Can Virtus.pro stay at the top for another Dota 2 esports season?

Over the last two years, Virtus.pro has been one of the best Dota 2 teams in the world. They won numerous Majors and finished 1st (in 2017 – 2018) and 2nd (in 2018 – 2019) in the Dota Pro Circuit. But now they’ve finally lost most of their great players and so the question is: can they stay relevant in a highly competitive professional scene?

Who left Virtus.pro



Following VP’s disappointing 9th – 12th place at Dota 2 The International 2019 three of the five players decided to leave the team or were asked to leave by the management. It’s not entirely clear what the situation is on the ground. But the outcome was this: RAMZES, 9pasha and RodjER are no longer on the team.

RAMZES joined Evil Geniuses as the team’s new offlaner. As for 9pasha, he went to Natus Vincere. The only player whose fate is still to be decided is RodjER. He is currently listed as being an inactive member of Virtus.pro. In Dota 2, this usually means that he’s about to leave the team but maybe the management is trying to get something out of the transfer.

The New VP

The new Virtus.pro is made up of Solo, No[o]ne, Resolut1on and epileptick1d. The first two have been playing for VP for three years. The third, Resolut1on, also needs no introduction as he is one of the best CIS players and also one of the best carry players in the world. However, for now he has decided to start playing offlane, as that is the only position available for him in VP’s current roster.

Keep in mind however that epileptick1d is on trial. And given that he’s the team’s carry, if he underperforms, Reso will probably take his place and the team will bring in another player to replace him.

It is not yet known who the 5th roster member will be. VP doesn’t seem to have that many options at this stage. And since they need a roamer, they may even want to have Lil back, who is currently playing for Winstrike Team.

VP’s Chances in the New Season

I personally don’t see how Virtus.pro could remain at the top after losing so many of their players. Given that only Solo and No[o]ne are still part of the team, almost the entire play style will have to be rebuilt from scratch. All of the tactics, the synergy between the players and most of what professional Dota 2 requires will need to be carefully engineered for this new roster.

Due to all the changes, I think that Virtus.pro will drop at least 3-5 positions in the DPC rankings, compared to last season. So instead of seeing them at the top of the table, we will probably see them somewhere around 5th – 8th, at best.

Stay tuned for more Esports news!