BLAST Paris Major 2023 allows Virtus.pro to compete under the name Virtus.pro on the upcoming RMR.
In March of last year, due to the impact of the Russian-Uzbekistan war, ESL banned clubs associated with the Russian government from participating in its CSGO competitions, so Jame and others could only participate in activities under the name of Outsiders. It is expected that Jame, who is wearing a VP shirt, will make his debut at the Major Europe RMR event in Paris on April 6-9.
Although ESL has imposed various sanctions on VP clubs, VP players can still participate in CSGO events under the name of Outsiders. It is worth mentioning that Jame also won the championship of Rio Major in the name of Outsiders. A similar experience occurred with Gambit, a club that had to sell its players due to restrictions. Nafany and others initially played under the name of Players and eventually joined the Cloud 9 team.
In fact, half a year ago, the ownership of the VP club had changed. VP was first sold to Emin Antonyan, a former ESforce CEO, and Aram Karamanukyan, an Armenian businessman. Aram Karamanukyan briefly served as VP CEO, but later the VP CEO position fell to Nikolai Petrosian, a former ESforce CEO. In the view of the event organizers, today’s VP has no affiliation with the Russian government. Therefore, BLAST will remove the VP entry ban from March 22, and ESL will remove the entry ban from March 28.
The VP Club originally sold for approximately $2.8 million. VP CEO Nikolai Petrosian also expressed excitedly, “We are pleased that BLAST and ESL have decided to bring Virtus.pro back into their game, and numerous reviews have proven that the club meets the requirements to return to the game.”
Nikolai Petrosian, CEO of VP Club, said:
“We are pleased that BLAST and ESL have decided to bring Virtus.pro back into their game, and numerous reviews have confirmed that the club meets the requirements to return to the game.”
In fact, FISSURE is the first event organizer to allow VP to participate in the competition. Recently, they invited Jame and his teammates to participate in the BetBoom Playlist Urban 2023 quarterfinals. The BLAST decision takes effect immediately, and the ESL will have to wait until the end of EPL S17.
