HOTU acquire n0rb3r7 on loan ahead of ESL Pro League Season 22

HOTU bolstered their Counter-Strike 2 roster on Sunday by acquiring Virtus.pro player David “n0rb3r7” Danielyan on a two-month loan.

The deal between the two Russian teams sees the 24-year-old return to the professional scene for the first time since December, when he attended Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024.

Virtus.pro’s early elimination from the Chinese Major led to significant roster changes, including the benching of Dzhami “Jame” Ali and n0rb3r7, who has since remained on VP’s sidelines.

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  Fast Payouts

Since then, the Intel Extreme Masters Rio Major 2022 champion has featured in several lower-tier online events, competing in various mixes with other Russian players.

More recently, n0rb3r7 secured a ticket for LanDaLan #3 with 9BoomPro, playing alongside another freshly benched Virtus.pro player, Timur “FL4MUS” Maryev.

N0rb3r7 is expected to debut for HOTU at ESL Pro League Season 22, scheduled to kick off on September 27.

While there are no confirmations on whether he will feature sooner, HOTU have other obligations before they travel to Stockholm — namely the European Pro League Series 2.

On HOTU, n0rb3r7 will take over for Aidos “kade0” Hairjan, who has been with the team since November.

Ranked 59th in the world and 27th in the Valve Regional Standings (VRS), HOTU have made several roster changes since the turn of the year.

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  The bookies' bookie

Besides winning the MIRAI x Leandare Cup in March, HOTU have not claimed a noteworthy trophy. Their only appearance in an S-Tier tournament, at PGL Astana 2025, ended with a 12th-14th finish.

While HOTU will hope to leave a mark at ESL Pro League S22, the stacked lineup of teams travelling to Stockholm will make the goal hard to achieve.

Counter-Strike 2 betting sites have yet to open outright markets for the Swedish event.