Outsiders’\u0099 unexpected highs and disappointing lows<\/strong><\/h2>\nFor Outsiders, the signing represents another step in the complete overhaul of the original Virtus.pro roster which began in mid-2020. As the team failed to meet expectations set by a second place at the StarLadder Major in Berlin, finishing in last place in four out of five LANs at the start of the year, the postponement of the IEM Rio Major due to the COVID-19 pandemic led to the announcement of highly rated rifler Mareks “\u00e2\u0081\u00a0YEKINDAR\u00e2\u0081\u00a0” Ga\u00c4\u00bcinskis.<\/p>\n
![\"YEKINDAR](\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/30d10c01068ef759-scaled.jpeg\")
YEKINDAR leaving Outsiders left the team without a true attacking identity. Image: Copyright ESL | Stephanie Lindgren<\/span><\/div>\nThe removal of Dauren ‘\u009cAdreN’\u009d Kystaubayev for the hyper-aggressive Latvian gave the team’\u0099s game plan another sorely needed dimension. The team took a couple of months to settle in but rapidly improved in the second half of 2020. With YEKINDAR as its spearhead, Virtus.pro triumphed at IEM New York CIS, 2-0ing NAVI twice in the process, went flawless in Flashpoint 2 and beat Gambit to the DreamHack Open December title.<\/p>\n
As 2021 rolled around VP remained in title contention for most of the season, winning another trophy at cs_summit 7 in their debut. However, the team couldn’\u0099t keep up with the ever-rising Gambit and NAVI, who elevated their playstyle and dominated most big events. The keyword for Sanjar ‘\u009cSANJI’\u009d Kuliev’\u0099s team was a disappointment, as VP were unable to put together deep runs outside of second place at IEM Katowice. Playoff exits at EPL Season 13, IEM Summer and IEM Cologne meant other missed opportunities, which led the organization to make an unexpected change.<\/p>\n
Days before the PGL Major in Stockholm, VP replaced SANJI with long-time forZe star Evgenii “\u00e2\u0081\u00a0FL1T\u00e2\u0081\u00a0” Lebedev, calling it a temporary change with the aim to achieve the best possible result in Sweden. The result was much the same, with the team narrowly qualifying for the playoffs before losing to Heroic in a tight quarterfinal. The quintet then reached the semifinals of IEM Winter, their final event of 2021, but couldn’\u0099t capitalize on Gambit’\u0099s elimination and fell to eventual winners Vitality.<\/p>\n
The Russian invasion of Ukraine would mean the end of the roster, which crashed out of Pro League and the PGL Major in Antwerp among rumors of internal turmoil. YEKINDAR and Timur ‘\u009cbuster’\u009d Tulepov were benched and replaced by n0rb3r7 and Petr ‘\u009cfame’\u009d Bolyshev, leading to the birth of the IEM Rio-winning quintet. Predictably, the team established itself as a lower-tier contender by triumphing at ESL Challenger Rotterdam, but crashed out of two of the three big events it attended in last place, unable to keep up with the best international quintets.<\/p>\n
![\"fame](\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0deb0e340b4c8d74.jpeg\")
fame ended up as one of the breakthrough players of 2022. Image: Copyright ESL | Helena Kristiansson<\/span><\/div>\nVersatility and aggressiveness: KaiR0N-‘\u0099s present and future<\/strong><\/h2>\nKaiR0N- has showcased his prowess on the rifle over the course of 2022, a year he started as a member of Spirit Academy as he allegedly failed his main-roster trial because of a role overlap with Robert ‘\u009cPatsi’\u009d Isyanov. The young Russian did not disappoint, ending the third season of WePlay Academy League as the fourth highest-rated player and leading the event in opening kills per round. The good form continued in INDE IRAE and Aurora, the latter bringing KaiR0N- to the IEM Rio RMR after a successful qualification campaign. His performances on LAN would be disappointing, as Aurora finished the event in last place, but that was to be expected as the young roster was anything but a contender.<\/p>\n
With this context, can KaiR0N- be this quintet’\u0099s YEKINDAR and revitalize a roster apparently incapable of challenging for big titles?\u00a0 The similarities don’\u0099t stop at the transfer itself, as KaiR0N- is an aggressive T and CT side playmaker in the same vein as the Latvian star or MOUZ’\u0099s Dorian ‘\u009cxertioN’\u009d Berman. This tendency is confirmed by stats, as Anashkin took opening duels in 29.1% of T-side rounds in 2022, only trailing Vladislav ‘\u009cnafany’\u009d Gorshkov, YEKINDAR and Patsi in the CIS region. The Outsiders roster had sorely missed such a consistently aggressive presence, especially as n0rb3r7 converted his T-side team-leading 25.3% opening kill attempts less than 40% of the time.<\/p>\n
If KaiR0N- can definitely expand Outsiders’\u0099 playbook by acting as a punishing space creator, his CT side roles will be even more interesting to assess. In part due to Dzhami ‘\u009cJame’\u009d Ali’\u0099s passive AWP style, Outsiders lack variety and proactivity on their defensive halves, usually relying on FL1T and fame for information-taking or early-round plays. Unfortunately for the Russian outfit, as seen in other teams with snipers not known for their aggressiveness, such as Dmitry ‘\u009csh1ro’\u009d Sokolov in C9 or Helvijs ‘\u009cbroky’\u009d Saukants in FaZe, a strong rifling presence is needed to avoid opposing teams collapsing onto sites undisturbed.<\/p>\n
In Outsiders’\u0099 opening match against fnatic, KaiR0N- mostly replaced n0rb3r7 in his anchor roles, usually reserved for a team’\u0099s more supportive elements. Although he has shown promise in his B-site Mirage holds, it’\u0099s still unknown if other spots will be progressively transferred to Qikert, the team’\u0099s worst-performing member. However, with the inclusion of a playmaker like KaiR0N- allowing them to survive more frequently into the late round, fame and FL1T have also shown the potential to flourish more and transform into consistent Tier-1 threats.<\/p>\n
![\"Virtus.pro](\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/12f2fc2a970fe5b3.jpeg\")
KaiR0N-‘\u0099s signing shows Virtus.pro’\u0099s willingness to take risks in order to avoid mediocrity. Copyright: Virtus.pro<\/span><\/div>\nParis calling: Outsiders’\u0099 baby steps<\/strong><\/h2>\n
YEKINDAR leaving Outsiders left the team without a true attacking identity. Image: Copyright ESL | Stephanie Lindgren<\/span><\/div>\nThe removal of Dauren ‘\u009cAdreN’\u009d Kystaubayev for the hyper-aggressive Latvian gave the team’\u0099s game plan another sorely needed dimension. The team took a couple of months to settle in but rapidly improved in the second half of 2020. With YEKINDAR as its spearhead, Virtus.pro triumphed at IEM New York CIS, 2-0ing NAVI twice in the process, went flawless in Flashpoint 2 and beat Gambit to the DreamHack Open December title.<\/p>\n
As 2021 rolled around VP remained in title contention for most of the season, winning another trophy at cs_summit 7 in their debut. However, the team couldn’\u0099t keep up with the ever-rising Gambit and NAVI, who elevated their playstyle and dominated most big events. The keyword for Sanjar ‘\u009cSANJI’\u009d Kuliev’\u0099s team was a disappointment, as VP were unable to put together deep runs outside of second place at IEM Katowice. Playoff exits at EPL Season 13, IEM Summer and IEM Cologne meant other missed opportunities, which led the organization to make an unexpected change.<\/p>\n
Days before the PGL Major in Stockholm, VP replaced SANJI with long-time forZe star Evgenii “\u00e2\u0081\u00a0FL1T\u00e2\u0081\u00a0” Lebedev, calling it a temporary change with the aim to achieve the best possible result in Sweden. The result was much the same, with the team narrowly qualifying for the playoffs before losing to Heroic in a tight quarterfinal. The quintet then reached the semifinals of IEM Winter, their final event of 2021, but couldn’\u0099t capitalize on Gambit’\u0099s elimination and fell to eventual winners Vitality.<\/p>\n
The Russian invasion of Ukraine would mean the end of the roster, which crashed out of Pro League and the PGL Major in Antwerp among rumors of internal turmoil. YEKINDAR and Timur ‘\u009cbuster’\u009d Tulepov were benched and replaced by n0rb3r7 and Petr ‘\u009cfame’\u009d Bolyshev, leading to the birth of the IEM Rio-winning quintet. Predictably, the team established itself as a lower-tier contender by triumphing at ESL Challenger Rotterdam, but crashed out of two of the three big events it attended in last place, unable to keep up with the best international quintets.<\/p>\n
fame ended up as one of the breakthrough players of 2022. Image: Copyright ESL | Helena Kristiansson<\/span><\/div>\nVersatility and aggressiveness: KaiR0N-‘\u0099s present and future<\/strong><\/h2>\nKaiR0N- has showcased his prowess on the rifle over the course of 2022, a year he started as a member of Spirit Academy as he allegedly failed his main-roster trial because of a role overlap with Robert ‘\u009cPatsi’\u009d Isyanov. The young Russian did not disappoint, ending the third season of WePlay Academy League as the fourth highest-rated player and leading the event in opening kills per round. The good form continued in INDE IRAE and Aurora, the latter bringing KaiR0N- to the IEM Rio RMR after a successful qualification campaign. His performances on LAN would be disappointing, as Aurora finished the event in last place, but that was to be expected as the young roster was anything but a contender.<\/p>\n
With this context, can KaiR0N- be this quintet’\u0099s YEKINDAR and revitalize a roster apparently incapable of challenging for big titles?\u00a0 The similarities don’\u0099t stop at the transfer itself, as KaiR0N- is an aggressive T and CT side playmaker in the same vein as the Latvian star or MOUZ’\u0099s Dorian ‘\u009cxertioN’\u009d Berman. This tendency is confirmed by stats, as Anashkin took opening duels in 29.1% of T-side rounds in 2022, only trailing Vladislav ‘\u009cnafany’\u009d Gorshkov, YEKINDAR and Patsi in the CIS region. The Outsiders roster had sorely missed such a consistently aggressive presence, especially as n0rb3r7 converted his T-side team-leading 25.3% opening kill attempts less than 40% of the time.<\/p>\n
If KaiR0N- can definitely expand Outsiders’\u0099 playbook by acting as a punishing space creator, his CT side roles will be even more interesting to assess. In part due to Dzhami ‘\u009cJame’\u009d Ali’\u0099s passive AWP style, Outsiders lack variety and proactivity on their defensive halves, usually relying on FL1T and fame for information-taking or early-round plays. Unfortunately for the Russian outfit, as seen in other teams with snipers not known for their aggressiveness, such as Dmitry ‘\u009csh1ro’\u009d Sokolov in C9 or Helvijs ‘\u009cbroky’\u009d Saukants in FaZe, a strong rifling presence is needed to avoid opposing teams collapsing onto sites undisturbed.<\/p>\n
In Outsiders’\u0099 opening match against fnatic, KaiR0N- mostly replaced n0rb3r7 in his anchor roles, usually reserved for a team’\u0099s more supportive elements. Although he has shown promise in his B-site Mirage holds, it’\u0099s still unknown if other spots will be progressively transferred to Qikert, the team’\u0099s worst-performing member. However, with the inclusion of a playmaker like KaiR0N- allowing them to survive more frequently into the late round, fame and FL1T have also shown the potential to flourish more and transform into consistent Tier-1 threats.<\/p>\n
KaiR0N-‘\u0099s signing shows Virtus.pro’\u0099s willingness to take risks in order to avoid mediocrity. Copyright: Virtus.pro<\/span><\/div>\nParis calling: Outsiders’\u0099 baby steps<\/strong><\/h2>\n
KaiR0N-‘\u0099s signing shows Virtus.pro’\u0099s willingness to take risks in order to avoid mediocrity. Copyright: Virtus.pro<\/span><\/div>\n