Virtus.pro (VP) is an international esports organization founded in 2003 in Russia and acquired by Armenian investors in 2022.[2] The organization has players competing in such games as Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Rainbow Six Siege, Warface and EFT: Arena.
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| Short name | VP |
|---|---|
| Divisions | Dota 2 Counter-Strike 2 Rainbow Six Siege Warface EFT: Arena PUBG Mobile Standoff 2 EA Sports FC Apex Legends PUBG Rennsport StarCraft II Honor of Kings |
| Founded | 1 November 2003 |
| Location | Yerevan, Armenia |
| Colors | Orange, Black, White |
| CEO | Nikolai Petrossian[1] |
| Titles | 2× CS:GO Majors 5× Dota 2 Majors |
| Partners | Winline Kappa |
| Website | virtus |
Virtus.pro's Dota 2 team has participated in multiple Majors, winning record (tied with Team Secret) 5 of them and becoming the best Dota Pro Circuit first season team. Their League of Legends team won LCL Spring 2017.
VP's former Polish CS:GO team is considered one of the best teams in the history of Counter-Strike, winning the EMS One Katowice 2014 Major and several other premier tournaments.[3] VP's 2022 CS:GO team, with CIS players, won the IEM Rio Major 2022 under the name Outsiders.
VP are also members of the Esports World Cup Foundation Club Support Program, funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which gives teams monetary rewards for painting the Esports World Cup tournament series in a positive light and driving engagement to the tournament, which is seen to some as a sportswashing tool that Saudi Arabia is using to distract the public from their poor human rights record.[4]
Ownership and naming
editIn November 2015, the team got an investment of over US$100,000,000 from Alisher Usmanov's USM Holdings.[5][6] From 2015 to 2022 Virtus.pro was part of the ESforce Holding (and also part of VK). In March 2022 Virtus.pro created a new tag, Outsiders, due to the requirements of tournament operators and their claims to VP's parent company (VK) ties with the Russian government. Outsiders tag is a neutral name for the team.
In September 2022 Virtus.pro announced the acquisition of the club by Armenian investor Aram Karamanukyan.[2] He became the new CEO of the club. Since then, in Dota 2 and other games, the club has been playing under its genuine name Virtus.pro, but continued to play in CS:GO as Outsiders. The new CEO claimed that he "contacted ESL [CS:GO tournament operator] to discuss the matter of performing under the name Virtus.pro" and "provided all supporting documents and are now awaiting a decision."[2]
On 22 March 2023, CS:GO tournament organizers lifted their bans on the Virtus.pro name.[7]
Current divisions
editCounter-Strike
editHistory
editOn 25 January 2014, Virtus.pro signed the five member roster of AGAiN, Jarosław "pashaBiceps" Jarząbkowski, Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski, Paweł "byali" Bieliński, and Golden Five players Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas, Filip "Neo" Kubski. Virtus.pro won EMS One Katowice 2014 by beating Ninjas in Pyjamas in the finals.[8] The team then got 5–8 at ESL One Cologne 2014.[9] Virtus.pro won at ESEA in April 2015.[10] The team then beat Natus Vincere to win CEVO Season 7 in July 2014.[11]
In October 2015, it was announced that Virtus.pro had joined an esports team trade union along with a dozen other teams.[12]
In 2016, Virtus.pro made it to the quarterfinals in MLG Columbus after beating G2 Esports 2–0 in a best-of-three game. The team then went on to win in the inaugural ELeague season, winning $390,000.[13] In December 2016, Virtus.pro re-signed the roster for another four years.[14] In 2017, Virtus.pro finishes 2nd place at the ELEAGUE Atlanta major, winning $150k, and won DreamHack Masters - Las Vegas 2017, winning $200k.[15] Virtus.pro finished 2nd place at EPICENTER 2017, winning $100k.[16]
Due to poor results, on 13 December 2018, Virtus.pro CS:GO roster was suspended.[17]
"Vegi" replaced "Toao" in the active squad and "Snax" takes over IGL role in 2019.[18] Due to poor results and grown unhappy with the team, Paweł "byali" Bieliński decided to leave Virtus.pro.[19] VP adds Okoliciouz as a replacement for byali.[20] Virtus.pro decided to test some players out, benching Michał "Okoliciouz" Głowaty that had a short lived place in the VP squad, replaced by a stand in Tomasz "phr" Wójcik.[21] Virtus.pro win Polish Esport League Spring in 2019, earning $10,708.[22] This event was the first 1st-place finish since Adrenaline Cyber League 2017, which was won by the original roster.[23] In December 2019, Virtus.pro announced that they have completed the signing of the AVANGAR roster, benching the Polish roster.[24]
In May 2020, Virtus.pro acquired "YEKINDAR" from pro100 as "buster" steps down from the starting lineup. Additionally, "Flatra" joined as an assistant coach.[25]
The roster competed under the name Outsiders from early March 2022, following several tournament organizers banning esports teams suspected to have ties to the Russian government.[26] Under the Outsiders tag the team won IEM Rio Major 2022, beating Heroic in the final. On 22 March 2023, tournament organizers ESL and BLAST lifted the ban on Virtus.pro.[7]
On December 17, 2023, Virtus.pro defeated Apeks at ESL Challenger Atlanta 2023,[27] where Pyotr "fame" Bolyshev was awarded his first ever HLTV MVP award.[28] Their victory at the event qualified the roster for ESL Pro League Season 19.
On April 14, 2024, Virtus.pro announced the signing of previous Natus Vincere and Cloud9 player Denis "electroNic" Sharipov.[29]
Roster
edit| Virtus.pro Counter-Strike 2 roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Legend:
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Roster updated 14 April 2024. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dota 2
editHistory
editVirtus.pro attended The International 2014 and placed 5th-6th at The International 2015. Virtus.pro released its squad after failing to qualify for The International 2016, but reformed shortly after.[30] In November 2016, the team won The Summit 6 LAN event, sweeping OG 3–0 in a best-of-five series.[31] Virtus.pro placed 5th-6th at The International 2017. Virtus.pro wins ESL One Hamburg 2017, the first major of the 2017-2018 Dota Pro Circuit season. In 2018, Virtus.pro won four majors, winning ESL One Katowice 2018, The Bucharest Major and ESL One Birmingham 2018; they also became the first team to win two ESL One majors back-to-back. In the new season of the 2018-2019 Dota Pro Circuit season, they became the winner of the first major of the season, the Kuala Lumpur Major.
Despite being second place on 2018-2019 Dota Pro Circuit season and one of the favorites to win The International 2019, Virtus.pro got knocked out of the tournament by Royal Never Give Up, ending their journey with a 9th-12th place.[32] After the disappointing run, the roster was rebuilt, with Ramzes and 9pasha left the team after staying with the team for almost three years.
On 1 April 2020, Virtus.pro announced its second Dota 2 lineup: VP.Prodigy.[33] On 17 May 2020, VP.Prodigy's youth squad defeated Virtus.pro to win the Epic Prime League.[citation needed] In July 2020, Virtus.pro, the Russian cybersporting organization, ranked among the top 3 in Europe and the CIS in terms of prize money, percentage of wins and tournament placements during the quarantine period.[citation needed] On 5 November, a new roster is announced consisting of the current VP.Prodigy's roster,[34] leading to impressive results in the Dota Pro Circuit regional leagues in 2021.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Virtus.pro roster played under the 'Outsiders' temporary tag to avoid ESL's ban on Russian esports organisations.[35] During a qualifying match leading up to ESL One Stockholm Major, player Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko drew a Z sign on the minimap, which was widely interpreted as expressing support for Russian invasion of Ukraine, a claim which Moskalenko later denied.[36]
In response, Virtus.pro terminated its contract with Moskalenko, while tournament organisers, Beyond the Summit, in consultation with Valve, disqualified the team from the competition, issuing a retroactive forfeit for every match the team played.[36] On 3 May 2023, the Virtus.pro cybersports organization announced that Sergey "G" Bragin has returned to the club as a Dota 2 lineup coach. Timur "Ahilles" Kulmukhambetov will shift to the position of lineup analyst instead of the coaching position.[citation needed]
Roster
edit| Virtus.pro Dota 2 roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Legend:
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Rainbow Six Siege
editOn 16 May 2020, Virtus.pro enters the Rainbow Six scene by acquiring the roster of forZe Esports.[37]
Roster
edit| Virtus.pro Rainbow Six Siege roster | |||||||||||||||||||
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Eugene "Zheka" Bokhanov | ||||||||||||||||||
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Legend:
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Latest roster transaction: 15 December 2022. | ||||||||||||||||||
Warface
editVirtus.pro signed a Warface roster on 14th of July, 2022.[38]
Roster
edit| Virtus.pro Warface roster | |||||||||||||||||||
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Legend:
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Latest roster transaction: 14 July 2022. | ||||||||||||||||||
EFT: Arena
editVirtus.pro launched a EFT: Arena roster on 5th of December, 2023.[39] The team finished second in the first-ever EFT: Arena tournament, DreamHack Hannover[40].
| Virtus.pro EFT: Arena roster | |||||||||||||||||||
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Oleg "RayzerGM" Kuchin | ||||||||||||||||||
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Legend:
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Latest roster transaction: 5 December 2023. | ||||||||||||||||||
Starcraft 2
editVirtus.pro signed their first SC II roster in 2011. On 1 July 2014, Virtus.pro announced that they closed the StarCraft II section of their organization and that they would now focus on League of Legends instead.
In May of 2024 VP have returned to this title, signing the highest ranked American athlete Maxwell "Astrea" Angel.[41]
PUBG
editVirtus.pro launched their PUBG division in 2020 by signing Northern Lights Team's roster.[42] The squad dominated in Europe and secured several high placing in top-tier international events, including top-3 at PGC 2021.[43] That roster was disbanded in 2022.[44]
In 2024, Virtus.pro returned to PUBG with a new team.
| Virtus.pro PUBG roster | |||||||||||||||||||
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Kieron "Scoom" Prescott | ||||||||||||||||||
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Legend:
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Latest roster transaction: 3 May 2024. | ||||||||||||||||||
PUBG Mobile
editVirtus.pro entered PUBG Mobile in 2021.[45]
| Virtus.pro PUBG Mobile roster | |||||||||||||||||||
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Cristian-Roman "KOMPOT" Corbu | ||||||||||||||||||
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Legend:
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Latest roster transaction: 21 March 2024. | ||||||||||||||||||
Standoff 2
editIn March of 2024, Virtus.pro signed a roster in a mobile FPS Standoff 2.[46]
| Virtus.pro Standoff 2 roster | |||||||||||||||||||
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Timur "JOHNY" Rizaev | ||||||||||||||||||
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Legend:
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Latest roster transaction: 25 March 2024. | ||||||||||||||||||
EA Sports FC
editVP have a roster in EA Sports FC. In 2024, the club signed 2 players: Robert "Ufenok77" Fakhretdinov and Daniil "Abel" Abeldyaev.[47]
Rennsport
editVirtus.pro launched a division in simracing in May of 2024 by signing a team of pilots to compete in ESL R1, the official sim racing league of Rennsport.[48] This acquisition may have been funded thanks to the Esports World Cup Foundation Club Support Program, of which VP is a member.[4]
| Virtus.pro Rennsport roster | |||||||||||||||||||
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Legend:
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Latest roster transaction: 3 May 2024. | ||||||||||||||||||
Apex Legends
editVirtus.pro first ventured into Apex Legends in 2019 by signing the FlavorOfTheMonth roster.[49] It was disbanded in 2020.[50]
In 2024, the club came back with a new roster.
| Virtus.pro Apex Legends roster | |||||||||||||||||||
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Bilal "urban" Fulat | ||||||||||||||||||
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Legend:
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Latest roster transaction: 10 April 2024. | ||||||||||||||||||
Honor of Kings
editVirtus.pro signed a roster in mobile MOBA Honor of Kings in 2024.[51]
| Virtus.pro Honor of Kings roster | |||||||||||||||||||
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Kirill "Hydr0" Sitnikov | ||||||||||||||||||
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Legend:
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Latest roster transaction: 14 May 2024. | ||||||||||||||||||
Former divisions
editFortnite
editOn 19 July 2018, Virtus.pro opened a division of Fortnite, the first players in the new discipline were Arthur "7ssk7" Kurshin and Jamal "Jamside" Saydayev. On 21 September 2018, Dmitry "HURMA" Heins and Seid-Magomed "FiveSkill" Edilgireev joined the organization. On 16 October 2019, "FiveSkill" and "HURMA" leave the team.[52] On 29 April 2021, VP announced their decision to temporarily leave the discipline.
League of Legends
editOn 28 June 2014, Virtus.pro acquired the roster of Dragon Team. Soon the team disbands, but in November 2016 Virtus.pro re-opened its LoL division and acquired the LCL Spot of Vaevictis Syndicate.[53] On 19 September 2017, the organization closed its League of Legends department.
Artifact
edit21 June 2018, long before the official release of the game, Virtus.pro announced its first player in the discipline, a former Hearthstone player Maria "Harleen" Kobzar. On 23 November 2018, Artem "DrHippi" Kravets, who previously defended the colors of Virtus.pro in Hearthstone, and Olzhas "Naiman" Batyrbekov joined the team.[54] 29 November 2018 Artifact was released on sale. 27 February 2019 "DrHippi" and "Harleen" left the team. On 10 September "Naiman" retires and Virtus.pro leaves Artifact.[55]
References
edit- ^ "Николай Петросян стал новым генеральным директором Virtus.pro" (in Russian). igromania.ru. 14 December 2022.
- ^ a b c "Exclusive: New Virtus.pro CEO talks ESforce deal and tournament bans". Dexerto. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
- ^ "Top 10 CS:GO Line-Ups of all time". 12 August 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ^ a b Fudge, James (6 May 2024). "30 Teams Selected for the Esports World Cup Club Support Program". The Esports Advocate. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
- ^ Lingle, Samuel (15 October 2015). "Virtus.Pro receives investment that could hit $100 million". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ Sillis, Ben (16 October 2015). "What can $100 million buy an eSports team?". Red Bull eSports. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
- ^ a b "ESL and BLAST lift their bans on Virtus.pro". HLTV.org. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ Nordmark, Sam 'Wndwrt' (17 March 2014). "EMS One Katowice concludes with Virtus.pro dominating NiP". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
- ^ "ESL One Cologne 2014 – Winners". Counter-Strike. Valve. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ Wynne, Jared (20 April 2015). "Virtus.pro win, Americans lose at ESEA". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ Wynne, Jared (27 July 2015). "Virtus.pro topple Na'Vi, Americans at CEVO". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ Lewis, Richard (3 October 2015). "E-Sports Team Union Formalises And Reveals Demands For 2016". E-Frag. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ^ Striker (30 July 2016). "Virtus.pro win ELEAGUE Season 1". HLTV. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "Virtus Pro re-signs its CS:GO roster until 2020". 19 December 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
- ^ "DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018". DreamHack. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
- ^ "EPICENTER 2017 overview". HLTV.org. 29 October 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ "Dywizja CS:GO zawiesza działanie" (in Polish). Virtus.pro. Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- ^ "Vegi joins Virtus.pro on loan; Toao Benched".
- ^ "Byali Confirms VP Exit".
- ^ "VP welcomes OKOLICIOUZ".
- ^ "Okolicious benched, phr stand-in".
- ^ "VP win PEL Spring against rival team Arcy".
- ^ "Virtus.pro win Adrenaline Cyber League". Retrieved 29 November 2017.
- ^ "Virtus.pro sign AVANGAR roster". hltv.org.
- ^ "Changes in CS:GO roster". virtus.pro. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ^ Miter, Mateusz (9 March 2022). "ESL confirms Virtus Pro players will compete under the name 'Outsiders' in ESL Pro League". Dot Esports. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ "Virtus.pro secure ESL Challenger Atlanta title". HLTV. 17 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ "fame named ESL Challenger Atlanta 2023 MVP". HLTV. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ Miter, Mateusz (15 April 2024). "Cloud9 parts ways with star CS2 player following poor results". Dot Esports. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ^ "Virtus.pro's Dota 2 team disbands". Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- ^ Van Allen, Eric (21 November 2016). "Virtus.Pro sweeps OG 3-0 in TS6 finals". ESPN. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
- ^ "TI9 Main Event Day 2 Lower Bracket results: Royal Never Give Up takes out Virtus Pro 2-0". ONE Esports. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ "Virtus.pro launches second Dota 2 roster". virtus.pro.
- ^ "Virtus.pro promotes its Prodigy roster after disbanding its main roster with No[o]ne and Solo". ONE Esports. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ Chalk, Andy (4 March 2022). "Russian esports team Virtus.pro blames ESL suspension on 'cancel culture'". PC Gamer. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ a b Chalk, Andy (2 May 2022). "Russian esports team booted from Dota 2 qualifier after player draws Z on the minimap". PC Gamer. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "Virtus.pro signs the forZe Rainbow Six Siege roster". virtus.pro.
- ^ "Virtus.pro подписала состав по Warface". Cybersport.ru (in Russian). 14 June 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
- ^ Virtus.pro. "Virtus.pro". Virtus.pro. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
- ^ "Virtus.pro уступила GamerLegion в гранд-финале турнира Head Eyes Showdown по Escape from Tarkov: Arena и получила €25 тысяч". Cybersport.ru (in Russian). 17 December 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
- ^ enuaj (15 May 2024). "Astrea joins Virtus.pro (the esports org goes back to StarCraft II after almost 10 years)". r/starcraft. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ "Virtus.pro signed Northern Lights". pubg.ac. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ Inc, KRAFTON. "PGC 2021: Europe Round-Up - NEWS - PUBG ESPORTS". pubgesports.com. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ insecure_bryan (22 July 2022). "Virtus.Pro leaves PUBG". r/CompetitivePUBG. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ Virtus.pro. "Virtus.pro". Virtus.pro. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ Virtus.pro. "Virtus.pro". Virtus.pro. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ Virtus.pro. "Virtus.pro". Virtus.pro. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ Virtus.pro. "Virtus.pro". Virtus.pro. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ Virtus.pro. "Virtus.pro". Virtus.pro. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ Virtus.pro. "Virtus.pro". Virtus.pro. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ "FiveSkill и HURMA стали игроками Virtus.pro!". virtus.pro (in Russian). Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- ^ "Virtus.pro opens a new LoL roster". cybersport.ru (in Russian). 15 November 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ "Naiman and DrHippi to join the Artifact roster". virtus.pro. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ "Naiman leaves Virtus.pro". virtus.pro. Retrieved 23 January 2020.