On April 9, RMR A for BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 CS: GO ended. Eight participants have been determined who have received slots at the Major, and three more teams will compete for one ticket in the last chance bracket. However, the first group surprised many with the result of Virtus.pro. Virtus.pro did not qualify for the CS: GO Major, thus showing one of the worst results since the signing of the AVANGAR roster with Jami Jame Ali and Alexey Qikert Golubev. The failure of the team at RMR A to BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 will be remembered by everyone for a long time. In just three steps, the history of Virtus.pro at the CS: GO Majors has come to an end. Now we will see the team tag at a tournament of this level only in March 2024 on the new version of the game – Counter-Strike 2. And then only if the VP manages to get there.
The first step is to pick Ancient against B8 Esports
How did Jame and Dastan Akbaev prepare for the match against B8 Esports? Probably, when you play as the favorite of the confrontation, it is better for the tier-2 team not to give any concessions. For example, to be more specific, in a best-of-1 series, you probably shouldn’t pick one of your opponent’s best cards. It would seem that this is difficult. You can ban your opponent’s two best cards and leave one ban on the card you don’t play. But Jame and Dastan think otherwise.
B8 Esports bans Overpass, which she doesn’t play, and Inferno is Virtus.pro’s best map. In turn, the team of Jame and dastan do not want to go out on Nuke, as the team always bans her, on Anubis and Vertigo. B8 are left to choose from Mirage and Ancient. It’s worth noting that B8 proved to be a convenient opponent for VP, as one of her best maps is Nuke, which Ali’s lineup never plays. Therefore, VP had two more bans in reserve – the team could use them on other best cards of the opponent. For example, on Mirage, where B8 has a 100% win rate or Ancient. But VP decided to make a present and leave B8 to choose between these two maps rather than ban them.
Many will say: “Yes, Virtus.pro knew that Ancient would play, looked at B8 demos, prepared this map”, etc. However, the result is obvious. No matter how much VP prepares Ancient, no matter how many demos of B8 she looked at on this map before playing, in any case, leaving one of the opponent’s best maps in the best-of-1 series is a mistake. But if the Jame team had beaten B8 then, they would have already guaranteed themselves a place in the last-chance bracket.
The second step is to play in three against Into The Breach
This is the easiest step anyone can repeat. Firstly, Virtus.pro took only five rounds on the defensive side of Mirage, and secondly, they simply didn’t shoot Into The Breach, in fact, playing three of them. Aleksey Qikert Golubev and Petr fame Bolyshev decided to leave the server: in 29 rounds they made nine and ten kills, respectively.
Looking ahead: Virtus.pro showed the worst statistics in Group A among all teams. The average rating of the dastan team was 0.94 for five maps.
Third step – replacing KaiR0N- with n0rb3r7 in the elimination match
Virtus.pro found themselves in a super difficult situation before the match with MOUZ. Following the results of three rounds, the team was one step away from relegation. What to do in such a situation? Should the whole team talk to a psychologist in order to mentally prepare for an important match, correct mistakes or seriously prepare for an opponent? Virtus.pro had other plans.
The team’s management and roster decided otherwise and made an emergency replacement of KaiR0N- with n0rb3r7. And these are not some force majeure circumstances, but rather, according to club representatives, a balanced decision, since the result of two of the first three matches at RMR turned out to be unacceptable for Virtus.pro. And who proposed such a solution to the problem – management or composition – is no longer important.
KaiR0N- did not fit into the squad and did not perform the functions that were required of him. Although the player showed the best statistics among all teammates, he did not fit the style and tactics of the team. Anashkin could forget the scripts for the round, take the initiative where it is not needed, and then the whole idea for the game collapsed domino principle. But CS: GO is a team game and the actions of one player affect the other. In any case, if KaiR0N- was the problem, it doesn’t justify the club’s decision. The substitution must take place after the tournament and not before the decisive elimination game.
If you are willing to bet on upcoming CS: GO tournaments, join one of the top bookmakers GGBet. This is a licensed and trustworthy eSports bookmaker that boasts not only a huge choice of sports disciplines but also an extensive Esports section. You may be absolutely sure that the most prominent eSports tournaments are presented on the betting platform. Just complete registration and start earning money out of making bets on CS: GO matches.
