Virtus.pro are embarrassing themselves – it’s time to rip up the CS2 roster and start again

Mid-2024 seems like an eternity ago now. In Counter-Strike terms, it practically is. Stewie2k won a Tier 1 event. NAVI were the best team in the world. Falcons were playing with the ENCE core. It was a strange time, looking back. But one team that seemed to be on the up was Virtus.pro. The organization had just spent nothing short of a small fortune to acquire electroNic following a failed Cloud9 stint.

At the time, it was viewed as a statement move for Virtus.pro, which just 14 months earlier had won the IEM Rio Major 2022 under the neutral Outsiders banner. The org wanted to get back on top of the Counter-Strike hierarchy, where it had belonged for so many years. The electroNic move is funny in hindsight – it didn’t work, and only reinforced the idea that he needs to be kept as far away from the IGL role as possible. But it was a statement of ambition, nonetheless.

The Current State of Affairs For Virtus.pro

Fast forward to the present day. Virtus.pro’s CS2 roster consists of FL1T, Perfecto, fame, b1st, and tO0rO, the latter two being recently-promoted academy talents. They currently sit 85th in the Valve Regional Standings, now as likely to receive Tier 1 event invites as you or I at this point in time. It is both a miserable and rapid decline, which has accelerated in recent months. From 28th in mid-November, to 85th in just over two months.

Worse still, Virtus.pro are getting desperate. In their rush to gather as many VRS points as possible before more invites roll in, Virtus.pro have signed up for tons of Counter-Strike wherever they can find it, both online and local LAN. After a string of Tier 1 losses in recent months, it was right back to basics.

Farce After Farce

Alarm bells at Virtus.pro should have been ringing when they played the open qualifier for IEM Rio 2026, losing to Nuclear TigeRES. If I’m being generous, it was a best-of-one, and this thing can happen. Still, it was sort of the canary in the coal mine for the team. But what happened next was unforgivable.

CCT Season 3 Europe Series 13. VP vs. Nemiga. Virtus.pro lost 2:0, but that is not what was noteworthy about this series. No. Rather, it was the fact that Nemiga started a map up by default, after Virtus.pro were forced to forfeit due to missing cameras (a CCT tournament requirement) from two players. Amateur hour stuff, both from the players and the organization. Even that might be a little harsh to amateurs.

But the embarrassments did not stop there. Virtus.pro signed up for local Moscow LAN Exort Cataclysm Season 1, seeing what they felt was a free hit at some easy VRS points. After all, LAN wins are a valuable commodity in the Valve Regional Standings, regardless of who you beat.

Nuh uh. A double defeat at the hands of RUSTEC and WW saw them dumped out in last place, their mere presence at the event serving as a better humiliation ritual than StarLadder could ever dream of. For context, the only player you might know from either of these teams is WW’s AWPer deko, who rage-quit Counter-Strike esports back in 2024 and declared that if he ever came back, “the most I’ll do is throw matches.” Solid work, Virtus.pro.

This leaves Virtus.pro in a precarious spot. Historically, they’re one of the biggest names in Counter-Strike, but now find themselves in a situation where their lineup seemingly can’t beat anyone, regardless of the level of competition. At this point, I’m not even sure I could confidently say that they would beat the washed 2026 versions of VP’s Golden Five, although I’d love to see it.

In this position, Virtus.pro needs to make a decision. It’s less “stick or twist,” and more “how hard do you twist,” given the scale of the issues.

The Next Steps For Virtus.pro

The way I see it, Virtus.pro has three options: buy a Russian core for the VRS points and stick with two of your current players. They could absorb an entire lineup, too. Or, the nuclear option: rip it all up, start from the bottom with 0 VRS points, 100 Thieves-style.

Let’s talk through these options. If VP was to put together an entirely new lineup and choose to attend small local LANs, it could have high upsides. It would unrestrict the team from the CIS identity it has taken on in the last few years, and would avoid having to stick with the players who have struggled of late. The negatives are equally obvious. It could be expensive to pluck pieces from different teams, and I’m not convinced Virtus.pro is competent enough to pick the right pieces and attend the right events to climb the VRS regardless.

They could also buy a full lineup higher up in the VRS. Easy in principle – “just buy a full lineup.” In practice, though, it could prove difficult for various reasons. Who’s to say that anyone within Tier 1 invite range simply wants to down tools and sell their entire lineup? There’s no guarantee on this, and I’d go as far as to say it’s pretty unlikely. Not to mention the price – such a prospect would likely cost an eye-watering amount of money. Again, probably a no-go.

Finally, the most likely option – keep two players and buy a higher-ranked Russian core to play alongside them. A major risk, given they can’t win a single series against anyone right now. But there is talent on this team to be worked with. Three CS:GO Major winners. It’s workable, assuming the scars of their recent losses haven’t put them beyond the pale with this organization.

Realistically, they would keep two of FL1T, Perfecto, and fame in this scenario. This is no slight on b1st and tO0RO’s long-term prospects – at 17 and 18 years old respectively, they were simply thrust into the spotlight for the team far too early, and it’s unfair to write them off based on this sh*tshow.

The Options For a New VP Core

So, in this scenario, what would the options actually be? It would have to fit certain requirements: Russian-speaking, not unrealistically expensive, willing to join, and significantly higher-ranked than their current core to make it worth the effort. That immediately cuts down the list of choices substantially – they’re obviously not picking up 3/5ths of Spirit, for example.

The funniest option would be PARIVISION. Not least because it would almost certainly involve Virtus.pro swallowing their pride to bring Jame back, and there’s absolutely no indication that this would be a possibility. Plus, given the obvious potential of the young guns on PARIVISION and their trophy-winning credentials to start 2026, this is another one that is almost certainly out of reach, financially and otherwise.

Beyond this, though, it’s pretty slim pickings. HOTU would be interesting, but would again likely involve bringing n0rb3r7 back. Anything that sees Virtus.pro crawl back to its previous players should be a non-starter in my eyes, though.

Allow me to raise the one realistic option for Virtus.pro. The perfect fit. 25th in the VRS right now. It’s BetBoom. This is the one. Not the lineup that will bring them back to trophies, but one that could get them back to winning some matches and provide a solid platform for the future.

Hear me out. You get Boombl4 for Perfecto. One former NAVI man replacing another as IGL. ArtFr0st slots in for b1st on the AWP, an obvious and substantial upgrade. Finally, you take Magnojez for tO0RO. Magnojez remains one of the most exciting young riflers out there, and now boasts a wealth of experience ready to explode onto the scene, boasting very impressive 2025 ratings against top five (1.12) and top 10 (1.08) opponents. This would give Virtus.pro the following CS2 roster:

• Boombl4
• ArtFr0st
• Magnojez
• fame
• FL1T

Keeping the latter two around isn’t ideal for Virtus.pro if they want to wipe the slate clean, but if they want to remain competitive in CS, it might be their only option. There’s no perfect choice for VP, and I don’t envy their management in the coming months, especially if results don’t improve with the current roster.