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GUIDES
Simple Radar
© 2026 TLDR Media, All Rights Reserved.
Vitality have a new superstar.
flameZ and makazze are two aggro riflers at the top of their game, and with the two of them now set to face off against each other in the final, they may just be the deciding factor for their teams. Unlike XANTARES, who had a nightmare day against Vitality. But, to be fair to the bloke, who isn’t having a nightmare?
If you look at Vitality’s HLTV page under results right now, you’ll see about 15 series where they won. In a row. That’s right, Vitality’s on a 15 series winstreak.
It used to be 14, but Aurora wasn’t going to end it and we’re pretty sure we all knew that.
Aurora picked Inferno as first map, but honestly Vitality made it look like it was theirs. With Aurora starting on the T side, flameZ and apEX made banana control look so easy that it almost felt like the Turks were forced to go A every round.
It got so bad that even Vitality started to feel guilty and switched mezii over. When asked about it after the game, we were told it was meant to confuse Aurora into thinking they were playing three B. Diabolical.
In spite of the crowd’s best chants, Turkey was in fact not number one today, and the first map went to Vitality, 13-5.
On the second map, things were eerily similar. This time, instead of forcing Aurora’s T side into a funnel to a full site, Vitality snuck into the gaps of Aurora’s CT side on Nuke. How do you even do that?
We all know Nuke is CT heaven, and yet they made it look like Anubis. Before the fixes.
Even then, Vitality were doing so well you’d think at some point they’d get overconfident. But that’s the thing about Vitality’s CS right now, it’s diligent. Measured. Meticulous.
Even in 5v3s, 4v1s, or any other combination of situations where they had a numerical advantage, it felt like you were watching a regular 5v5 round. Aurora could have one player left, and still, Vitality would choose to go to the other site, just to be safe.
That type of Counter-Strike requires an immense amount of discipline we can only admire - and never replicate.
A Bo3 on stage at a big tournament is a test of endurance, not speed. Even though Jame’s not know for being quick, he and his team did fall short today.
Dust II was a relatively calm back and forth between two teams who have very different approaches to the game.
PV gets their quality from a strong preparation, with Jame leading the pack and putting out good midround calls. NAVI on the other hand has a little more firepower, meaning they can allow more individual prowess to shine through.
In the first map, this meant that things went neck and neck, with these two philosophies being reflected in the performances of the team. w0nderful, makkaze, and b1t shot NAVI to success, while the men on PARIVISION were a lot closer to each other stats-wise.
NAVI end up edging out dastan’s minions 13-11.
But of course, NAVI wouldn’t be NAVI if they dropped the ball on their own map pick. Even though at some point they brought it back to 8-8 - and your man on location napz was already standing at the front of the line for a post-match interview - PARIVISION crushed their dream of a comeback by winning five rounds in a row, stealing Inferno from the AleksiB’s tax-evading clutches. End score: 13-8.
So, a third map it was, and everyone gathered in the arena again to see Mirage unfold.
The decider map. This is where the men are separated from the boys, and given the fact PV’s average age would barely get you a beer in the US, you can probably already guess where this is going.
The tanks were empty on the youngsters, and NAVI ran with it. Despite xiELO dropping a 1.79 rating to make us all go “ooh” and “aah”, NAVI was just to strong and booked their spot in the Grand Final by finishing Mirage 13-7.
Now they just need to win against - checks notes - Vitality. Oh.
Who could have guessed that even with ZywOo in the equation, the grand final of BLAST Premier Open Rotterdam would likely come down to which of the two teams’ aggressive rifler has the better day?
For both NAVI and Vitality, flameZ and makazze have been the key this year. Yes, ZywOo is having arguably his best year yet, but flameZ has ascended to donk levels, and makazze is not far behind despite still being a rookie.
Their ways of forcing their teams into rounds are paramount for both teams’ success, and stopping them from doing so is crucial, but that matters a whole lot more in the case of Vitality.
See, with Vitality, they’ve already displayed that they can still win if flameZ has an off day. NAVI, however, well, they rely on makazze quite a bit more. So, if Vitality can nullify the former academy star, you might see some sweat begin to form on the brow of Aleksib.
And not just because he’s got to file a tax return.
But keeping a player like makazze down is harder than it looks. He’s fast, unpredictable, and when required, relentlessly aggressive. He has no concern for his own life, nor the lives of his opponents, just as long as he takes them down with him.
We f-cking love him for it.
That isn’t to say NAVI are a one-man army. Far from it, in fact. iM has also been exceptional so far, and w0nderful had a solid series against PARIVISION, add in the always-reliable b1t, and NAVI do have the potential for firepower that can at least contend with Vitality.
But still…
That just doesn’t feel like it will be enough, does it?
Okay, Aleksib and B1ad3 might have a few tricks up their sleeve - if anyone will, it’s them - but a gimmick can only get you so far, and there’s not much you can do if flameZ and ZywOo are feeling it, or if mezii and ropz have their clutching boots on.
And that’s without mentioning apEX’s frankly insane utility damage.
The fact is, Vitality are just by far the best team in the world right now. So much so that, regardless of everything we’ve just said, barring any freak accidents like at Open London, the final should still be a cake walk.
The key to success, at least for Vitality, is just too easy to find, and there’s too much on top of flameZ for NAVI to contend with. We hope we’re wrong, and that NAVI make it close, it would be nice to see them become a true No. 1 contender for the crown, but let’s face it:
We all already see the look on apEX’s face as he lifts the trophy.
An emblematic moment of Vitality’s dominance. In their eagerness to destroy their enemy, apEX and ropz find themselves caught in a friendly-fire incident.
They then just laugh it off, which makes us glad Aurora was facing the other way so they couldn’t see it.
Our man on the ground, napz, has been killing it with his interviews in Rotterdam so far, which you can read here:
🇹🇷 Chatting with Aurora’s soulfly about his adaptation to tier one, and the mentalities of young Turkish players.
🇷🇺 Talking to PARIVISION’s dastan about zweih, young stars handling pressure, and why you can’t be mad when ZywOo 1v5s you.
