Virtus.pro (VP) is an international

esports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...

organization founded in 2003 in Russia and acquired by Armenian investors in 2022. The organization has players competing in such games as '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'', ''

Dota 2 ''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.'' ''Dota 2' ...

'', ''

Rainbow Six Siege ''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege'' is an online tactical shooter video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on December 1, 2015; the game w ...

'', ''

PUBG Mobile ''PUBG Mobile'' (Chinese: 和平精英; pinyin: Hé Píng Jīng Yīng) is a free-to-play battle royale video game developed by LightSpeed & Quantum Studio, a division of Tencent Games. It is a mobile game adaptation of '' PUBG: Battlegrounds' ...

'', and ''

Warface ''Warface'' is a free-to-play online first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek Kiev, co-produced by Crytek Seoul, and published by My.com. The full version of the game was released on October 21, 2013 as playable in North America and ...

''. Virtus.pro's ''Dota 2'' team has participated in multiple

Majors Jonathan Michael Majors (born September 7, 1989)Majors in is an American actor. He rose to prominence after starring in the independent feature film ''The Last Black Man in San Francisco'' (2019). In 2020, he garnered wider notice for portraying ...

, winning record (tied with

Team Secret Team Secret is an esports team based in Europe formed in 2014, best known for their ''Dota 2'' team. In March 2016, Team Secret picked up an international female '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' team. In April 2016, Team Secret expanded into ...

) 5 of them and becoming the best Dota Pro Circuit first season team. Their ''League of Legends'' team won LCL Spring 2017. VP's former Polish ''CS:GO'' team is considered one of the best teams in the history of ''Counter-Strike'', winning the

EMS One Katowice 2014 Electronic Sports League Major Series One Katowice 2014, also known as EMS One Katowice 2014, was the second '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' Major Championship. The tournament was held from March 13–16, 2014 at the Spodek Arena in Kato ...

Major,

IEM Rio Major 2022 The Intel Extreme Masters Season XVII – Rio Major 2022, also known as IEM Rio Major 2022 or Rio 2022, was the eighteenth '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' Major Championship. It was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between October 31 and N ...

(as ''Outsiders'') and several other premier tournaments.

Ownership and naming

In November 2015, the team got an investment of over US$100,000,000 from

Alisher Usmanov Alisher Burkhanovich Usmanov (russian: Алишер Бурханович Усманов; born 9 September 1953) is an Uzbek-born Russian businessman and oligarch. By 2022, Usmanov had an estimated net worth of $19.5 billion and was among the ...

USM Holdings Alisher Burkhanovich Usmanov (russian: Алишер Бурханович Усманов; born 9 September 1953) is an Uzbek-born Russian businessman and oligarch. By 2022, Usmanov had an estimated net worth of $19.5 billion and was among the w ...

. From 2015 to 2022 Virtus.pro was part of the ESforce Holding (and also part of VK). In March 2022 Virtus.pro created a new tag, Outsiders, due to the requirements of tournament operators and their claims to VP's parent company (VK) ties with the Russian government. Outsiders tag is a neutral name for the team. In September 2022 Virtus.pro announced the acquisition of the club by Armenian investor Aram Karamanukyan. He became the new CEO of the club. Since then, in Dota 2 and other games, the club has been playing under its genuine name Virtus.pro, but continues to play in CS:GO as Outsiders. The new CEO claimed that he "contacted ESL S:GO tournament operatorto discuss the matter of performing under the name Virtus.pro" and "provided all supporting documents and are now awaiting a decision."

Current divisions

''Counter-Strike: Global Offensive''

History

On January 25, 2014, Virtus.pro signed the five member roster of AGAiN, , Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski, , and Golden Five players Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas,

Filip "Neo" Kubski Filip Borys Kubski (born June 15, 1987), better known as NEO, is a Polish player of the ''Counter-Strike'' series who is currently playing for Honoris. NEO is considered to be one of the best players in ''Counter-Strike'' history. He was also one ...

. Virtus.pro won

by beating

Ninjas in Pyjamas Ninjas in Pyjamas (NIP) is a professional esports organisation based in Sweden that is best known for its ''Counter-Strike'' teams. In 2012, the team reformed with a '' Counter Strike: Global Offensive'' lineup upon the release of the game. Asi ...

in the finals. The team then got 5–8 at

ESL One Cologne 2014 Electronic Sports League One Cologne 2014, also known as ESL One Cologne 2014, was the third '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' Major Championship. The tournament was held during Gamescom 2014 from August 14–17, 2014 at the Cologne Exhibitio ...

. Virtus.pro won at

ESEA ESEA may refer to: *East and Southeast Asia, a modern term for the Far East *In the UK, an alternative to British East and Southeast Asian (or BESEA) *Elementary and Secondary Education Act, a 1965 United States federal statute considered the most ...

in April 2015. The team then beat

Natus Vincere Natus Vincere (Latin for "born to win"), abbreviated NAVI (formerly Na`Vi), is a Ukrainian esports organization based in Kyiv. Founded in 2009, the organization has teams and players competing in various games, such as ''Counter Strike: Global ...

to win CEVO Season 7 in July 2014. In October 2015, it was announced that Virtus.pro had joined an esports team

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

along with a dozen other teams. In 2016, Virtus.pro made it to the quarterfinals in MLG Columbus after beating G2 Esports 2–0 in a best-of-three game. The team then went on to win in the inaugural

ELeague ''ELeague'', shortened as ''EL'', and stylized as ''ΞLEAGUE'' is an esports league and American television show that airs on TBS. It was announced in September 2015 as a partnership between Turner Broadcasting and talent agency WME/IMG. T ...

season, winning $390,000. In December 2016, Virtus.pro re-signed the roster for another four years. In 2017, Virtus.pro finishes 2nd place at the ELEAGUE Atlanta major, winning $150k, and won DreamHack Masters - Las Vegas 2017, winning $200k. Virtus.pro finished 2nd place at EPICENTER 2017, winning $100k. Due to poor results, on December 13, 2018, Virtus.pro ''CS:GO'' roster was suspended. "Vegi" replaced "Toao" in the active squad and "Snax" takes over IGL role in 2019. Due to poor results and grown unhappy with the team, Paweł "byali" Bieliński decided to leave Virtus.pro. VP adds Okoliciouz as a replacement for byali. Virtus.pro decided to test some players out, benching Michał "Okoliciouz" Głowaty that had a short lived place in the VP squad, replaced by a stand in Tomasz "phr" Wójcik. Virtus.pro win Polish Esport League Spring in 2019, earning $10,708. This event was the first 1st-place finish since Adrenaline Cyber League 2017, which was won by the original roster. In December 2019, Virtus.pro announced that they have completed the signing of the AVANGAR roster, benching the Polish roster. In May 2020, Virtus.pro acquired "YEKINDAR" from pro100 as "buster" steps down from the starting lineup. Additionally, "Flatra" joined as an assistant coach. The roster has been competing under the name Outsiders since early March 2022, following several tournament organizers banning esports teams suspected to have ties to the Russian government. Under the Outsiders tag the team won

, beating

Heroic Heroic may mean: *characteristic of a hero *typical of heroic poetry or of heroic verse *belonging to the Greek Heroic Age *Heroic (esports), a Danish esports organization *Heroic (horse) Heroic (1921–1939) was an Australian Thoroughbred ra ...

in the final.

Roster

''Dota 2''

History

Virtus.pro attended

The International 2014 The International 2014 (TI4) was the fourth edition of The International, an annual esports ''Dota 2'' championship tournament, which took place at the KeyArena in Seattle. Hosted by Valve, the tournament began on July 8 with the Playoffs phase ...

and placed 5th-6th at

The International 2015 The International 2015 (TI5) was the fifth edition of The International, an annual ''Dota 2'' esports championship tournament, which took place at the KeyArena in Seattle. Hosted by Valve, the game's developer, the tournament began in May with ...

. Virtus.pro released its squad after failing to qualify for

The International 2016 The International 2016 (TI6) was the sixth iteration of The International, an annual ''Dota 2'' esports championship tournament. Hosted by Valve Corporation, the game's developer, the tournament began in June 2016 with the qualifier phase and ...

, but reformed shortly after. In November 2016, the team won The Summit 6 LAN event, sweeping OG 3–0 in a best-of-five series. Virtus.pro placed 5th-6th at

The International 2017 The International 2017 (TI7) was the seventh iteration of The International, an annual ''Dota 2'' esports world championship tournament. Hosted by Valve, the game's developer, the tournament began with the online qualifier phase in June 2017, a ...

. Virtus.pro wins

ESL One Hamburg 2017 ESL One Hamburg 2017 was a '' Dota 2'' esports championship tournament hosted by ESL. It took place in Hamburg, Germany in October 2017. This is the first ESL One event held in Hamburg, after three previous ESL One events in Germany were held in ...

, the first major of the 2017-2018 Dota Pro Circuit season. In 2018, Virtus.pro won four majors, winning

ESL One Katowice 2018 English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL ...

, The Bucharest Major and ESL One Birmingham 2018; they also became the first team to win two ESL One majors back-to-back. In the new season of the 2018-2019 Dota Pro Circuit season, they became the winner of the first major of the season, the

Kuala Lumpur Major The Kuala Lumpur Major was a ''Dota 2'' tournament, as part of the 2018–2019 Dota Pro Circuit season. The event was held from 9–18 November 2018 hosted at Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur. 16 teams are involved, of which 15 came through qualifyin ...

. Despite being second place on 2018-2019 Dota Pro Circuit season and one of the favorites to win

The International 2019 The International 2019 (TI9) was the ninth iteration of The International (Dota 2), The International, an annual ''Dota 2'' world championship esports tournament. Hosted by Valve Corporation, Valve, the game's developer, the tournament followed ...

, Virtus.pro got knocked out of the tournament by

Royal Never Give Up Royal Never Give Up (RNG) is a Chinese esports organization whose ''League of Legends'' team competes in the League of Legends Pro League. It was established in May 2015. RNG won the 2016 LPL Spring Playoffs, 2018 LPL Spring Playoffs and 2018 L ...

, ending their journey with a 9th-12th place. After the disappointing run, the roster was rebuilt, with Ramzes and 9pasha left the team after staying with the team for almost three years. On April 1, 2020, Virtus.pro announced its second Dota 2 lineup: VP.Prodigy. On November 5, a new roster is announced consisting of the current VP.Prodigy's roster, leading to impressive results in the Dota Pro Circuit regional leagues in 2021. Following the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, Virtus.pro roster played under the 'Outsiders' temporary tag to avoid

ESL English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL ...

's ban on Russian esports organisations. During a qualifying match leading up to ESL One Stockholm Major, player Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko drew a Z sign on the minimap, which was widely interpreted as expressing support for Russian invasion of Ukraine, a claim which Moskalenko later denied. In response, Virtus.pro terminated its contract with Moskalenko, while tournament organisers, Beyond the Summit, in consultation with

Valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...

, disqualified the team from the competition, issuing a retroactive forfeit for every match the team played.

Roster

''Rainbow Six Siege''

On May 16, 2020, Virtus.pro enters the Rainbow Six scene by acquiring the roster of forZe Esports.

Roster

''PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds''

On December 14, 2020, Virtus.pro signs Northern Lights roster in PUBG PC. H1RUZEN moved to Coach and Dyrem joined as manager.

Roster

Former divisions

''Fortnite''

On July 19, 2018, Virtus.pro opened a division of Fortnite, the first players in the new discipline were Arthur "7ssk7" Kurshin and Jamal "Jamside" Saydayev. On September 21, 2018, Dmitry "HURMA" Heins and Seid-Magomed "FiveSkill" Edilgireev joined the organization. On October 16, 2019, "FiveSkill" and "HURMA" leave the team. On April 29, 2021, VP announced their decision to temporarily leave the discipline.

''League of Legends''

On June 28, 2014, Virtus.pro acquired the roster of Dragon Team. Soon the team disbands, but in November 2016 Virtus.pro re-opened its LoL division and acquired the LCL Spot of Vaevictis Syndicate. On September 19, 2017, the organization closed its League of Legends department.

''Starcraft 2''

On July 1, 2014, Virtus.pro announced that they closed the

StarCraft II ''StarCraft II'' is a military science fiction video game created by Blizzard Entertainment as a sequel to the successful ''StarCraft'' video game released in 1998. Set in a fictional future, the game centers on a galactic struggle for dominance a ...

section of their organization and that they would now focus on

League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for War ...

instead.

''Artifact''

June 21, 2018, long before the official release of the game, Virtus.pro announced its first player in the discipline, a former

Hearthstone ''Hearthstone'' is a free-to-play online digital collectible card game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. Originally subtitled ''Heroes of Warcraft'', ''Hearthstone'' builds upon the existing lore of the ''Warcraft'' series by u ...

player Maria "Harleen" Kobzar. On November 23, 2018, Artem "DrHippi" Kravets, who previously defended the colors of Virtus.pro in Hearthstone, and Olzhas "Naiman" Batyrbekov joined the team. November 29, 2018 Artifact was released on sale. February 27, 2019 "DrHippi" and "Harleen" left the team. On September 10 "Naiman" retires and Virtus.pro leaves Artifact.

References

External links

Official website
{{Professional Heroes of the Storm competition Dota teams Counter-Strike teams Esports teams based in Russia Heroes of the Storm teams Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege teams