According to sources inside the CIS region, a shock move for two of the hottest new properties to come out of that part of the world could be unfolding this week. Pro100, the organisation relaunched recently by Na’Vi in-game leader Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko is attempting to complete an ambitious deal for Vega Squadron’s Nikolai ‘Mir’ Bityukov and Sergei ‘keshandr’ Nikishin.
While the move will excite fans of the brand and probably players, the reporting suggests there is a degree of animosity around the way the two have gone about their departure from Vega, with news only breaking this morning that they had been benched in anticipation of a move. The statement from Vega management was typically terse, even after translation, and reading between the lines it is clear not all parties are happy with the outcome.
The statement published in gameinside.ua, who originally reported the story, reads as follows: "Our team has always been a single whole and has never deviated from the principles inherent in the creation of the team. The players together went through dozens of trials and together grew like professionals. Over time, the team increasingly began to face problems, to the solution of which we applied double efforts.”
Vega management went on, “Players increasingly moved away from each other, and their vectors of development acquired different directions. We tried to unite them, but, unfortunately, it did not bear any fruit. We made this decision with great difficulty and tried to avoid it by any means. Today, two players are sent to the bench and put on a transfer. The organization is grateful to the players for all the time that we spent together, and for the victories to which we came."
Comments made by team coach Artem ‘Fierce’ Ivanov confirm the move was somewhat a result of internal difficulties, although he did not go as far as naming those who wished to remain in their pattern, or change as it may have been.
"At one point the team split into two groups,” Ivanov is quoted as saying. “The first wanted radical changes in the training process, the approach to Counter-Strike in general and general issues. The second offered to stick to the old plan and play a lot. Anyway, this method led the guys to a certain result. Unfortunately, attempts to find a balance and a compromise have not been successful, and the permanent pressure on each of the players has led to a deterioration in both individual and team results. "
Major giant killers
Vega have long held a reputation as a team that punches above their weight, not performing at many large LANs, but often making it to the major itself, where they are normally good for a shock. In Boston they famously defeated eventual finalists FaZe Clan in the first stage, as well as Team Liquid, before going out in the ‘New Legends’ part of the event despite wins over Liquid again, and North.
However, it seems that was their swansong, with jr confirming that motivation issues had plagued the team for a while, and the major was a blip, rather than a proper reversal of their fortunes. " I would like to say that the work in the team is very important and we tried to go to each other's meeting to solve some conflicts from the very beginning, when we were "all-in", but in the last half of the year, alas, it disappeared. As they say "the spark went out" and alas, it "caught fire" only in the majeure (sic).”
Originally formed in the mid-2000s, pro100 lay dormant for ten years until 2017, when then-Gambit man Teslenko began his attempt to revive the brand. The move for Vega’s players, in particular Mir, would be a real coup for a name many in the scene will just be too young to remember, especially with the player in question regarded by many as a dark horse for a spot on Na’Vi during their recent roster uncertainty.
The move leaves Vega with a roster of Dmitriy ‘jr’ Chervak, Leonid ‘chopper’ Vishnyakov and Pavel ‘hutji’ Lashkov, as well as coach Artem ‘Fierce’ Ivanov. Results from teams such as Vega, QBF and others of late have shown there is huge talent in the CIS region for whoever can find and polish the right lumps of coal into CS diamonds, and Vega’s long history of scouting players should stand them in good stead as they look to rebuild.
Image: Pro100
