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Merely hours after the announcement of the departure of Virtus.pro’s Carry Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev away from the team, reports suggest the Russian franchise is on course to disband their Dota 2 roster.
While the team have not had an impressive run this season, the reason for the disbandment of the roster is said to have stretched further than that.
Dota 2 commentator Arseny Kuzminsky broke the news on Twitter and revealed that the remaining four players in the team’s lineup will be taken off Virtus.pro before the Dota Pro Circuit kicks off in 2023.
“Sources: Virtus.pro Roster To Disband Entirely + Release Save. Several sources simultaneously confirm that VP players decided to part ways after a series of setbacks at #TI11,” the tweet read.
The squad previously attempted and failed to qualify for The International 2022 on three different occasions, so the news of some adjustments is somewhat expected.
A player in the Russian lineup hinted at the changes shortly after the team failed out of the Last Chance Qualifier, which took place between October 8 and 12.
In follow-up tweets, Kuzminsky further claimed that the Russian team were unable to go to boot camp and cited the “toxic” environment amongst the players as the reason. The players were not comfortable competing together. However, it is uncertain if any will be retained to build up a new squad.
“Sources say, the team didn’t even go to the bootcamp, saying that it was difficult for them to have one because of the destructive and toxic atmosphere within the team,” Kuzminsky wrote.
Kuzminsky also disclosed that Vitalie “Save-” Melnic, who has been inactive for almost a year, will be free from his contract after the team dissolves.
“Also, Vitalie “Save-” Melnic would finally be released soon,” Kuzminsky continued.
“He has not been able to find a team for almost a year since VP “froze” his contract. Team Secret, before signing W_Zayac, reportedly placed a bid for Save, but VP asked for $1M to buy out his contract.”
After The International 10, which took place in October last year, Save- was rumored to be on his way out of Virtus.pro. At the time, Evil Geniuses were in serious talks with the Russian team to sign Egor “Nightfall” Grigorenko. Instead of the expected sale, the player was moved to the bench and kept there for months.
According to reports, Virtus.pro eventually got in contact with Spirit during the 2022 DOC season for Save-, but the negotiations did not go much further after the Russian organization made known their buyout price. The franchise was said to have affixed a $1 million price for Save-, which brought the negotiations to a standstill.
While Virtus.pro’s asking price is not an outrageous sum in most esports spheres, it is almost unheard of in the Dota 2 scene. The Russian team may have had little intention of selling the ex-captain at the time.
The news concerning Virus.pro’s “destructive and toxic atmosphere” is not entirely farfetched, especially when the previous actions of the players are taken into account. Earlier this year, Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko put the team in disarray after the player made the pro-Russian symbol during the DPC’s Spring Tour.
His actions led to Valve disqualifying the entire team, and Virtus.pro went on to terminate the player’s contract. Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev seemed to bring stability to the team after the incident, but from the looks of the current situation, it was not enough. There is likely no way to salvage the situation between the players now.
Like Save-, Illias “illias” Ganeev is currently on the Russian team’s inactive list after being placed on the bench in January. However, it is not certain if the recent development will affect the player. More information concerning the situation may likely be revealed after TI11 next month.
