flameZ: Vitality believe they can return to championship form despite roster disruptions

Vitality secured their first victory at StarLadder StarSeries Fall, advancing to the upper bracket semi-final where they will face the winner of FURIA vs. MIBR. The Israeli entry fragger Shahar flameZ Shushan sat down to discuss how the team is navigating an uncertain season after sustained success, with their sights set on Stage 3 Major qualification.

The complications facing Vitality this season stem from roster availability issues. William mezii took time away from the game, and Dan apEX will be unavailable around the PGL Major due to becoming a parent. These absences force the team to use substitute jL for multiple events, disrupting practice routines and in-game communication. "It's tough because you have the importance of the VRS, but you know that some tournaments you're not going to be that strong because you don't have the full roster," flameZ explained.

Despite knowing jL from previous stints together, integrating a different player requires significant adjustment. "You've got to get used to a new voice calling and get used to a new player in the server in a different position," flameZ said. However, he noted a silver lining: "It forces you to focus on the basics a bit more, not to focus on the playbook. We focused a lot on just trading each other, doing very basic stuff, but trying to do it well."

Vitality's primary goal this season is regaining their form rather than chasing trophies. "Some of the games we've lost this season, we haven't shown our big game even, and we don't care if we lose a tournament or we win a tournament if we didn't play good CS," flameZ stated. "We want to play good CS. Of course we care if we win, but if we lose a tournament and we played bad, we feel really worse than if we played good and the enemy played really well."

The 23-year-old acknowledged that Vitality faced a challenging beginning to the 2025 season but pointed to their track record as evidence they can recover. "We do believe in this roster. I don't think there is anyone that believes that there is a better roster to be in other than this group of five people. It's just all about grinding and finding our form again." He noted that the team won the Major and five additional trophies earlier in 2025.

Regarding the Major push, flameZ emphasized preparation as key. "The circumstances are tough, and if we get wins, if we get to the Major in Stage 3, we know we're going to come to the Major very prepped, and we will have a chance to play really well at the Major, so that's the main goal." He added that even without a trophy this season, a Major victory would create positive momentum heading into the next year.

The studio format at StarLadder differs from the stage events Vitality typically competes in. "We don't like that, to be honest. We like the stage games. We like to be in front of the crowd," flameZ said. Nonetheless, he emphasized the event as an opportunity to earn VRS points and develop team cohesion before the full roster reunites for the final tournaments of the season.