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Ilya “Perfecto” Zalutskiy has been released into free agency by Cloud9 a year after he played his last match for the North American Counter-Strike 2 team.
The Russian player confirmed the news in a post on X, stating he is ready to move on and motivated to return to the competitive scene.
Finally, I can announce that I am a free agent from today!
Thanks for the journey, but it's time to move on.
I am still motivated, and now even more.
So if you are interested in b jumper(mb other roles aswell), dm me or contact on qwertyqazik@gmail.com— Ilya Zalutskiy (@perfectocsgo) April 14, 2025
Perfecto joined Cloud9 in July 2023 as a part of a roster overhaul that also involved his former Natus Vincere teammate Denis “electroNic” Sharipov.
His journey with the newly formed superteam was rather underwhelming, however, as Cloud9 did not come close to competing for big trophies.
Despite the team’s lack of success, Perfecto has kept up a 1.07 performance rating — an improvement from his 1.02 average during his long tenure with Natus Vincere.
Perfecto was benched in April 2024, ahead of C9’s signings of Nikita “HeavyGod” Martynenko, Kaisar “ICY” Faiznurov, and Timofey “interz” Yakushin.
Yet even the new-look roster failed to find much success, which led Cloud9 to pull the plug on their Counter-Strike 2 division at the end of 2024.
Throughout all that time, Perfecto remained on C9’s bench, unable to find a new home while serving out his contract; however, the 25-year-old has appeared in a few lesser tournaments with various mixes.
That includes a stint with Roler Coaster at the PGL Bucharest 2025 European Qualifier, where he averaged a 1.23 performance rating.
Perfecto now enters free agency as one of the most accomplished CS2 players without a home.
While he has been absent from the Tier 1 scene for a year, the 25-year-old boasts an impressive resume that includes a plethora of S-Tier trophies and the PGL Major Stockholm 2021 title.
Perfecto has yet to comment on whether he has any offers on the table, but with many of the top-rated CS2 teams struggling to find traction early into the season, he likely will not have a hard time finding a new home after BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025.
