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G2 Esports has announced that Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov will not participate in the upcoming BLAST Premier Spring Final 2024, scheduled for June 12–16, due to visa issues.
Wiktor “TaZ” Wojtas, the team’s coach, will replace him.
This news is a significant blow to G2, who recently celebrated a victory at IEM Dallas with stand-in Jake “Stewie2K” Yip.
m0NESY, who was the MVP at the event, expressed his eagerness to share the experience with his teammate Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen, but he will now have to wait until after the Counter-Strike player break.
The Russian superstar has been a key player for G2 throughout 2024, earning one MVP and three EVP awards, and averaging a 1.31 rating across 90 maps.
His absence is particularly impactful, given his dominant performance and influence within the team.
Due to wanting to recreate the success from Dallas (VISA issues) m0NESY will not be travelling to London for Blast and so we will be playing with a stand in pic.twitter.com/niP4jWrW5B
— G2 CS (@G2CSGO) June 10, 2024
Replacing m0NESY is TaZ, a Polish legend who last played professionally in March 2023 under the HONORIS tag before retiring.
Despite his extensive experience, his return to top-tier competition after a significant hiatus will be challenging.
G2, placed in Group B, will face Team Spirit in their opening match on Wednesday.
The team will have to rely heavily on Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač and Nikola “NiKo” Kovač, both capable secondary snipers, to compensate for the loss of m0NESY’s firepower.
However, replicating his 1.31 rating will be a daunting task.
Fans had speculated a return for Stewie2K, but the team opted for TaZ, who brings veteran savvy and a calming influence.
Despite this, G2’s path to success has become significantly more challenging, as they will miss the strategic and in-game leadership m0NESY provides.
