Virtus Pro has announced that its Counter-Strike team will cease operations effective immediately. This decision comes after the team failed to qualify for the Europe CS: GO Minor. However, it is not just one poor performance that compelled the organisation to put a stop to Counter-Strike. The Virtus Pro team has been bleeding for most of the past two years. Repeated failures saw Virtus Pro attempt to make multiple roster changes in the past, but nothing has worked for them so far.

Virtus Pro – Winners of IEM Katowice 2014

The Polish team won the ESL One Katowice 2014 on home soil. It was a monumental achievement for the team. Counter-Strike at the time saw Ninjas in Pyjamas as the dominant team. They were the winners of multiple tournaments and were easily the team to defeat when it comes to CS: GO events.

The Grand Finals saw Virtus Pro play against NIP in a Best of three Grand Finals. Snax and Pasha were the best players on the team. While Snax managed to reach 58 kills in two maps, Pasha was not far behind at 47 kills. On the part of NIP, with F0rest and Get_right not having a great tournament, there was little the Ninjas could do. Fifflaren had already started his downfall and had a very embarrassing 9 kills in two maps.

With this victory, there was a new wave of fans for the Polish teams. With veterans such as Taz and Neo [ from the original Golden 5 ] in the team, they did not lack fans. For Counter-Strike fans, it was a chance to see the original Golden Five [ CS 1.6] possibly making a huge career in Counter-Strike. And for many years, Virtus Pro had an illustrious few years.

The Virtus Pro style of play

Virtus Pro was very aggressive and would make unthinkable plays on multiple maps. Their aggressive stance often caught the best teams out of position. Over time, even as teams learned to adapt to ‘The Virtus Pro Style of play’, they were still unable to win the aim-duels at times.

Virtus Pro was never really the best team in the world on a consistent basis. They were almost always near the top 5, but would not sit comfortably in it. However, for many years, not even the best team in the world would ever take Virtus Pro lightly. The amount of experience and talent on this team made sure that they could pull off amazing wins in difficult situations. Snax and Byali were the two players who kept their form alive for much of 2016. Over time, Pasha’s form dwindled and he did not have the same effect as he did during Katowice and before. His lack of performance definitely hurt the team as he was the primary AWPer for a long time. The team tried changing roles, switching the player using the AWP. However, one correction would lead to more problems and Virtus Pro was forever in a cycle trying to fix problems.

Virtus Pro Roster will cease operations temporarily

Due to the latest tournament performance our CS: GO team will cease any competitive activities until further notice. We will announce our next steps by the end of the year.

It's a sad day for us, but we have to go through. Right now our players can't show their best game as a group, it's bad for them, it's bad for us, it's bad for our fans. We will update you on our plans by the end of the year #GOGOVP — Roman Dvoryankin (@dvoryrom) December 13, 2018

The organisation announced that their CS: GO roster will cease operations. This announcement comes on their webpage and it signals the end of an era. With lack of strong Polish replacements for any members of the current team, the future looked grim. Their decision to cease operations definitely does come as a surprise. However, their failure to qualify even for the CS: GO Minor propelled the organisation to take this decision.

After London Major, we were quite optimistic about the potential of the current lineup. Unfortunately, our expectations were not met. The long-term strategy for us is to build a competitive team around young players and we will follow it while making decisions. I’d like to ask our fans to be supportive in the next couple of weeks. Roman Dvoryankin, Virtus.pro General manager.

The announcement does state that the organisation will announce its future plans at the end of the year. With their Polish plan on hold, we might see Virtus Pro move to a totally different region. We have seen a similar move by EnVyUs as they let go of their French roster after months of poor performance. They moved base to North America, closer to their organisation.

What’s next for the players?

The current lineup has many young players, so we expect them to join other teams in the near future. Players like Snatchie, Morelz and Michu have a bright future ahead of them. Their time on Virtus Pro was definitely filled with losses and poor performances. However, we can expect them to possibly become a part of a much stronger and successful roster in the future.

Pasha announces his retirement from CS: GO

Jarosław ‘Pasha ‘ Jarząbkowskim was a member of the Golden Five CS: GO team in Counter-Strike 1.6. He has announced his retirement from the game in a very emotional tweet. The player mentions how he grew up in esports, stayed in esports and will die in esports.

The player has had many illustrious matches over the years. Virtus Pro’s rivalry with the best teams in CS: GO are legendary.

That’s it ! I grew up in esport , I will stay in esport I will die in esport… your papito 💪❤️ pic.twitter.com/mcmg6BPKzB — paszaBiceps (@paszaBiceps) December 13, 2018

The player’s retirement has had multiple reactions from the CS: GO community. Professional players remember him as one of the best brand ambassadors for the game. His attitude, his helpful nature and the calm and cool head of the player are an inspiration for any fan. We leave you with some of the comments to his tweet below.

We all are gonna miss you. One of the biggest and best ambassador we have ever had in Counter-Strike history. I'm really curious to see what's next in your career and what ever it is I know you'll do it great, as usual #LegendsNeverDie — Maikel Bill (@maikelele) December 13, 2018

Thanks for your effort all these generations 🙏🏻 — Peter Rasmussen (@dupreehCSGO) December 13, 2018

❤️😎 — Richard Landström (@Xizt) December 13, 2018