Immortals have announced that they have appointed former professional player Tomi "lurppis" Kovanen as their General Manager for CS:GO.

The 30-year-old will focus on Immortals' "business operations, content, and event formatting" as the North American organisation prepare their return to the Counter-Strike scene.

One of Finland's most decorated Counter-Strike players, Tomi "⁠lurppis⁠" Kovanen played for teams like 69°N-28°E, ROCCAT and Evil Geniuses during his 1.6 career.

lurppis joins Immortals' backroom staff

Since retiring as a player, he has remained involved in esports as an analyst and writer. In August 2015, he was hired by J.P. Morgan as an Investment Banking Analyst.

”I look forward to starting the next chapter of my career at Immortals, where I will get an opportunity to combine my interests in business and esports," lurppis told Immortals' website. "[Immortals CEO] Noah Whinston has put together a great team of people, and I am excited to see what we can accomplish together as we start working on the Counter-Strike franchise."

Immortals have been without a Counter-Strike squad since December, when the organisation pulled the plug on their Brazilian squad. At the time, Mr. Whinston stated that the organisation was taking a step back from the scene to make a "reasoned, patient and calculated" decision about the path to take after the ELEAGUE Major.

Last month, Made in Brazil owner Paulo Velloso confirmed talks with Immortals about selling off the prestigious Brazilian brand to the North American organisation. At the end of January, a report from cybersport.com suggested that Immortals were looking to sign the current SK players, whose contracts expire in the summer.