Virtus.Pro and NaVi censor opposing team tags

Things got a bit childish in the matchup between the Outsiders and NAVI. Both teams have removed the opponent’s name and logo from their match announcements on social media.

Tensions over the war in Ukraine are spreading also to the esports world. NAVI and Virtus.pro (aka Outsiders) removed their rivals’ tags from the match announcement graphics on social media during the match between them in the DPC EEU 2023 Tour 1. After losing the first game, NAVI reposted the Outsiders’ logo.

NAVI post graphic with “Outsiders”

Originally, Virtus.pro used NAVI’s logo and name in the game announcement. After the first map, however, they changed the name of their opponents to “Opponents”. This probably happened because NAVI posted a graphic on their social media channel calling their opponents Outsiders instead of Virtus.Pro. The post was a reaction to the actions of the Ukrainian organization.

From March to October 2022, Virtus.pro competed in Dota 2 under the name Outsiders. Valve has allowed the organization to drop the alternate name prior to The International 2022 and play under the old team name due to Virtus.Pro relocating to Armenia. In CS:GO, the organization was only allowed to resume its branding in March 2023.

Virtus.Pro get the win

In this important series, the score was 1-1 after both teams had won a match. NAVI and VP both had the next win more than they needed. If NAVI lost, it would also mean relegation to the second division. If VP wins, they still have a good chance of winning the Berlin Major. But after all, only one team can win and in the end it was VP that was able to pull away the win.

Virtus.Pro became Outsiders

The name change was a consequence of the esports world’s reaction to the ongoing war in Ukraine. On March 2, 2022, the ESL had announced that following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it would no longer allow teams with ties to the Russian government to its events.

This policy was also adopted by the tournament organizer PGL a month later. Virtus.pro was one such team whose esports organization had ties to the Russian government. The organization had denied its ties with the Russian government on social media, but the tournament organizers’ decisions stood.

The org then formed the neutral banner Outsiders, which VP’s team had played under ever since. While the company was still accused of having ties to and being funded by the Russian government, they were allowed back into tournaments under these circumstances.

Header: Virtus.Pro