flameZ’s rampage in 2026: The underrated reason behind Vitality’s crushing rise

Vitality started 2026 in a far more frenetic fashion than they did last year. Even though the first half of 2025 brought flowers for them, FURIA and Falcons managed to catch up in the latter half. Afterward, trophies became less straightforward to secure.

However, even with those same Falcons and FURIA in the picture, Vitality appears miles ahead in 2026. And while it’s true that the form of the other teams has slightly dipped, there is another major reason for this disparity in power. That difference can be summed up in one word: flameZ.

Dream-tier numbers for entry fraggers

flameZ has always been one of the most consistent entry fraggers over the past few years. In Vitality especially, he has been the backbone of their T-side entries. Sure, having someone like ZywOo assisting from time to time with measured success is valuable, but flameZ has long been a specialist in this role. While typical entry fraggers often struggle to post respectable numbers, flameZ has consistently maintained ratings above 1.10.

These are star-level numbers, and being able to rack them up while playing one of the most demanding roles in the game deserves praise. But this year, he has elevated himself into a different tier altogether. Across the 47 maps he has played so far, flameZ has maintained an average rating of 1.29. What’s even more impressive is that it’s on the T-side where he has been utterly dominant, averaging a stupendous 1.38 rating.

If you look deeper, you’ll notice that it’s not as though he has suddenly started baiting to inflate his numbers. In fact, he has become even more aggressive than before. A quick comparison between this year and last year shows that he is attempting more duels this year (34.9%) compared to last year (29%). His success rate has also improved slightly, rising from 39.4% to 42.3%.

He has been dealing more damage, securing more kills, and exerting a greater overall impact on the T-side. He has also been clutching more than last year. With a higher multi-kill rating to his name as well, it paints a clear picture. When flameZ gets an opening kill, he doesn’t stop there. While his success rate may not have gone up as much compared to last year, the reason his rating has gone up by a staggering margin is because of his ability to go on a rampage when he gets going. No matter how you dissect it, flameZ has been exceptional this year.

How Vitality has capitalized on flameZ’s success

In 2026, and in terms of raw opening kills on the T-side, flameZ ranks third, behind XANTARES and donk. And even though he is outshone by those two in this metric, he and ZywOo, who sits just behind him on the list, have made Vitality one of the most formidable attacking sides in the current scene.

To give you some perspective, Vitality are ahead of every other team by a considerable margin. They boast a round win rate of 57.5%, while the next team, Aurora, sits at 49.3%, with the rest trailing at similar figures. Vitality has been solid on the CT side, but it’s their T sides that are truly setting them apart.

Large credit has to go to flameZ. A recent post on X by statsmeister revealed that flameZ has had the second-highest number of deaths traded in big events this year. For someone to have a high number of traded deaths, two conditions need to be in place. First, the player has to die frequently; second, there must be a teammate in position to trade him. And compared to XANTARES and donk, flameZ has been the one entrying far more often. Not only has this directly translated into success for Vitality, but it has also helped activate ZywOo, who sits third on the list for most trade kills.

Who's trading and getting traded the most in 2026 pic.twitter.com/YNTm5d7RYv

— statsmeister (@statsmeister1) April 3, 2026