Anton "kibaken" Kolesnikov is no longer part of forZe's active lineup, the player has announced on Social Media.

The news comes as a huge surprise as forZe had just won their first international title, at the IeSF World Championship, in Busan, South Korea, after defeating Romanian side Nexus in the final, with backup member Almaz "⁠almazer⁠" Asadullin acting as a stand-in for Emil "⁠kUcheR⁠" Akhundov.

Anton "⁠tonyblack⁠" Kolesnikov had been with forZe since September, when the Russian organisation completed the signing of the former Spartak line-up. The team's first LAN outing under the new banner ended in failure as they were sent packing at the CIS Minor following defeats to AVANGAR and Quantum Bellator Fire - the two sides who would go through to the Major qualifier.

kibaken is now transfer listed

In a VK.com post, the former Na`Vi member did not hide his shock at being released - a decision that, according to him, was made by "the organisation and one bald person, without the consent of the rest of the players, the coach or the manager."

"This is the first time that I have won a tournament, returned home with the boys in a good mood, and then got a call the next day to tell that you are fired," tonyblack wrote. "We played around six months together, constantly changing the fifth player, and now, when it seemed like we had found the right lineup, this happens. "It would be possible to write many more 'good' things, but I will not do it for now."

On VK, forZe have stated that tonyblack and almazer have both been transfer listed, and thanked the duo for their contributions to the organisation.

The Russian team currently have: