One of the hottest available prospects in the recent off-season, flameZ joined Vitality after two years with OG.

A player in high demand, he replaced legendary Danish Entry Fragger dupreeh, a move that came as a surprise to many considering the fact Vitality won IEM Rio and the BLAST.tv Paris Major just months before.

A move to secure the future of the team, it’s no secret that dupreeh was no longer the player that was an integral member of the team that dominated Counter-Strike in 2018 and 2019. While Vitality may have had success in recent months, flameZ is a player who, on a relatively weak team, massively eclipsed dupreeh while playing in similar roles. A non-brainer all things considered, how did he fare in his first game?

flameZ makes light work of his debut

Admittedly, flameZ could have faced a stronger opponent in his first game. The Evil Geniuses team he went up against, while not a new team, are playing their first event since being promoted to the main squad. A trial by fire for them, flameZ was sure to make them feel the heat from round one.

A star performance from the new man, the only player in the server to have as many kills as flameZ in the swift best of three was Magisk. Both finishing on 36 kills, it was the perfect start to highlight the strength that Vitality now possesses across the board.

The tip of the spear in Vitality’s new look attack, he made sure his presence was constantly felt on the A ramp of Vertigo, particularly with a crisp couple of AK kills on round 14.

It wasn’t just the T side that flameZ made his presence felt either. As Vitality raced to a 14-1 lead on the first map, Overpass, it was on the CT side where flameZ got most of his work done, the team’s new short player, he finished the half with a 13-4 individual scoreline.

Photo: Michal Konkol

A strong start, but it’s uphill from here

In terms of a debut, it went about as well as flameZ could have hoped for. Two dominant maps, he was able to have high levels of impact on both of them.

That being said, with no disrespect to Evil Geniuses, they were the weakest possible opponents he could have faced in his debut match. A team that will afford flameZ far more space to have impact, it could have been a very different story against one of the best teams in the world.

One thing is certain, however, and that is that any naysayers for this move will quickly be quietened. A player simply too good to be playing in a middling team like OG, he will be a valuable addition to this Vitality squad over the coming months and years.