posted by Supafida,
Illidan at the Frankfurt Major - Source
Shortly after the Frankfurt Major, team shuffles are underway and this time, Virtus.Pro* – one of the most stable rosters in the scene – did not escape change. However, the results of the Major and the current transfer window has led to the decision to part ways with Ilya 'Illidan Stormrage' Pivtsaev after two years, and to replace him with former Team Empire player Airat 'Silent' Gaziev.
Illidan has nothing short of a historied past with the VP organization. After a disappointing performance at The International 3, he left the team but was picked up a second time. After another disappointing TI4, Illidan was kicked again but joined the organization for the third time as his team Nam Vezet - Mi Igraem* was picked up by VP and competed under the tag Virtus.pro Polar before becoming the main squad. In total he played 936 games under the VP banner (figure taken from datdota)
Virtus Pro taking first place at Dream League Season 3 - Source
Illidan has had respectable success during his stay with VP. Under the leadership of Artem 'fng' Barshack, the team managed to place 5-6th for The International 2015, 5-8th for ESL New York 2015 and most recently 7-8th for Frankfurt Major 2015. Considering the high level of competition, these achievements are indeed commendable. Nonetheless, it was cited that the 5-6th place became a "stumbling block" for the team, and change was necessary.
Illidan’s replacement is no stranger to the CIS community; former carry from Team Empire Silent. With the departure of Maxim 'yoky' Kim, Empire underwent further change and parted ways with Silent, who received and accepted an offer from VP during the Frankfurt Major. With this refreshing change, VP looks forward to reinvigorating the squad and establishing dominance in the scene.
New VP lineup - Source
Current Virtus.Pro* lineup:
Artem 'fng' Barshack (captain)
Sergey 'God' Bragin
Ilya 'Lil' Ilyuk
Olexandr 'DkPhobos' Kucherya
Airat 'Silent' Gaziev
The original announcement in Russian can be found here.
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