Virtus.pro

Lore & Background

Virtus.pro's Dota 2 team has participated in multiple Majors, winning a record (tied with Team Secret) 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 Major and several other premier tournaments. VP's 2022 CS:GO team, with CIS players, won the IEM Rio Major 2022 under the name Outsiders. VP are also members of the Esports World Cup Foundation Club Support Program, funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

In Their Own Story

The air in the arena was thick with tension, the roar of the crowd muffled by the headset filters worn by the five players. On the screen, the dust of Dust II settled around the bombsite as the round timer ticked down. It was Virtus.pro's turn to hold. With a calm exchange of pings and a silent nod, they executed a strategy rehearsed thousands of times. The enemy rushed B; the trap was sprung. In that split second of chaos, the Russian squad moved with mechanical precision, turning defense into offense before the bomb could even be planted.

Reader's Guide

Ownership and naming: In November 2015, the team got an investment of over US$100,000,000 from Alisher Usmanov's USM Holdings. 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 continued to play in CS:GO as Outsiders. The new CEO claimed that he 'contacted ESL [CS:GO tournament operator] to discuss the matter of performing under the name Virtus.pro' and 'provided all supporting documents and are now awaiting a decision.' On 22 March 2023, CS:GO tournament organizers lifted their bans on the Virtus.pro name.

Did You Know?

• Virtus.pro was founded in 2003, not 2004.
• VP's Polish CS:GO team won the EMS One Katowice 2014 Major.
• VP's 2022 CS:GO team won the IEM Rio Major 2022 under the name Outsiders.
• Virtus.pro's Dota 2 team won a record 5 Majors (tied with Team Secret).
• The organization was acquired by Armenian investor Aram Karamanukyan in September 2022.