After another disappointing IEM: Katowice, Virtus.Pro look to be on the way out with Polish teams AGO and Kinguin on the rise.

Death Throes

It appears to be the end of the road for the fan-favorite Polish squad. After yet another disastrous performance, this time at IEM Katowice, Virtus Pro have little gas left in the tank. Hints of retirement alongside a dwindling Fanbase is starting to finally tear at the fabric of the team. Most recently, long-time member Jarosław “pashaBiceps” Jarząbkowski gave hints to his retirement in a recent tweet by saying “My 16 frags and 110 h not help, cya”. Virtus Pro is not a healthy team and hinting retirement publicly is always a bad sign of things to come.

Virtus Pro as only attended events they have been invited to. They have not made it to closed qualifiers without an indentation and have been abysmal in online matches. In Mountain Dew League, they have fallen to GODSENT and Windigo Gaming 16-3 and 16-4, respectively. At Starladder i-League Season 4, they lost to Mousesports, Cloud 9 and Team Liquid. Virtus Pro’s only win came against MVP in a best of three where they were one round away from being eliminated.

Individually, the core of Virtus Pro is atrocious. In the last three months, the core four players of Virtus Pro could not achieve a 1.0 HLTV rating. Keep in mind that the new HLTV 2.0 system makes it more forgiving on overall HLTV rating for a player on a losing team. Filip “Neo” Kubski is the worst offender with a 0.84 HLTV rating and an equally pitiful 33.7% headshot percentage. While Neo is still considered a legendary player, his current state in the professional scene is worrying to longtime fans. If you add the context that his teammates aren’t too far behind him statistically, then everything comes full circle in explaining the poor performances.

Friends without Benefits

Alongside the poor performances, there is plenty more statistical evidence to show just how far they have fallen. In game though, it is even worse. Virtus Pro looks like they aren’t a team at all, which is ironic considering the core members have been together for so long now. They don’t throw smokes to cover important areas. Virtus Pro failed to smoke off key areas on de_Inferno while taking A site, they either leave boiler or Library open and do not check it. This happens on all maps, several times in a match. There is no excuse for any professional team have that issue more than once per half.

Virtus Pro has just been figured out by most of the players on the pro scene and alongside the fundamental mistakes they make, they cannot adapt into a different play style. The belief that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is painfully relevant in VP’s scenario. The lack of consistency and structure paint a dim and lifeless picture of a defeated Virtus Pro, one where their legacy is being diminished by a desperate gasp for air in an increasingly talented game.

Do you believe Virtus.Pro are headed for the graveyard? Comment below

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