“It’s basically changed my entire life”: Flom on his Counter-Strike journey

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Monster Energy recently sponsored the TopMob team’s trip to Hungary for the Counter-Strike 2 StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, which took place at the MVM Dome.

The event was amazing, featuring incredible performances from all the teams. Ultimately, though, only one could win, and Team Vitality emerged victorious, bringing the trophy back to France.

We recently had the opportunity to interview Erik Flom, a well-known and respected Counter-Strike player and streamer (known as fl0m), about his views on the game – how it’s changed, what it’s like now, and where he sees it going.

We also spoke with Chris Alesund, better known as GeT_RiGhT, and you can find the full interview on the TopMob Gaming YouTube channel.

So, I’ve been playing Counter-Strike for ages, and I was really interested to hear what Flom – he’s been around in the scene for over twenty years! – thinks are the biggest changes to the game over all that time.

Okay, so being there at a big Counter-Strike event is insane – thousands of fans going wild, fireworks exploding with every amazing play… it’s easy to get totally caught up in the excitement! But honestly, things haven’t always been perfect in the CS world, and there have been some issues behind the scenes.

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Valve updated its system for trading in-game items last year, and the results were dramatic. Some players lost thousands of pounds in value from their collections, while others unexpectedly became much wealthier.

The announcement was completely unexpected and surprised everyone. However, Flom questioned whether it would actually have a significant impact on professional Counter-Strike.

Everyone’s been saying the market was crashing, but honestly, it never actually went lower than where it started this year. I don’t think people fully understand just how strong it was, and still is! It’s already recovering pretty well, and I think it’s going to end up right around where it began, or even higher, by the end of the year.

Flom points out a difference in how people engage with Counter-Strike. While many enjoy watching and playing, those primarily focused on the financial value of their in-game items aren’t necessarily the same people who watch every competitive match.

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Now that Counter-Strike 2 is doing well, we spoke with Flom about his vision for the game’s future and how it can attract even more players.

As someone from North America, I’m naturally focused on expanding the game’s presence in other parts of the world.

As a big Counter-Strike fan, I’ve noticed how US sports like the NFL and NBA are always trying to expand internationally, playing games overseas and building a global presence. I really hope we see that happen with CS, but in reverse! Europe is already huge for Counter-Strike, it’s a natural home base, and it would be amazing to see more major tournaments and investment focused right here.

I’m excited about expanding into regions like Asia, North America, and South America. I believe that’s where we’ll gain the most new fans, strengthen the game’s community, and ensure Counter-Strike continues to thrive.

Since the interview happened before the final round, we asked Flom if he’d bet on anyone to win and who he thought would ultimately take first place.

I’m predicting the Shanghai Major winner will be FaZe Clan versus Spirit. Honestly, I’ve explained why FaZe is capable of winning so many times, I’m just going to let their performance speak for itself now.

It was a close and exciting final, but Team Vitality ultimately defeated FaZe Clan 3-1. Hopefully, Flom didn’t make a reckless bet beforehand!

Authors

Cole LukeFreelance Writer
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2026-01-21 18:38