watched it.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And then I started buying some books and then I didn't read them for a while. And then I was like, okay, I will read one minute a day. And then you start getting involved. And I remember that I was really sad in OG because for six months I was grinding like myself, like being a better version of myself, but we never had playoffs to play on stage. So that was fucking hell.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And then I joined Vitality. First stage we play on Cologne. I was like, oh my God, this is a big one. I've been ready for this for months. Yeah. But I was also like in vitality to, I think the difference maker was just talking about the stress with your teammates. I was like, yeah,
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I was telling like, you know, and you play with Magisk, Sonic, like you don't really, so I was like, like I'm feeling well guys, like I'm feeling good. And I remember I played well this game and I was like, I can do well. And then I started setting up goals. I'm gonna, I want to have a live game on stage. And then I played against FaZe on the world final or fall final. I had like 2.3 rating.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And then I was like, you know, I started feeling comfortable, really comfortable.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I think it was mostly, like, just be open about your stress, like we're here, and don't... Like, fuck the expectations. Like, just come, enjoy. You're here for that. Like, you're watching CS, and you're watching the stage games and being excited. Just come and enjoy. And I think we always talk about it till now that every stage game, we don't know what's going to happen, like, with CS.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And maybe tomorrow... some fucked up thing goes up and there is no stage games for a bit like COVID happened. And so we always emphasize on like, just enjoy the stage as much as you can. And even if it's,
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
small stage or a bigger stage like people are here to watch you it's entertainment and just enjoy it and try to be as as loud as you can and have as much fun as you can so every game was and this was like i think the best advice i got because it it was just you know i'm sitting in in in the game i remember we won we lost dallas finals to stewie 2k but i had loads of fun you know like the stage was the stage was like fuck the french but
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
and fuck Apex like the stage was against us the crowd was against us but I saw how the team was and like everybody was fighting even though we lost a comeback and it was like a sloppy game in the game but it was a fun experience to just be on the stage and like be part of this kind of story in some sense
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Yeah. and especially in this moment of fear that every player is insane like every every player so much yeah have you noticed that over the years everyone's just gotten increasingly i think in cs2 you kind of like feel it but since i joined tier one
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
i think it's to some extent like even csgo everybody is just unique in this like yeah a lot of players there are some players who are like less individually skilled but uh like mostly igls i would say but they're less individual i think stavin was annoying for me because i felt like he was like shooting to the legs But he was really smart positioning himself.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
He was always being in a good position, got a good flash. So I was like, I was watching him a lot because I was thinking like, if I have like 2% more skill than him and I learn his game sort of, I can be really good. But yeah, you kind of feel it like you miss two, three bullets and you... I feel like on Faze they're better players.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Actually, we didn't feel him quite, like, he didn't, like, he plays good against us.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I think, obviously, like, when we have a 1v1 duel against him, like, let's say we played on the Katowice, we played Nuke against him, like, he owned me. Like, so many picks I did at the time, I'm in a good position, but I didn't know, like, I don't know what's coming for me, you know, and he just, like, destroys you. And, but against us, he didn't,
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Yeah, you go to Larnaca? Ah, yeah, yeah. True, true, true, true. Malta, Larnaca, Dubai. Yeah, I remember this flight, yeah.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I have this theory that if you have like Monacy or Zayu or Donk and you play against each other, they both sort of like... They level each other out. Yes, I think so. And I think some... It's just my like theory over it because... And then I think whoever wins is the better team. And this claim is... I say this because G2 and Vitality are Donk's lowest rating games. Okay.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
So I think something in this space, but I think also like whenever we play Spirit, it was... We played them one time on group stage, but we played semi and final again. I think two semis and one final. So it's always like, you know, you, I think us on stage is like quite different as a team. Like we're really hyped and everybody's very different.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
So I think it's also like we come way more with way more energy. And I think, I think, I don't know how spirit is. I have no idea how they are in game, on stage games. Yeah, I have no idea. But I think we have like... You wrecked him in Katowice though. Yeah.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I think it's also like the experience and Zayo and Dunk. Because Dunk is going to have crazy rounds, but also Zayo is going to have crazy rounds. And now you have Rops. He's also going to have crazy... And you saw how he played in the final. So I think if you... Like you saw, Ropz broke the record of the final and you're like crazy, right? And then Zayu breaks the record game after, map after.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
So it's, I think, and obviously like Ropz could have like a less, like, you know, a game that is not popping off, but Zayu is still going to pop off. You know what I mean? And if you have this kind of thing, and Donkey is always going to pop off, right? But if you have...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
don't doing like a one of a tree or like a killing tree when you shouldn't and then you have your teammate giving you the same round then i think it balances out some of the the game and then it relies on that on the rest of the team does donk feel like as much of a phenom inside the server as he does from the outside yeah like when you play against me just like what the fuck how's this guy some
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Quite nice in the summer. It's like Malta, I feel like.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
The way he kills me, I have never died like that. If I have MP9 and I full swing, very few people can constantly kill me. I feel like he's always going to headshot me. And the way he's moving, you know it's him. You can tell the way he crouches, goes back, picks you again. And he's so...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
yeah definitely slightly bigger slightly better yeah more diverse actually there is way more things to do but actually malta mates the the thing is i remember you you leave the hotel not but it's just we've been there so many times on epl that you just like you know we do team walks every morning and you have to go left or right yeah and i feel like in sweden you have more diversity in any country like you can go left right straight backwards in malta you have no nothing
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And you know, when you're watching the stream, obviously it still looks fast on the stream, but you don't know how fast it is. It's not that quick, yeah.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
absolutely destroying everyone and he's also full grinding so he's like on face it the he just breaks the elo record and it's crazy like how like the guy won a major he won cut of it and he's still so like he's still his life to play countless he's like 17 18 years old yeah yeah how we that up jason we gave him a girlfriend oh we could easily his right stop grinding that or someone shows in world of warcraft
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I don't know if it pisses him off as much as like... I think it has to be weird for you if you're first year and all the rest of your career are top one and two and then you're like top three. But I think for him it's... I don't think he took it as like a... You know, something crazy. Like, obviously, we had a lot of issues in the team in 2024.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And we didn't... Like, we won a column, but that's, like, quite nice. But the rest, we choked a lot of... Not choked, but we had a lot of opportunities to win more. And I think he also considered that because he... Like, we won one trophy and we didn't do as well as we hoped for. He's still top three. I think he took it more like...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
like this year we're gonna have like a like we're gonna have like a different roster hopefully some things will like go in the past and we can focus on i can focus on more myself and i think having ropes in the team and i don't know if it's zyu just because i got the top three or because you have ropes but since we got robin and and the beginning of the year
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I was really, really waiting for that to happen. But obviously, I think Apex is in the stage that he's going to trash talk everyone. Everyone. Yeah. You don't get... Unless you're playing really good, unless it's a really competitive match, I think that's the only time that he's focusing on thinking on the game and he forgets this exists. But yeah, I think it was obvious that...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
But I think, I think because they want PGL, I think because they want PGL, it's like, you know, it shows that it was to some extent like a fit for both teams. Like it shows that it, and I don't know how it's going to be with Borla and IGL-ing, I'll be honest. Like, I think it's quite, I think it's quite a challenge, but I think also they know it, you know, so they're working really hard.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
You've actually just stumbled into something very deep and profound there. Yeah, but not Malta, just St. Julian I don't like, because Valletta is fucking beautiful.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
So I think their coach is really involved in this kind of stuff.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
But do you think the old Maus would have won PGL? Yeah, actually, I think so. Yeah, in that field, yeah, probably. But, yeah, I guess it's still, like, you know, winning a trophy is itself, like, in CS, because they had the Mongols, they had FaZe in this tournament, and obviously Falcons... Didn't play either of them.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Yeah, I think Falcons dealt with most of it, but...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
it's still something that you know you as a team you for them i don't think the issue was they don't play cs well back then i don't know how how it's going to be right now but it was like choking on the playoff games and like not not playing that well as they do in the group stage i think when you and i'm not sure i think they won they won some tournament last year they won the bed but they didn't win a stage
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
no no they were lost to finals in changdu finals in rio they started winning matches on the stage yeah and dominantly yeah but they weren't they didn't win a big trophy yeah and i think and i i don't think they will look at it as like you know it was uh because you still had good teams there like like not the best maybe but you still had good teams there and i think it just gives you a little confidence that like you know someone like exertion i don't know if i think he popped off no
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
So I think this guy gets like this, like what I got, like the hang of it, like you can do well on stage and this can transfer to, if not Falco, like, you know, Spirit, Vitality, Navis, G2. And I think this is valuable. But as you said, like obviously Katowice and PGL, it's a world apart.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
It was really weird because as you said, it's like you think it might happen. You don't know if it's for sure going to happen. But you know, in my brain right now, I'm like, what if I don't give a fuck about all the social media team in Vitality? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
but the thing is it was really tough for me because as apex wrote on his instagram like we were not a team for a lot of the year and for me what i care about and my belief is that if you have teammates that's
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
like don't judge, like sort of like enjoy each other, the company and the really like close family, especially right now when you have a tournament after tournament after tournament, you have to be together for four weeks. I think this is something that you want to have like a friendly environment and everybody feels safe.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And if you have someone who doesn't and also few people who don't, I think it creates like a, gap in the team that you can't bridge unless you work really hard. And sometimes it just doesn't come as you wanted it to come. And maybe it comes for like a week or two, but you didn't find a long term solution. I think this is sort of what we got ourselves into.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
and switching players in the middle of the season before cologne and like uh you know because because the extras did the tweet after one cologne not the tweet but like the interview that you know he looked for a different team in after london in the player break But I think for both sides, it's quite tough. And I don't think many teams want to ever change before, AWC and Cologne. So, yeah.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
But I don't think we disliked. I think it was just like, as you said, you're not sure if this is the roster in some sense. Right. So what's the point of putting in the work? So you're not as motivated. And obviously there is the discipline. You're still going to play in the practice. You're still going to do extra time playing face and this kind of stuff. But it's just going to be different.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And when it becomes different and you don't find a good balance, then it's a mess. And I remember like... Before Cologne, before AWC, we were like doing an online bootcamp sort of thing. Like we just played a lot of games and face hits and everything. And I still didn't gain as much hours as I did when Robin joined the team for some reason.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And I was like, what, like, how did I even get myself into it? But I think it's, I don't think like people in the team dislike Lotan.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
i'm sure you you saw like how sphinx is very social and outgoing so it's it's not something like you it's not like a person you can dislike it's always going to be yeah but it was something that we we just couldn't find like a balance between like i think the motivation just slowly gunned down and after you win a cologne as well and you're like you see glimpses of hope in some sense you see glimpses of like maybe this is gonna yeah it's gonna work out after all yeah and and then it's you can't find your footing again then you're like okay like
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
and you just put yourself in like a roller coaster of like I don't know if it a lot of doubt and you try to deal with the doubt with like playing CS but you sort of don't find how to because it's not even like a CS issue in some sense it's like outside of the game issue so this is even tougher and then the worst thing is if eventually that like bleeds into the counter strike and then you stop enjoying the counter strike as kind of like the fix or the solution to that problem then it's fucked then yeah then it gets real fucked yeah long year should we turn to something sunny
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
yeah yeah did you have do you have better vibes right now in this lineup or when you or when you first joined og because that was the unlx romance man vibes lineup i remember that the online era you boot camping yeah actually wow this get this time this time of my life but og back in og it was uh man i was joining in and i was what's gonna like i don't know what's happening you know i was playing practice with them and valdez like all elegant talking and
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
they're all so different nico is fucking crazy and i'm like this is crazy like to this is like i thought t1 would be what was the full lineup when you joined alexi valde mantu and nico okay and uh and nico like a cheating heroic thing and yes and i was made and i was
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Like the first practice we had, I remember like we joked about it, like, and I saw like they're okay, like they're not against humor. They're not like keeping themselves in. And I thought this is going to be kind of like the, how Western Europe teams are going to be like, more like, you know, to themselves and this kind of stuff. But I came from Endpoint, which were really close teammates.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
The thing is, I have something to do, so I would wake up. But I have a friend who always watches The Talking Counter. He really likes it. He watches every episode, and he always said, like, you have to go there, you have to go there. It's so nice. It's proper, like, you ask good questions, stuff like this. So back, I don't remember, Katowice, I think it was.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Like they're talking about everything and they're playing faces until...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
11 p.m like every every young player dream basically and i think they were really nice and and then the first boot camp i was you know i'm 17 and i was i was kind of like scared but on the other hand like they were really good people so it was easy to get along with but definitely right now the thing is the thing is with with you saw the clip that alexi was like telling uh i am like yeah yeah this is and i feel like this happened
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
It didn't happen like that. It's not like someone told Alexi something and he got mad at him. But there was many things that I didn't understand when Alexi said them to us, like criticized us in the games. And it's not something that I was like, obviously we didn't do good and then he said something, but I wasn't sure it was connecting to that point that we're not doing good many times.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
But I didn't say it. I was like a big pussy. Yeah.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
You can be a player. So in the game, it was like good energy, but sometimes it was tough for me to like, I felt like people got like really toxic in the sense and more quiet. And I would assume when you're a young player, I think what, it depends how,
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
what kind of player you are because if you're like Duncan you can be 17 but you you kill so but I was not like exceptional in in the skill department so I was like sometimes you have a tough game and you're quite down but everybody's quite down with you and you want those kind of experienced players to bring you up yeah to show their experience in some sense so what you just said about Alexi there because I wanted to bring up that clip yeah are you saying that that doesn't seem like out of character from your experience
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
no like it i don't know how it is for them because i think blade said like every game they have like a fight or something okay but uh jesus like you can tell from watching like they do get like yeah but i think it's to some extent like i think it's like a family you know you you have the you have the players you're gonna be where you have like your family and sometimes you don't get along with these two players and you can fight i'm just hoping it's like a productive thing and i think they found a healthy way to you know yeah
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
No, I mean, it happens, but I think with... i think first of all apex did a lot of progress in 2024. here we go yeah i think with himself like sec apex started becoming like ripped off like epic's biceps yeah hugo noticed as well yeah you can't stop talking he's talking about his triceps every day yeah hugo might like him a lot huh
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I think like he had a lot of progress outside of the game that transferred into the game I think last year was kind of tough in the whole as we talked about the sphinx thing but I think right now we have like a team that is very solid and we have like you know Apex might get mad But he's not going to get tilted. He's not going to go down. He's going to get mad.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And I think it's better to just know why he's mad. And I think this is nice. If I do a mistake and someone's just getting mad and doesn't tell me what he thinks, I would be fucking... It will get to me. But Apex is very honest. He's going to be instantly like, you fucked up this thing. And I think this is way better. And it obviously has its own challenges. But I think it's...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
You asked me, and I was, like, Insta on it. But here I was thinking, like, yeah, fuck it. I just go to sleep two hours earlier, and... Can do that.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
it's to some extent like you you take his benefits and it's just like a family you have tools in the team and you you want to use them the right way but you have to take in consideration that there's some things that are going to be tough and as a team you want to improve on them but he improved his world apart from when I joined the team it feels a little bit from the outside when he does it like half of the reason why he does it he does it for himself to vent like to get that energy out and he also tells us like this is the requirement to like he needs to take it out yeah
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
It's also something that on stage games, you don't really feel it at all. Nothing. But, like, in stage games, like, you might do a mistake, but you'll be like, still, it's fucking fine. You know, like, I remember... I don't remember who we played against. Ah, Spirit, yeah. It was the Spirit game in Katowice final and I made like a mistake.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
We smoked long cross on ST side and we said like, let's wait and then we cross after the AG. But I felt like I had good timing to cross because I was really close. So when the smoke pops, I went shift and then they AG'd. And then I die. And I think we lost the round. But I said, my bad, guys. And then he instantly gave me this. All good. Let's do the fist bump or whatever it is.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
But in some games, it would have been tougher. I think studio games, it's quite different. But on stage games, it resets really quick. And he instantly helps the team again. Someone might fuck up. And then round after, he will tell him. And Apex is really helping the team in the...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
freeze time like even if we play default it might give you like a call to do and this can give you like two three kills and and you know you don't give a fuck about it you just want a round for your team or and i don't know if he does it in like intentionally i never asked him but many times i had this that
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
something went tough and then I would get a call that I know I like you know what I mean some chaotic round go through a smoke this kind of stuff and then I get two three kills and I get and I'm really good in like chaotic rounds or when it's like calm but you need to make it chaotic and and I think for some reason after those kind of like tilt rounds or I get put in those situations.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Or he just wants me to die, like, shut the fuck up now. But it works. Like, he sends me to kill in some sense.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And also himself, like, it's tough balance because he wants, you know, every player wants to play good in CS. And I think right now, as you see, since we got drops, like, he also, he puts good numbers and he, like, way more than in 2024, 2020.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
But I think there is two approaches in this sense. Like per se, Mirage Connector. Any position, basically, rotation. You don't have to necessarily be like an insane...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
like a donk kind of like fagging out everybody I think like I think Nico has like a balance that he helps the teammates and he's also starring and I think Apex is leaning more towards like helping the teammates so he would try to of course he obviously also has his plays that he's gonna try to get kills and he's in a good position but most of it is like
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
put the a player in a good position put the short player in a good position put this guy in a good position like come like ropes go stairs and hide i will bait for you and and this is something that i think you can get along with as long as you know there is no right counters like yeah just play cs and so i think this is something that for vitality especially when you have such high skilled players you can get off with that you put your like a position that
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
players are aggressive usually or like they they're more involved in the fight you put someone more laid back but also you have to consider that he's talking a lot so it also helps that he's in this position because he has a lot of info he has a lot of things to go off yeah no that's fair like i i don't uh disagree with that at all i just think like in those positions you can't full bot out like you can't have one of those games where you're not getting any kills at all like you can be setting your teammates up and you can be configuring did you watch our mirage
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Yes, so I think we found a balance in this sense that sometimes like... And even if he feels the game or not, or I feel the game, like we might go for like... We don't play by the rules of CS, like 1A, 1... So I think this is something that... we have in some apps that we kind of like, uh, I would say found our own thing.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Cause then you get to me for going to fight connector and you're going to get, uh, different plans and different, like you're going to get more fights towards middle. And then sometimes, you know, cause I'm the A player. You also have like the vision, the overview on a, so you, you might come like stairs and go ramp and push ramp. And I think this is something that, that is like, you know, you,
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
like you're going to have the players that you're going to play with and you're going to have the position you have to deal with it even if it makes less sense like when i joined vitality i wanted to play connector i came off og and i was in og i was full city calling i was like really ready to to like prove vitality in the sense that i can do that but then you know i got a b-side but i was like yeah that's you know it's hierarchy no
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
But also, what's the benefit is that because you play Connector and you played A in OG and you played Show, you have so much overview that I wouldn't play B as much as I... Also, as I was on A, I wouldn't be stuck on B. I would a lot of times jump Short, go under, be A.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Yes, I was with Spinks, but I think I did less B apps pushes, but I was very good when they came out, B contact pops. Like I was really good in this kind of, and back then it wasn't like, I feel like everybody was baiting in CSGO. So you have like someone jumping out the window, the rest of the team is like fucking B hours back then.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And so it was quite easy to counter a lot of teams because they were not that good in those kind of pops.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
You had one entry fucker and then the rest is like checking the stats and scoreboard. So I was like quite okay in those regards. And then I was like, you know, moving a lot on the map. And because you have this experience that
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
the con player is uh you know he needs to call but he's on his own sort of he can't it's hard to be like yo flames he come from b to short so you just like just go there and let him the opportunity to call something i think i was really good at that and b and then i got moved to a and uh and then on a i was struggling more but i found my own rhythm towards connector towards like playing on middle a bit taking the spawns and i think mirage is a map that we
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
we've been playing for so many years everybody knows how to play every position so it's quite easy to let and especially when you have ropes now and he can play and yeah he played a for most his life his entire life career where are you going
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
That's so unlucky for him. Like, it's actually really good and really nice. And it's so... I don't know what went wrong.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I think for me, it fits way more because the game is more aggressive. I think it was... I think also breaking the smokes. In CSGO, I would have games as I play against a team like VP, and man, I would lose my mind. I would be like, this is so fucking boring. I have nothing to do. There is nothing needed to do. You can just...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
like sit in your position, they can execute A, they can B inside A side after killing three and they come still B, you know? And I was like, man, this game is... I know. Like, and a lot of times, a lot of teams like I was struggling against like those Gambit back then, like VP, like those teams that played very passive. And also I think it was due to me, like...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I wouldn't say, I don't have like a diagnosed ADHD, but on CS, I would say that I'm, I don't want to sit down and do nothing. You just want to stare at an angle for 45 seconds. I can't do that. I can't do that. And I was like getting tilted a bit in CSGO.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Like, you know, people do smokes, they take their time and it looks beautiful for the, it's good CS, it's beautiful CS, but there is nothing happening. You know, you have to wait until the last 20 seconds and the games are so stretched. And I think as a fan, it's not so nice.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
So I didn't watch games so much because it was like, yeah, some teams I would watch, like phase games I would watch because they would be like passively aggressive as fuck. Like there is a duel here, duel here. The rounds would go fast, G2 in this sense as well. But then...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Yeah, I guess so. But I think also because he's, I think for some reason people don't like that much aggressive operas or really aggressive.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Now in CS2, and maybe it's also because of Donk a lot, game change just like so much more duels, people are picking way more, it's more aggressive. And also because of the stage games, you can run away more, people don't hear. I think this is something that I found myself like very comfortable with.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
The game is more fast-paced, and people know that if they smoke, they have to cross instantly or really late, because people are going to age the smokes. I think this kind of stuff makes the game just a bit more faster, a bit more fits me.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I think dunk changed the whole... As you said, a phenomenon like...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Also because Eroic, Eroic back then in CSGO were like really good, but they changed how CS kind of... When you watch Eroic, they play like beautiful CS.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And necessarily they didn't have the best players back then. Like you'd have way better players on different teams, but still Eroic would be very competitive with them and beat them most of the time, I think. And they were playing really... Good CS in this sense, like, pushing, moving, always moving, always moving, always moving, like, complicated rounds, defaults.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And I think right now the meta is, like, you need to have, like, a superstar that carries you and good luck. And not necessarily that, but just overall, like, a really high-skilled team. Like, you know, G2 didn't have, like, a superstar. Like, some may argue Niko is, but not the Zywoodonk Monacy.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And he's really aggressive. I think this is something that people are saying, like, he's too crazy. They think he's stupid, but I don't know. I like how he plays.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
But you still had Malphs that was very good in the end of the day, and that's why, like, they won a lot more. And you still had, like... You just... I think you need a lot more skill in CS2. Or maybe skill is just more shining in this game.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I think it's both. I think also because people take inspiration from players like Donk and this kind of stuff because you see that he does good... Sometimes the plays are hard, but he kills a lot. But sometimes he has really good plays that he's put in a really good position.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
and uh and he has like some position he found on his on his own or like some flesh and he just does a solo plan you want to try it out so i think people do that and they find out like they can they have a lot of skill but i think also the game is a noob friendly so okay so you can it's easier to headshot and it's it's i feel like you don't have a chance to kill someone holding and uh swinging you you know yeah so i think people understood this and they just like it you know
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I'd like to have someone who can initiate something. I don't care if he's necessarily really aggressive, but sometimes there is an AWPer who's like, I'm going to go ticket, but you guys can go four middle on Mirage. And he changes how the whole maps look, but he's not really aggressive, but he's very in the game.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Yeah, I think it's a really good way of changing.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
It is about headshots in the end. Like, you know, like it is about like those kind of like headshots playing like bots in the sense, like not making sense. But I think the... Like...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
on the top of the fan's head like the teams that you enjoy watching the most were like FaZe G2 and and they were like chaotic in this there were a lot of rounds that clutches yes 2v5s and they're playing like crazy eco rounds and obviously like I think it happens quite less also because people are way high level this time around, but those 5v5 chaotic rounds are as interesting as any.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Nuke is my favorite this side, and I think I have bad stats on it, but I'm just so chaotic, so many reactions, so many... The fights are so scrappy. They're entertaining to be a part of. It's crazy. You jump main, and you kill someone, and then you can kill another guy next to you. I love those maps that you can open up the whole round in one second, you know?
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And I feel like... I feel like CS... Valve is doing... Bless you. Valve is like... Like... I don't know. With Anubis, like, I don't feel like there is many options. You can go out... I just feel like cities are... they chew them under the bus on Anubis. If the T's want to go A, and they have five Molotovs, if they prepare the whole round for it.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
They're going to take that side. And the C's have to handle a retake, or someone has to make a really sick play. And you have that nowadays, but how often someone is going to make a sick play against three Molis, four Molis, five Flashes. And B, I was an A player on Anubis, and then when Rob joined, I went B. And I was like, yeah, finally I'm off that five Molotovs.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And then I see it's the same fucking thing. Yeah. you stand cave you get mollied inside and they molly you like this pillar okay I have to go like into the dark behind side you get mollied there and then six flashes and I'm like what the fuck is this shit I give you some some other map everybody hates it the bomb sites of that map sucked they fucking suck
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
It takes you fucking hours to rotate. And you're smoked off. Yeah, like you can't do anything. And the T's, when you come, they always have a good position. I think B site, when you go B, it's a city. If you want to retake, but the T's have one flash,
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
or one smoke and you come in like they can block a whole place and four people are you know and obviously like it's not hard as hard to retake as some other maps I feel like you know but it's really hard to hold and once you lose the hold you're in a 3v5 4v4 4v5 and when the T's have the bomb plant like good luck with that and in mid round you don't have much utility it's gonna be tough and I think this map is just fucking like you see how it is you see you play phases I can't play phases on this map
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Is it the same? I guess it might be. But I don't think he speaks English. I don't think he... I remember they invited him to FPL 2020. He didn't take it because he didn't speak English.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
really yeah i bet it's a nightmare in pugs i want to choke myself like it's so you don't have like protocols in with the team yeah but it's the the thing is in the pugs the people aren't as good with like okay we're gonna put pressure in part we're gonna put pressure no no no but it's it's just running mid double mollies everywhere yeah exactly but but this is but you don't know how to handle this like you know what i mean you're like what especially with the ct in san diego just useless i was gonna say ct saw just seems like it just got nerfed over the past like five months in every city
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
We see this Molotov, we see this Molotov, we just start laughing. There's just some blue flames. I feel like I'm entering a Christmas house. It's so shit.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
and and in the past when i played a on anubis on city i used to counter the t's rush with molly and ag nowadays and then i started i kept doing it a city i felt it was the same maybe it's not the same they don't get damaged like they can sit on this molly for hours and just so yeah this
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I agree with you. Because I think also you... it's it's economy because you're going to have a lot of a lot of opportunities and especially on maps where you know it's decided you're going to play like big gambles big pushes and this you can win around in one second you know what i mean so so i think i think in cs like obviously there is maps that
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
favorably you can be more comfortable as a T side but it's still if you lose the pistol or even if you win the pistol and then you lose the second round and you then you have like a 1.5 like you lose this one most likely like if they play well or maybe then you're eco then they already have like 3-1 and then there is a bonus round and it's a map that people do big pushes on and on Anubis it's also friendly like in the sense that T side are favorable because they don't you don't have to be committed
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
you can be like default but you can be like very safe on B on A on middle so but then still people can gamble really well people can do a lot of stuff so I think and then you win this round 4-1 5-1 and you basically like you have a good half already you know and I think I don't know if it's like also a fair argument but I think if you do a 6-6 half you won the half as a city you know yeah that's fair so
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Train was the most OP, like... Yeah, exactly. Like, you enjoy with OP, but yeah, right now it's quite... And I would say that Train is better than Anubis, and I think Train is actually quite balanced right now, more than the... more than Anubis per se, because... There is just more rotations. Also, maybe thanks to, because pros used to play Train, you have more ideas.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
But I feel like Anubis, well, no, actually Anubis, we've been playing for three, three, three, four years. Yeah, a while now. It's just a map that there is, yeah, like you can't get off, like Train, you might do a push together and you get a lot of info. You can play like jiggle position. Anubis, I feel like, you know, you can jiggle A, they contact, you die.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
You jiggle B, they contact, you might die. Yeah.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
handling smokes is that like a term that vitality use no it's we use it in og i don't think we use it in vitality but handling smoke is like you know sometimes you like let's say i remember like vertical b site the our coach used to say like if you're if we push a and you know it's gonna be b but you don't have time to block and you didn't block them before because you had to take a smoke so you were not in a good position
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Oh, you block them, but you know they're coming through. Do an handling smoke, like smoke on you, smoke something comfortable and just play around the smoke and try to get like one V1 here, one V1 here. I think there was a map that was... I think in Cobblestone on B site, you used to smoke on the site and like play around it.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I think like those kind of like smokes, you know, that you just... We used to call it defensive smoke.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And that, he was kind of- He never dies sloppily, yeah.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I got a gear sponsor, but I use a good keyboard. I like the keyboard.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
If it's your sponsor that you're using. It's an Asus keyboard. I like it. We had an incident against Mars or 3DMarks or someone that the admin came to Apex or MIBR. We lost the first map and then the admin comes to Apex and he was like, you have SnapTap on.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
and we're like okay we lost this game that's a shame and then and then we're like you know we're all sitting there and and robs also he's like very like if you give him a keyboard he's gonna figure out that keyword from from zero to 100. so he knows how to turn on the snap top on the case so there is a snap top in the keyboard and then they come and they find out i didn't have a snap top i just detected it i think
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
okay you just showed them and uh and they were like you know they came to us and we thought it's done and uh we just get it for you yeah lost to zero holy and but it was fixed after one second like they just told us uh i think the admin turned it on by accident because it's like you click something that is i think you click fn it's a small keyboard so fn and tub and some people have like fn3 and they buy like an ak kevlar and then they check the tub
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I think it's full fun when... When he's popping off against this kind of team as well, against like...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
sphinx in this say and you know it's it's like it's still a competitive team in this mate i loved it i was like say this say this to them you said you delivered the porn twitter live did you deliver the porn live i told him like uh i told him tell him about the poor the twitter you know like sneaking in info in his head
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I was full hyping up, but I was thinking before the game, I said it on one of the interviews, I don't remember, the podcast with Terry, I think. I said it that I'm going to try to trash talk more. And yesterday I was thinking before the game, what can I say? And usually you want to be authentic with it.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
but uh but i was just thinking like some ideas and i was thinking like really good stuff but i was thinking in hebrew so i was i was thinking like maybe i can scream on lotan and like exertion but uh but yeah the game i don't know i feel like if it's if it's like a game that is quite not competitive like it's not a big challenge but it was challenging at some point but zai was just like
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
like yeah yeah like he he gets you those slow runs and it it's like not a close game that catwalk cliff he had it like yeah it's so unreasonable yeah it's crazy and it's like i died and me and epics are like what the you know like we're shocked well it's gonna be a great opportunity for you to do it because here you're gonna still be in the same face-to-face setup even if you get to the grand final so
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
so i think i think it's just something that i i want to build up but i want to build up on authenticity yeah i don't think because i don't want to be like uh i don't know who said i think it was cadian that he has scripts before the game does he really i think i don't remember dropping lines these players are casters now i don't know about that like i the the shit talk that i'd like is the stuff that you obviously don't want to get personal but the stuff that like if you
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I would say, I would say don't give them softballs. I think challenge them. No, this was a fucked up question.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
But not personal. Not like, fuck your mom. That's a good line.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Keep that. But, you know, personalizing, like, there's so many teams and ex-teammates and, like, you know, things that have gone wrong in teams that I think, like, you can scream to each other some personal stuff, you know? Like, you know, yesterday when he screamed, like, you missed Zai, would you say it's personal? Yeah.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
We're also friends. But I think it's something like...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
i think it's funny and i think the fans it's entertainment business so i i don't think you want to like you know there is a limit obviously you don't want to tell someone no something on his nana there is there's a limit because then people will go crazy i like how this is where he turns to the dark side there's no limit there's no limit in counter-strike
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I play on such a volume that I have no idea what... When Gravity was doing the mouse thing, I only knew about it after the game. I thought he was screaming with Apex. So I'm like... Only after the game, I realized what people say and what people don't. On Blast, there was like a period of time that the studio was like a triangle.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And then that's where I heard some people scream because they were really loud. But... It's never been affecting me because I don't hear it as much.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
But it has been affecting some of the players in my team.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I think when I played with Dexter in OG and Apex was screaming, Dexter, stop saying... I think it got into him a bit. Yeah. And I think... I think config...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And I'm not sure, I still don't know it up until today, but I think Konfig, whenever we played with Niko and this kind of roster and they were screaming at him, I think Konfig was like, you know, he did some crazy, like they would scream at him, he would have like a bad game, then he would reconnect, reconnect again, like he would get in his mind, you know, but I think some players are really, you know, it gets personal with them, but that's why I'm saying like what, I feel like what Apex said to Spinx yesterday is personal because
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
it's things that like they they make sense he's gonna miss that you know in the sense like sure but it's just gonna be in his mind you know yeah telling him he's a fat he's not gonna be like but he's not fat yeah but i mean like let's say whatever you know like telling him that he's a is a i didn't really his mom but yeah but i feel like people are more mature than like you know if you're a fat player and someone is like you fat i don't think you care that much
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
personalized like directed at a person affect him yeah yeah that will affect him hopefully but i do think that if you also like it has to be funny right and if you call him fat like i don't think the fans are gonna be like yeah it's funny oh yeah great one bro like the mom jokes you know it's not gonna be like wow it's like hilarious it's gonna be funny if there is like if it's
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Something that, I don't know, like their ex-teammate and he was always joking about, you know, something like that. But I don't think cursing people out is just going to be funny. Or look at me, Ricky.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Fuck these guys. I think fuck Liquid. I don't like the Australian players and shit.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I'm joking, I'm joking. I think everybody nowadays is super nice. I feel like there are some teams that are very antisocial, but not... I wouldn't say... Spirit are not talking that much, but I would say because of their English, but I would say they're also very social. I interact with them many times, but I would say some teams, like I...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
When I was in OJ, I used to hate Vitality, because they always used to kick me out of their place. You know, to come to Sphinx and talk with him, and then someone from their fucking staff would be like, oh, fuck off. I used to hate this shit.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
You go talk to that guy, you're like, you motherfucker. I told him, I thought it was the old manager we had. It was Pesci, his name was. I told him, man, you were, I thought you were fucking hating me. Like, no, we have a Babel, we have a Babel, we cannot do this. And I was, but I think,
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Chopper's the one who's just kind of like... Hey, you need to come up to him and be like, yo, how the fuck Vitality fucked you in the... No, no, no. I wouldn't answer that. Something about his personal life. Four donks or four zywas in a team?
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I think teams that, I think Liquid, I like Nerds and Twist a lot, but I feel like Nuff, JKS, and Ultimate, they're quiet, they're really quiet, but they're also social. But let's say, like, JKS is the only one who, like, cracks up jokes with me. Nuff, like, I sometimes tell him, like, Nuff, I was like, did you smoke cannabis today? Like, he doesn't want to talk with me.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
The guy looks like he's on like six kilo of cannabis. Well, I'm like, okay, fine. And with Ultimate, I see him a lot in the gym and he's like, he's good to talk with, but I don't feel like I get to have conversations with them as much. So I'd say this is the only thing that I'm like, you know, I feel like a little bit distance, but also Twist and Nerds are really good friends of mine.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
yeah it's some like back in the day because we didn't have practice years at the time there used to be a whole different dynamic social to be 24 7 but it was also national teams right so it was more so yeah so but people spoke english everybody spoke english and everything look yeah they broke they started breaking out over the years of their show i mean also things were less professionals who had players drinking at the bar like the night before the game going i mean i think your team was drinking on the day yeah not when we had a game no no but after like in the night
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
No, no. Actually, I think they scammed him in 2022. He didn't win the coach of the year.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Yeah, Blade got it. And Blade won only Lisbon this year, no?
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And what he's telling us, he was a good coach. He sounds really nice.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I think Zonic has found the perfect balance between being very social and very creative in the game. He's not going to... When I was with him for Vitality, three months, nothing huge, right? But the way he anti-strutted and the way he gave ideas and the way he was like... He always... You know, even if it went well for me, it was making sure it can go more well for me.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And I think this is something that, you know, and when I joined Vitality, I didn't sort of like how it was because there was a lot of sarcasm in the team. And I was like, I'm okay with sarcasm, but I was not, you know, a lot of inside jokes that you need to like understand and shit like that. And I was like, I'm not so familiar with it. And Zonic is full troll.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
He's like full of jokes and this kind of stuff. But what I liked a lot about him is that he was... Like, I would have a talk with him about I'm not feeling comfortable in Overpass. He would really try to, like, assist me on that in every space he can. And then you had, like, and you have Matt, the assistant coach. He would also be, like, very, like, he would go in and... How do you say?
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
So he would chime in and, like, try to help. But Zonic was also very good outside of the game to make sure that you... You don't have things popping up. So like you... And I think also Lars was quite good at that, like the performance coach. I think it was... Like when I joined Vitality, I saw how... how different the main coach can be like in this sense. Like it could be very inspiring.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
think he's past that there's no saving what i have i've seen some bald people are still in in the fight but yeah it's done but i've got a guy so if you ever get any trouble just let me know he trained in turkey yeah okay he's got a so you know he's good yeah they got the experience from home and it was pretty cheap wasn't that expensive i hear people paying tens of thousands
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
You would want to win the game for him. And also I remember one time the guy took a pass, I think it was Cologne, and he said, guys, we fucking win this game and we go Korean barbecue. And I don't know why this fool hyped me up.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
What did you say? Soju? Soju. I thought you said soju, like- Because Vitality paid and I sold you.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
His last name is O'Toole. O'Toole, oh, fuck it then.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Not to be back in my random bag search. Paunovic. Paunovic, okay. Yeah, he sounds so good.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
That's his alter ego. Janko, pound a bitch. And you're Jason what? Jason the who? I don't know, John.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
In China, we said, and he told me the procedures. Like two weeks after, if I go bald tomorrow, I would just... Did he show you the pictures? I don't think he showed... Yeah, he showed me some pictures, but he just told me like two weeks after, you have to sleep for one week. Oh, by the way, what do you think about this thing, this new addition? The mustache? I think it's strong.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I think it's coming in nicely. I think, you know, three more months. Three more months? Yeah. Okay, and you?
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I went and shaved my beard in Katowice. And then I kept the mustache. And I was like, it was like two months in for the beard. And I was like, I quite like the mustache. And I just fully shaved it. And then I was like, fuck, why did I shave it? And then I took pictures with it. I sent it to my girlfriend. She said, I really like the mustache. I told her, okay, I'll keep the mustache for you.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
The thing I'm finding weird is that when you drink water, you can feel this.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
are you trying to grow it out all the way yeah not like this but i'm just gonna try to have like this a bit more and see how it is and what people think obviously what are you 21 mustaches are coming back in a big way but also i don't know if it's controversial to say so i will ask you guys and you tell me if it's good but saying like i'm saving up for november is okay right
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
yeah yeah so i'm i'm and i'll probably go until november and see if you think that's the most controversial thing i don't know because it's a mental health thing no no no but it's bringing awareness to it right yeah yeah so so yeah but but people someone cracked a joke like you what you you Oh my God. There is a train over there.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
There is a train and there is a bridge here and I thought the train is going to... Oh my God, I was so scared. So I just think I will try to keep it and see how it is and what people think. So far, I'm getting mixed comments from like Yanko.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I don't know. I wish there would be like an HLTV post of Flames and Moustache and they would just... You just got one. Congratulations. Say what you think. Say what you think, boys and girls.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
oh my god with his and you're like i want that no why i saw that hey you like they always crack jokes apex and him that is a he's a tiny man he's a tiny man and uh he's got a killer mustache vertically challenged yeah vertically challenged yeah that's a nice way of saying it you know challenge challenge challenge
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
i'm mentally challenged i have a question also might be controversial by calling someone like how would you call someone a tiny man in a okay way you'd say he's a small man small man yeah the two words that i'm thinking about are but they're not like uh they're it's safer not to on camera No, but they mean like the word that starts with M. It means it's like a disability.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Yeah. It's so weird because when you're foreign, I assume you... I had the same problem, but with much worse words.
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Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Because for... and maybe like it's a lack of education as well, like in English, but it's like some of the words, it's just like, it means like you don't have a lot of height on you. You know what I mean? And so it doesn't sound like bad to something, but in English it might sound bad because it's like,
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Some terms are like actual disabilities, but people use them on daily basis or like they used to use them. So that's a bit tough to know when you come out of like somewhere that like you don't really know if that's a... I think the thing is like, especially in the internet in the modern day,
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
But I think it's also part of our job to do media. Obviously, it's nice to play Counter-Strike, and that's what we're here for mainly. But if ESL doesn't do media, there's no flow of money somewhere. So I think people should be a little bit involved in this. Like, it makes sense. Not every player is going to be that way. It's fine at the end of the day.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
So you don't want to like, you don't want to do, like if it's intentionally you do something... Then it's like, for me, it's a bit fucked. This is where like, you know, I don't know about like the whole, I think I had simple saying a lot of bad stuff, but yeah, it's fine. But I think it's something that in some countries saying some words is going to be like,
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Just like it's going to be like the term that they use for that. But in native English people, you have like those terms are actually in the dictionary mean something like a disability. And then it's really disrespectful to use them as jokes and not like the term themselves.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
He called someone who was like a... No, I think it was just used generally in a colloquial way.
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Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
or ever you never know really yeah but but but like for you guys to cast yeah like let's say you in your in your in australia like you use a lot of curses yeah right but it's it changes the like you have to adapt to the australian accent means that makes the curses sound fun oh yeah okay i just think no so i think but also you say can't right you don't say like uh you don't like you don't joke on people you just say like overall like off like this kind of stuff
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Really? I felt like I've seen your Azure TV confirmed. Oh, yeah, yeah, that's different.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
But I think it's also, like, someone like Rocky, you see, he doesn't want to be in the media, but he still has funny content pieces. So I think you have to go, like, lean that way, that if you don't want to do content, just give, like, a dead interview, but make it seem like you're not, you know, like he doesn't hate you.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
But wait, you guys, so you guys, before you cast the game, you see the players and you're thinking about lines?
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Like, this sentence, it didn't come up with it in the moment. He had it the other way.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Dinko. But before that with Andrews. Did you together or with Dinko together like sit down and then like say we do that we might say this we might say like oh you just like you keep it to yourself and
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
But these are just like before the game starts, like just to entertain the fans with like some... Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
but actually so basically a lot of times when I do the podcasts on ESL and this kind of stuff like I think it's gonna be a fun job after CS to just like be around like you know sort of like you Yanko like you understand CS but you're also like
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
very funny on the desks you know you know what i mean like you and i think some of the some like it's nice this balance because people know you understand like you've coached like major teams and and but it's also good that you're you can joke about you're not so like i remember one time you had the esl pro league cast and you got some player and the guy was not shutting up about cs and i used to i was like i just left the stream it's too serious yeah it's too serious
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Too serious, yeah. It's like, yeah, they're doing this because of that. And I think it's nice, but not everyone. They're still casters and let them do their job. Because also you guys are good at your job with asking people what do you think about this round? You give them the opportunities and then you give them opportunities to be funny. And I think this is something that...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
like some of the players I think most of the players are really good at that like they're not like too serious in it like they come to enjoy as well but there was one player and I don't remember who it was that I just left the stream I couldn't like it was every round I'm basically listening like to a CS commentator you know and commentator in the sense like yeah they're going A side now and then we do this because of that and maybe it's nice for the fans in this sense because they understand more CS but I think
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
You also have way more opportunities to do that. Let like you people scream and like fancy, fancy, but let the player like talk when, you know, when it's a complicated round and you want to explain like when it's something cool, but not every fucking round.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I remember Kerrigan did it with you and Alex, I think. Yeah. And he was so good because he was like having jokes and then he sometimes goes in and like...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
goes details about the game and for me it's nice i assume also for players that are like just face it and they're grinding to be pros it's nice to have like a game that you like you watch a demo with a pro in some sense like it tells you this and that and that i just think that it's it's as an entertainment con like yes like the guy wants to come up on the cast and sort of like
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
have fun with the casters, because the casters, you guys are so talented, we don't need to, like, we'll never be in a position that we need to cast the round, you know?
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Plus, there's always, like, the caster and the commentator.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Yes, play-by-play, exactly. And you understand CS as well, you know what I mean? Like, every, who is Launders and Scrony? Who is the... Color commentator is Launders, yeah. But so I would say that it's it's like people understand the counter strike.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
So you don't need to really explain maybe you have more details to go into because you're like, you know what's happening here because you played practice them or like you know this shot, but I think you should focus as someone who comes in to the detailed round. So maybe if I do this, and I think it's also hard to do it, to cast when you're not native English. I think it's quite... It's huge.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Oh, yeah? I think I lost some weight a bit in the recent two weeks. I had two tooth implants.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Like you guys have so many words you can use that I never heard in my life, but...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Yeah. But you're also doing it good, I think. In EPL and this kind of stuff, you don't do it in, like, cat office finals, but also, like, you're on the desk.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Two tooth implants, yeah. They put teeth inside my gum. Like soo. How do you call it? The thing you... They're veneers, right? Screw. Screw.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Yeah. But also like when Ultimate was benched on Mirage and you were like, what is he doing? What is he doing? You know, I think this is also like something that the player would say, you know what I mean? Like that, I think this is something that you understand CS that, And I think this one is not so bad as it's framed out to be. Oh, yeah.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I think it's got a little showmanship. I think the thing with some positions, you need to understand that people are probably going to walk towards this position. And by walking there, they're probably going to see you. So I think this is what Ultimate didn't think they were going to walk through this position because one went default and planted and the other guy ran backside.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
But then the guy backside just wanted to go bench, so he looks bench. But if he goes from van to bench, he wouldn't see... I don't think it was like that, you know, catastrophic and it's not like he fucked the whole round up because, well, it can happen in CS.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
But to some extent, it's like, you know, a player will watch it and be like, you know, you squeeze your ass a bit, like, you know something shit is going to happen here.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
that feels like a go under kind of operation yeah no no i think it's pretty common i think i think yeah okay yeah and then uh and then i had one week that i was eating only soft foods so i made holy shit like mashed potato like well these guys know about that with babies man yeah i hate this kind of food and and then i was i found the spaghetti bolognese somewhere in uh somewhere in uh in my place and i just kept eating spaghetti bolognese all the days and then
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Yeah, you feel sloppy when it happens. It's one of those games where I wasn't focused on the monitor. But exactly those kind of things, you know, it's a shame that, you know, for a pro, I think that from a pro perspective, it makes sense. But I think it also like comes.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Like someone might have said like Rampage, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And this happens quite a lot that someone dies and he looks like a fucking boss.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
Like this, like, I think it's a fair idea to also go like 4A and push A and try to flank B and have a good position. But it's, I think it's sometimes it's not nice to be like 4v2, but you're 2v2. Or 2v1 and then you're 2v1.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
So I think sometimes like those maps you gather up, 4v2, maybe not 4v2 if it's like a different map than Train, but because Train is so isolated, but it's so close to each other, but it's so like, you know, from Connector in the past, you could hold them in. But nowadays you're like, Connector is fucking useless.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
a good question I think we're in a really good position as a team we're really good outside of the server we're really good like right now we're probably like you know prime in some sense as a team like obviously Katowice was the thing but we're in a really good shape right now everybody outside of the game inside of the game I think
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
you know like if we lose to ourselves I would say like this is the only I think this is the only and obviously like if you play against Duncan he goes to rating then oh fuck it but yeah I think mostly that kind of case is like you lose to yourself you come to a game and you don't respect the enemies too much or you lack energy and I think this kind of stuff like lacking focus Yep. Discipline.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
See you at Blue Phoenix. Have a good watch. You fucking idiot.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I went back home for a vacation, four days and then I, no, like seven days and then I had a food poisoning. And then I was like, yeah, I didn't eat for like four days. So I think I lost like maybe two, three kilogram.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
But actually, I think it also helped me a bit to gain more confidence. And CS is full of confidence.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
No, but in the game, I'm quite different. So in the game, I'm quite like... You know, it's not about like... I wouldn't say it's like... It is confidence, but it relates to like courage. So you'd play like a semifinal, a quarterfinal. I'm fine. But when you play like... a final, and I'm an aggressive player, sometimes I have this... My brain wants me to do something. I have to do that.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
If I'm not doing that, it's hard for me to keep going the next round. And that's something that will not happen due to courage if I don't do that. I'll be like, I don't want to take responsibility for the play that goes wrong and stuff like this. And I think when you start going to the gym and you start like... But I took it really serious. So I have like a personal trainer.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
but i wonder i wonder if if you do it in like let's so you would agree with me like education in uh in germany would be better than you already yeah yeah i would agree with you then like let's say malta right i would look mate i don't even go to the doctors in Yeah. So, but in Malta, those people have more experience because they do it on a daily basis, like those surgery.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I told him my goal is to be strong and flexible. Like my body, I want it to be flexible. And he gave me like 20-minute stretches, like an application on the phone that you basically do 20 minutes and you do stretch. And actually quite nice in Vitality, we do a stretch club every day. So not everybody, but whoever wants to come can jump in and we do stretches. And I take this as meditation, sort of.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
So it's like, you know, you work a lot on the focus and just taking the stress away from your life. And I think this is something that is valuable and also lifting weights.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
also you're also like a lot more disciplined in just doing what you know like you you know i had food poisoning and my trainer came to cyprus to me and day after i'm still feeling quite off he comes and we walk out and i was like probably a bad idea but it's like then you walk out and you feel good about you like you know you're like even doing the bad stuff while you're not feeling that well can make you feel so good so
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
has a lot of playmaking and so sometimes you just can't even get to the point where you can go for a play does that also happen sometimes I feel like sometimes I feel like it's not a good excuse when you're like playing such a high level because you because then someone will tell you like even like you can tell me I want to come let's say it's a nuke come outside mate and
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
But I think you're right that sometimes you'd be like quite clueless because your position is way less placed than different positions on the map. But I do think that in this case, you just like in some sense ask for help. You know, I think you said like something about having Zyro and everything. So it's true they kill a lot, but they're also very flexible, very humble.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
So if you tell Zyro, please come help, he will come help. You know, he wouldn't be like, no, no, no. And if he has something in his brain, you just let him do it because he's probably feeling it. But I do think it's... it's two sometimes, but I would say it's, it's also something like you need to, you can work on as like, if I feel bad and I'm not going to go for the plays.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And sometimes you have, you have like a one, like you're not individually shooting well, but you have opportunities and then you shouldn't go for plays. Cause, cause it's like, you know, it might be a good play, but you might like just whiff. And, but I think that's where you, and in vitality, that's where we try to like play off of the team.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And then if we see that it goes well and people are shooting well, then we can enjoy a bit, you know? solo push and do whatever you want for a bit.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
I think that's the thing that is like, even when you have a bad half, you still know that you're still disciplined to your game. You still know that game works out for you. So you stick with this game. You don't start changing up. And I think the main thing that helps is We have something that we call eyes in disguise that we... I've heard you guys say that a lot actually.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
So when you're dead, you need to talk and we force people to do that. Like we really work on it. And I think that's something that I stepped up a lot in vitality because I had to... Because I'm the entry fire, so I die and most of the times I'm dead and I can... Calm for everyone. Yes, just help people. And I think this is something that...
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
And in CS, you all know how it is, even in FACEIT, you can be one 10, you do double kill against Ico and you're fine for the rest of the half. And I think this is something that also works out if you win a round by being dead, but you tell them a really good idea or you just help them.
Talking Counter
Episode 127: Shahar "flameZ" Shushan
thinking about one in 10 my site again you have no time to think and i think this is something very valuable like you just focus on it and sometimes like they compliment you and you you feel like you get a double kill you know and so i think i think this is something that really like when i see that my game doesn't go as well yesterday we played the mouse sports i was three nine on the tl but i was fucking happy because you know