Short name | VP |
---|---|
Divisions | Dota 2 Counter-Strike 2 Rainbow Six Siege Warface EFT: Arena |
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 (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.
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.
In November 2015, the team got an investment of over US$100,000,000 from Alisher Usmanov's USM Holdings. [4] [5] 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. [6]
On 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. [7] The team then got 5–8 at ESL One Cologne 2014. [8] Virtus.pro won at ESEA in April 2015. [9] The team then beat Natus Vincere to win CEVO Season 7 in July 2014. [10]
In October 2015, it was announced that Virtus.pro had joined an esports team trade union along with a dozen other teams. [11]
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. [12] In December 2016, Virtus.pro re-signed the roster for another four years. [13] In 2017, Virtus.pro finishes 2nd place at the ELEAGUE Atlanta major, winning $150k, and won DreamHack Masters - Las Vegas 2017, winning $200k. [14] Virtus.pro finished 2nd place at EPICENTER 2017, winning $100k. [15]
Due to poor results, on 13 December 2018, Virtus.pro CS:GO roster was suspended. [16]
"Vegi" replaced "Toao" in the active squad and "Snax" takes over IGL role in 2019. [17] Due to poor results and grown unhappy with the team, Paweł "byali" Bieliński decided to leave Virtus.pro. [18] VP adds Okoliciouz as a replacement for byali. [19] 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. [20] Virtus.pro win Polish Esport League Spring in 2019, earning $10,708. [21] This event was the first 1st-place finish since Adrenaline Cyber League 2017, which was won by the original roster. [22] In December 2019, Virtus.pro announced that they have completed the signing of the AVANGAR roster, benching the Polish roster. [23]
In May 2020, Virtus.pro acquired "YEKINDAR" from pro100 as "buster" steps down from the starting lineup. Additionally, "Flatra" joined as an assistant coach. [24]
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. [25] 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. [6]
On December 17, 2023, Virtus.pro defeated Apeks at ESL Challenger Atlanta 2023, [26] where Pyotr "fame" Bolyshev was awarded his first ever HLTV MVP award. [27] 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. [28]
Virtus.pro Counter-Strike 2 roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Legend:
| Roster updated 14 April 2024. |
Virtus.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. [29] In November 2016, the team won The Summit 6 LAN event, sweeping OG 3–0 in a best-of-five series. [30] 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. [31] 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. [32] 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, [33] 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. [34] 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. [35]
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. [35] 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 ]
Virtus.pro Dota 2 roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Legend:
|
On 16 May 2020, Virtus.pro enters the Rainbow Six scene by acquiring the roster of forZe Esports. [36]
Virtus.pro Rainbow Six Siege roster | |||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||
|
Eugene "Zheka" Bokhanov | ||||||||||||||||||
Legend:
| Latest roster transaction: 15 December 2022. |
Virtus.pro signed a Warface roster on 14th of July, 2022. [37]
Virtus.pro Warface roster | |||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||
Legend:
| Latest roster transaction: 14 July 2022. |
Virtus.pro launched a EFT: Arena roster on 5th of December, 2023. [38] The team finished second in the first-ever EFT: Arena tournament, DreamHack Hannover [39] .
Virtus.pro EFT: Arena roster | |||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||
Legend:
| Latest roster transaction: 5 December 2023. |
On 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. [40] On 29 April 2021, VP announced their decision to temporarily leave the discipline.
On 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. [41] On 19 September 2017, the organization closed its League of Legends department.
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.
21 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. [42] 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. [43]
Fnatic is a professional esports organisation headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Founded on 23 July 2004, it has players from around the world competing in several games, including Apex Legends, Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, FC Online, Heroes of the Storm, League of Legends, Rainbow Six Siege, and Valorant.
Mouz, formerly mousesports, is a professional esports organisation based in Germany. It fields teams in several games but is particularly known for its CS:GO team. MOUZ was one of the founding members of the G7 Teams. MOUZ's League of Legends team currently competes in the ESL Pro Series, having formerly competed in the European Challenger Series.
Evil Geniuses (EG) is an American esports organization based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1999, the organization has fielded players in various fighting games, Call of Duty, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, Fortnite Battle Royale, Halo,League of Legends, Valorant, StarCraft II, Rocket League, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, and World of Warcraft.
Natus Vincere, commonly referred as abbreviated name NAVI, is a Ukrainian esports organization based in Kyiv. Founded in 2009, the organization has teams and players competing in various games, such as Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, FIFA, Brawl Stars, World of Tanks, Paladins, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Clash of Clans, Apex Legends, Rainbow Six Siege, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Fortnite, and VALORANT.
The ESL Gaming GmbH, doing business as ESL, is a German esports organizer and production company that produces video game competitions worldwide. ESL was the world's largest esports company in 2015, and the oldest that is still operational. Based in Cologne, Germany, ESL has eleven offices and multiple international TV studios globally. ESL is the largest esports company to broadcast on Twitch.
Cloud9 Esports, Inc., or simply Cloud9 (C9), is an American professional esports company based in Santa Monica, California. The company was originally founded as a professional League of Legends team by Jack and Paullie Etienne in May 2013 and was incorporated into Cloud9 Esports, Inc. on September 6, 2016. Cloud9 has received US$78 million in total raised equity via venture capital funding and was ranked the world's fifth-most valuable esports organization in mid-2022.
PSG.LGD was a professional Dota 2 team based in China. They were formed as a partnership between PSG Esports and LGD Gaming in April 2018 until the end of the partnership in September 2023. PSG.LGD has finished as the runner-up in The International 2018 and 2021.
Olof Kajbjer Gustafsson, better known as olofmeister, is a Swedish professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player for FaZe Clan. He has previously played for H2k, Absolute Legends, LGB eSports, Fnatic, and FaZe Clan. Gustafsson is widely regarded as one of the best CS:GO players in history. He has won two CSGO Majors, ESL One Katowice 2015 and ESL One Cologne 2015, as well as many other tournaments.
OG is a professional esports organisation based in Europe. Formed in 2015, they are best known for their Dota 2 team who won The International 2018 and 2019 tournaments. They also have a Counter-Strike 2 and a Rocket League team.
FACEIT is an esports platform founded in London in 2012. The company has administered leagues for games such as Counter-Strike 2, League of Legends, Rocket League, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, Dota 2 and Team Fortress 2.
ESL One Hamburg 2017 was a Dota 2 esports championship tournament hosted by ESL. It took place in Hamburg, Germany in October 2017. This is the first ESL One event held in Hamburg, after three previous ESL One events in Germany were held in Frankfurt. In accordance with the new Dota 2 competitive season format set by Valve, the game's developer, the tournament will be the first Dota 2 Major tournament of the 2017 Dota Pro Circuit season.
ELEAGUE Major: Atlanta 2017, also known as ELEAGUE Major 2017 or Atlanta 2017, was the tenth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship. It was organized by ELEAGUE and held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States from January 22 to 29, 2017. It featured sixteen professional teams from around the world. Eight teams directly qualified based on their top eight placement in the last major, ESL One Cologne 2016, while another eight teams qualified through the ELEAGUE Offline Major Qualifier. ELEAGUE Major was the third consecutive Major with a prize pool of $1,000,000.
List of events in 2018 in esports.
Counter-Strike Major Championships, commonly known as the Majors, are Counter-Strike (CS) esports tournaments sponsored by Valve, the game's developer. The first Valve-recognized Major took place in 2013 in Jönköping, Sweden and was hosted by DreamHack with a total prize pool of US$250,000 split among 16 teams. This, along with the following 18 Majors, was played in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. As of the 2023 release of Counter-Strike 2 (CS2), Counter-Strike esports, including the Majors, are played in CS2.
Oleksandr Olehovych Kostyliev, better known as s1mple, is a Ukrainian professional Counter-Strike 2 player for Natus Vincere. He is considered to be one of the best players in Counter-Strike history.
The Intel Extreme Masters Season XVII – Rio Major 2022, also known as IEM Rio Major 2022 or Rio 2022, was the eighteenth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship. It was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between October 31 and November 13, 2022. Outsiders won the Major, defeating Heroic in the grand final 2–0.
Professional Counter-Strike competition involves professional gamers competing in the first-person shooter game series Counter-Strike. The original game, released in 1999, is a mod developed by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess Cliffe of the 1998 video game Half-Life, published by Valve. Currently, the games that have been played competitively include Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (CS:CZ), Counter-Strike: Source (CS:S), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), and Counter-Strike 2 (CS2). Major esports championships began in 2001 with the Cyberathlete Professional League Winter Championship, won by Ninjas in Pyjamas.
The PGL Major Stockholm 2021, also known as PGL Major 2021 or Stockholm 2021, was the sixteenth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Major Championship. It was held in Stockholm, Sweden at the Avicii Arena from October 26 to November 7, 2021. Twenty-four teams qualified via regional major rankings. It featured a US$2,000,000 prize pool, a rise from the $1,000,000 of previous Majors due to the absence of offline competition amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the second Major hosted by the Romanian organization PGL, after PGL Major: Kraków 2017. Stockholm 2021 was the first Major after a break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic following the StarLadder Major: Berlin 2019. The Major was won by Natus Vincere, who did not lose a single map throughout the tournament.
Heroic is a Norwegian esports organization with teams competing in Counter-Strike 2, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Sim racing and Rainbow Six Siege.