Virtus.Pro will be allowed to play in CS:GO events again

Virtus.pro ran into serious problems when the Ukraine war began because they were a Russian esports organization. Many people called for them to be banned from international events and in the end, they were forced to change their name to Outsiders.

But at one point, VP was bought for 1.84 million pounds and was no longer a Russian-owned company. However, they didn’t get their rights back immediately. It took around six months for the esports scene to react to the new reality but now they are finally back.

The decision

Two of the biggest tournament organizers in CS:GO, ESL and BLAST, both decided to reevaluate VP’s rights in light of the changes that took place in Autumn last year. And their conclusion was that Virtus.pro can now participate in their events using their original name.

This decision was appreciated by the CEO of Virtus.pro, Nikolai Petrossian, who publically stated:

“We welcome the decision of BLAST and ESL to return Virtus.pro to their tournaments as a result of their in-depth reviews that confirmed the club has met the requirements for reintegration.”

It remains to be seen how esports fans from around the world will respond to the decision. CS:GO is a huge esport that features dozens of big events per year. It is estimated that more than 20 million people play the game, and around two million of them regularly follow its professional scene.

For those who don’t like to mix politics with esports, the name Virtus.pro brings back a lot of great memories from competitions like ELEAGUE Season 1, DreamHack Open Bucharest 2016, and Flashpoint Season 2. This organization used to be one of the best in CS:GO and has remained over the years in the top 20.

At the moment, Outsiders are ranked sixth globally, which basically means that VP has an exceptional CS:GO team to send to every important event.

In Dota 2, Virtus.pro has been competing using its real name for quite some time. Even though many of the tournament organizers from CS:GO are also the biggest organizers in Dota 2, it took considerable time for both esports to accept the name Virtus.pro and allow it to be used again.

Perhaps a rebrand wouldn’t be such a bad thing at this point, just to communicate to the fans that the organization is stepping into a new era. Hopefully, one that’s filled with good results.

Header: Virtus.pro