flameZ chose MaiL09 as his Bold prediction for 2026

Vitality's Shahar "flameZ" Shushan chose young Swedish player Liam "MaiL09" Tügel, who was recently benched by Metizport, as his Bold prediction for HLTV.org.

The 16-year-old Tügel recently won the sixth season of FACEIT Counter-Strike 2 in the European region, ending Danil "donk" Kryshkovets's five-season winstreak. "I've played a few games with him on FACEIT and was on Teamspeak with him as well; he is very genuine and seems very curious, which is a big positive sign. He didn't have any ego or have a hard time getting criticism, even from players who are not professional, which I respect a lot, and I think he is very skilled. I saw that his performance maybe wasn't the best/most consistent in Metizport, but I also think he was playing roles that didn't fit him", – flameZ explained his choice.

As part of its traditional Bold prediction series, the editors of the authoritative portal HLTV.org ask esports athletes ranked in the top 20 at the end of the year to name one player they believe will shine at the highest level in Counter-Strike 2. The candidate must meet two criteria: they haven't yet played for a team in the top 20 in the world ranking, and they must be under 20 years old.

flameZ was ranked 7th in HLTV.org's ranking of the best professional Counter-Strike 2 players of 2025. Cerato's average rating for the year was 1.12.

Origin: www.hltv.org