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The new skipper will add a “fresh perspective” on Virtus.pro’s game.
Virtus.pro has parted ways with its longtime CS2 head coach Dastan “dastan” Akbayev to make room for the arrival of 9 Pandas' former coach Andrey “XomA” Mironenko, the organization announced on Monday, June 3.
The roster change effectively ends dastan’s long spell with the CIS powerhouse. The Kazakhstani was in charge of Virtus.pro’s Counter-Strike division since the organization picked up the AVANGAR roster in December 2019.
The decision to part ways with dastan comes just a month after Virtus.pro made the blockbuster signing of Denis “electroNic” Sharipov and benched Nikolay “mir” Bityukov to win championships, but the team struggled to deliver great results ever since.
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Virtus.pro opts for a change in leadership
Dastan had been an integral part of Virtus.pro’s Counter-Strike division over the past years. The 30-year-old helped the organization to win big tournaments in CS:GO such as BLAST Pro Series Moscow in September 2019, FLashpoint Season 2 in December 2020, and most notably the IEM Rio Major in November 2022.
However, despite the addition of electroNic which should have bolstered Virtus.pro’s performance levels in CS2, the team are rather inconsistent at the moment.
Virtus.pro were knocked out of ESL Pro League quarterfinals earlier this month by Complexity and then delivered even worse results at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade and IEM Dallas later in the month despite facing lesser opposition.
Replacing the in-game leader Dzhami “Jame” Ali would be too much of a risk as he’s also the team’s primary sniper, so it makes sense management opted to cut dastan instead.
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Although XomA became more known for guiding 9 Pandas throughout their darkhorse run at the last-chance qualifier for the PGL Copenhagen Major this year, he has been a part of the Counter-Strike community since the 2000s as he played for some of the biggest Russian teams in CS: 1.6.
XomA will have the task of updating Virtus.pro’s CS2 playbook, according to the organization’s CEO Nikolai Petrossian.
“Our roster needs a fresh perspective on the game and assistance in updating our playbook to ensure that we meet the current meta and are prepared to outplay any opponents, regardless of external factors,” Petrossiansaid. “Moreover, the new coach will need to nurture stability within the team dynamics and develop a system of play where our stars can maximize their strengths. Andrey’s vision of the game is up-to-date. Through his work, he has earned the chance at the tier-1 level, and we are ready to give him the opportunity to prove himself.”
XomA will take over Virtus.pro’s roster during the player break, starting on June 17, therefore he’ll not be with the team at the BLAST Premier Spring Finals between June 12 and 16. Instead, the team’s analyst Pavel “PASHANOJ” Legostaev will sit behind the players.
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