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OG Esports have signed Abdul “degster” Gasanov to take over the AWPing duties of long-time member Mateusz “mantuu” Wilczewski. Mantuu started with the famed Dota 2 organization when they entered Counter-Strike: Global Offensive back in December 2019.
Last month, degster was called in by OG to play in mantuu’s stead in the BLAST Premier Spring Final. At the time, the Polish sniper was down with an illness.
“We’ve always had the highest ambitions for CS:GO and are confident that the addition of a player of this caliber, a semi-finalist at the last Major, will help us to establish ourselves as a contender for the upcoming major events,” OG said in an official statement.
“The first outing of this squad at the BLAST Spring Finals in Lisbon had us all by the edge of our seat. We got a glimpse of the potential with victories over two of the best teams in the world, and an unprecedented entry on one of the most beautiful stages on the planet.”
The Russian AWPer impressed the group with a team-high rating of 1.16 and led them to an impressive run during the semifinals. They eventually lost to the Navi. Degster entered the international space in late 2020 as a member of Espada along with a fellow Russian rising star Robert “Patsi” Isyanov.
According to reports, OG agreed on an undisclosed transfer fee with Team Spirit for their player and made personal agreements with degster. An announcement of the deal is expected soon.
Degster’s arrival will signal mantuu’s immediate move to the bench. With his upcoming dismissal, there will not be any members from the original OG CS: GO lineup left on the active team.
Degster worked with Team Spirit for 15 months but was benched recently despite securing an impressive top-four finish at the PGL Antwerp Major 2022. During his time in the franchise, he attended two CS: GO Majors and a semifinal finish in Antwerp that was done in front of a live audience.
He was among the top 10 players in the Major, averaging a rating of 1.16 and earned a K/D of +45. According to the Russian esports organization’s announcement, degster’s benching was not tied to his in-game performance but a disagreement between the two parties.
READ: Team Spirit complete CS:GO lineup with w0nderful
The statement released by the organization revealed that non-game factors like training and the team’s future led to the disagreement. Their changes to the team not long after the PGL Antwerp Major 2022 led to the two parties agreeing to part ways after not being able to see eye-to-eye on the matter.
Team Spirit’s official statement on the issue read, “After the Major, the management and the coaching staff held talks with Abdul (degster), as a result of which it became obvious that the parties’ views on the training process and the team’s future, in general, were fundamentally opposite. As a result, it was decided that degster would be moved to the bench immediately.”
Although this is their official statement, the move reportedly had to do with the Russian organization’s decision to move to Serbia following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and degster’s decision to return and continue living in his home country.
OG’s decision to sign degster to the group will undoubtedly improve the team’s firepower, mainly because compared to mantuu’s average 1.08 rating in the LAN tournaments that took place this year, degster scored a 1.23 rating in offline tournaments in 2022.
Casper “Ruggah” Due, OG’s head coach, characterized degster as a “world-class player” who can help boost the team’s performance. The Russian was one of the most sought-after free agents, since he is an energetic AWPer who frequently delivers breakthroughs for his teams.
OG is currently in the summer player break and has no matches scheduled for the next couple of weeks. This should give degster ample time to practice with the group before the qualifiers for the IEM Rio Major commence.
