Vitality's CS:GO team has dropped out of the next BLAST Pro Series event, which is set to begin this weekend in Moscow, Russia. This follows their recent decision to remove Nathan "NBK-" Schmitt from the active lineup. Vitality's spot will be filled by both Avangar and ForZe, who were meant to fight for a spot in the event in a play-in preceding the tournament.
Vitality will no longer compete in the Moscow tournament due to their inability to field a full roster. The French squad moved rifler Nathan "NBK-" Schmitt to the bench last week after their disappointing exit from the StarLadder Berlin Major. NBK- had been a part of the team since the roster first formed in October of last year. Vitality hit their stride throughout 2019, winning both cs_summit 4 and the ECS Season 7 Finals. They eventually peaked at a top-2 ranking, making consistent play-off finishes and grand final appearances. The squad was heavily favored to make a deep run in the Berlin Major, though were upset in the quarter-finals by CIS underdogs Avangar. NBK- was removed from the roster on the following day.
BLAST Pro Series Moscow had originally had only five teams slated to participate, with the final team to be decided by a CIS Play-In. In response to Vitality's withdrawal, BLAST have decided to skip the play-in and fill the event with both teams who were hopeful to qualify. ForZe will now take part in the tournament, along with Berlin Major finalists Avangar. The event is set to begin on Friday, September 13th, with ForZe and Avangar taking on ENCE and Ninjas in Pyjamas, respectively, in the opening round.
There is currently no confirmation on who will be completing Vitality's roster, though a few names have been rumored. Former G2 star Richard "shox" Papillon and ex-Cloud9 member Fabien "kioShiMa" Fiey have both been in talks with the organization, as reported by 1pv.fr. The French website also claims that kioShiMa is favored by Vitality to fill the vacancy. Vitality is next expected at DreamHack Masters Malmö in early October.
BLAST Pro Series Moscow will run through Saturday, September 14th. The champion team will take home the lion's share of the $250,000 prize pool.