Sdy Leaves Monte, The Team He Built

Following a failure at the European RMR, the Monte esports organization has announced that Viktor “sdy” Orudzhev will be leaving the roster. The Ukrainian is not looking to stop here, and is seeking opportunities for his next chapter.

Goodbye, @somedieyoungCS 😪
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Today the legend of Monte is leaving our team, the player with whom we experienced the brightest moments in the history of the organization – Viktor Orudzhev. The contract was not extended by mutual agreement, so he becomes a free agent.
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We thank… pic.twitter.com/zivbqfffNw

— MONTE ESPORTS 🇺🇦 (@Monte_Esports) February 26, 2024

Monte had been a consistent top ten team over the past year, with a big contribution coming from their top eight finish at the BLAST.tv Paris Major in 2023. Viktor had been sharing the in-game leader role with Volodymyr “Woro2k” Veletnjuk. 

Both of these players led a bunch of no-names to the biggest stage in Counter-Strike at Paris, but could not replicate their success in the PGL Copenhagen Major RMR. Monte was sent home after a disappointing performance, going 1-3 in the Swiss Format. 

However, the reason for their elimination wasn’t only due to performance issues. Sdy fell ill right before the RMR, and was forced to miss the first day. While sdy was recovering, Monte fielded an academy player to take his place.

The team could go 1-1 during sdy’s absence, and it was good news that the 26-year-old would return to play on the second day. Unfortunately, even with sdy, Monte lost two consecutive matches to Apeks and Astralis, leading to the team’s exclusion from the Major. 

On top of sdy’s sudden illness, Monte was met with unfortunate circumstances during their preparation for the RMR. The team could not find a suitable bootcamp location, and could only conduct one in Ukraine. However, one of the players, kRaSnaL, refused to go due to the fear of war.

A week after missing out on the Copenhagen Major, the Monte organization announced on their social networks that sdy would be leaving the team. According to the Tweet, sdy’s contract expired and was not extended by mutual agreement. 

This roster move was incredibly unexpected. Sdy built the team from zero and turned them into a serious competitor in the Tier 1 scene. Woefully, sdy will sail to a different ship, leaving Woro2k behind. 

His former teammates had nothing but positive things to say about their leader. The newest Monte recruit, br0, said he had nothing but respect and love for him. The Dane thanked sdy for teaching him to become a better player and person. 

Sdy is now a free agent, and is already taking offers to work in a new project. On his personal Twitter, sdy mentioned he was fueled with motivation to find a new team. He claims he is in his best form and can contribute to a top team in many ways. He is already discussing options with several teams, but nothing is set in stone yet. 

contact @Jerome_Coupez or [email protected] pic.twitter.com/R3IzsDGQJg

— 🇺🇦 Viktor Orudzhev 🇺🇦 (@somedieyoungCS) February 26, 2024

After sdy’s exclusion from the team, the Monte roster is now:

• Szymon “kRaSnaL” Mrozek
• Serghij “DemQQ” Demchenko
• Volodymyr “Woro2k” Veletnjuk
• Alexander “br0” Bro