Russian esports organization Virtus.pro will be signing CIS Counter-Strike squad Avangar, according to a recent report from DBLTAP. This transfer comes a few months after Avangar made an unexpected run to the Grand Final of the StarLadder Berlin Major. Virtus.pro have been without a top-tier CS:GO team since 2017.

Virtus.pro has been a mainstay organization in Counter-Strike, having sponsored the legendary Polish lineup that won the 2014 EMS Katowice Major. Under the VP name, Filip “NEO” Kubski and co. were ranked as the best CS:GO team in the world in 2016. The team won the ESL ESEA Dubai Invitational 2015, Eleague Season 1, and DreamHack Masters Las Vegas 2017, among others. The organization still fields a Polish roster, though Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski is the only remaining player from the original lineup. Recent results include a third place finish at DreamHack Open Atlanta and a second place finish at the V4 Future Sports Festival 2019. Virtus.pro have not participated in a CS:GO Major since their Main Qualifier elimination from FACEIT London in 2018.

via StarLadder

Avangar is a Kazakh-majority squad that has gained notoriety within the top CS:GO scene over the last few years. The team kicked off 2019 with a group stage appearance at the IEM Katowice Major, the best Major performance in the organization’s history at the time. Prior to the next Major, Avangar took victories at DreamHack Open Rio and the WePlay! Forge of Masters Season 1 Finals.

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Former Gambit and FaZe rifler Dauren “AdreN” Kystaubayev joined the team in June of this year. The team then qualified for the StarLadder Berlin Major group stage in August, and made a run to the event’s play-off stage. Avangar defeated Vitality and Renegades to advance to the Grand Final, where they ultimately lost to CS:GO powerhouse Astralis.

via StarLadder

Avangar attended BLAST Pro Series Moscow shortly after the Berlin Major, and took down Natus Vincere, MIBR, and ENCE to reach their second consecutive Grand Final. Russian squad ForZe stood as their opponent, and Avangar won the $250,000 tournament after a three-map series. More recent results for Avangar include a third place finish at DreamHack Open Rotterdam, a 9-12th place finish at StarSeries Season 8, and a 7-8th place exit from the ECS Season 8 Finals.

This move would mean a return to CIS Counter-Strike for Virtus.pro. The Russian organization sponsored CIS lineups in the early days of Global Offensive, including a team that featured AdreN. He left the organization in 2013 after eight months under the VP banner. It is unclear when this move is expected to go through, though the current Virtus.pro squad will be playing in cs_summit 5 later this week, while Avangar will be competing in EPICENTER 2019 later this month.

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