HLTV Top 20 Players of 2025: flameZ Ranked #7 After Historic Year With Vitality

Shahar flameZ Shushan has been ranked 7th in the HLTV Top 20 Players of 2025, confirming his status as one of the most impactful riflers in Counter-Strike 2. It marks the second consecutive year flameZ finishes inside the Top 7, following a trophy-heavy season with Team Vitality.

Why flameZ Finished #7 in HLTV’s 2025 Rankings

HLTV’s ranking emphasizes consistency at elite events, and flameZ delivered exactly that. As Vitality’s primary entry and space-creating rifler, he played a decisive role in a year defined by dominance, deep playoff runs, and clutch performances on the biggest stages.

Vitality closed 2025 with:

Nine tournament victories

Two second-place finishes

Two Major titles

Across those events, flameZ emerged as Vitality’s third pillar, complementing the superstar impact of ZywOo and ropz, while consistently outperforming other elite riflers in his role.

MVP-Level Impact Without the Spotlight

Although not always the statistical leader, flameZ earned four EVP awards in 2025, underlining his value in high-pressure tournaments:

ESL Pro League Season 21

BLAST Open London Finals

ESL Pro League Season 22

IEM Chengdu

These EVPs highlight flameZ’s ability to swing halves, open bombsites, and deliver under pressure, especially in playoff matches where entry success often determines series outcomes.

Majors Define flameZ’s 2025 Narrative

BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025

flameZ reached one of the highest peaks of his career at the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, where Vitality lifted the trophy. In the grand final, flameZ posted one of his strongest performances of the year, including a dominant decider map that HLTV highlighted as a turning point of the series.

In post-match interviews, flameZ described the win as “insane”, noting that “all the stars aligned” during the final — a quote frequently referenced in HLTV’s coverage of the event.

StarLadder Budapest Major 2025

Vitality closed the year with another Major victory at the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, cementing their era-defining season. flameZ later called the title “the cherry on top”, summarizing a year that included Katowice, a Grand Slam run, and multiple elite trophies.

Overcoming the Mid-Season Slump

HLTV’s feature also highlights flameZ’s honesty about the challenges of 2025. After a congested tournament schedule and a difficult loss at IEM Cologne 2025, flameZ openly discussed confidence issues and burnout.

He pointed to the lack of rest and preparation time as key factors, explaining that adjustments to practice routines and mental preparation were crucial in helping him rebound later in the season — a recovery that ultimately led to Vitality’s late-year Major triumph.

Leadership, Pressure, and the Finals Mentality

Known for his candid interviews, flameZ repeatedly emphasized that pressure is part of greatness. One of his most quoted lines from 2025 captures his competitive mindset:

“The day that I won’t feel nervous or stressed in a final, I will probably be too old to remember my name.”

He also spoke openly about wanting marquee matchups, including a future grand final showdown against donk, reinforcing his hunger to test himself against the very best.

What flameZ’s #7 Ranking Really Means

HLTV’s decision to rank flameZ #7 in 2025 reflects more than raw numbers. It recognizes a player who:

Thrived in one of the hardest roles in CS2

Delivered playoff-defining performances

Stayed elite across multiple LANs and Majors

Helped anchor one of the most dominant team runs in modern Counter-Strike

As Vitality’s success story continues, flameZ’s position in the HLTV Top 20 confirms him as one of the most reliable big-game riflers of the CS2 era — and a benchmark for consistency at the highest level of competition.