After failing to qualify for The International 2022, reports claiming that Virtus Pro was planning to scrap its Dota 2 roster surfaced because results and the team atmosphere weren’t there. And the reports were confirmed today when VP welcomed a new Dota 2 roster to the org while its former members continue to look for new homes for the 2023 DPC season.
With RAMZES666, yamich, and Xakoda out of the picture, only gpk and DM remained in the lineup, but the two were moved to the inactive roster after today’s announcement. VP’s 2023 roster consists of Kamil “Koma`” Biktimirov, Ilya “squad1x” Kuvaldin, Evgeniy “Noticed” Ignatenko, Oleg “sayuw” Kalenbet, and Andrey “Dukalis” Kuropatkin, an unproven squad compared to the organization’s previous iterations.
While there are lots of unknowns surrounding the new members of VP, some actually had impressive seasons in 2022. Noticed is coming off a rather successful stint with BetBoom Team, where he attended TI11, placing last. Dukalis, on the other hand, is coming back to the Eastern European DPC after getting a taste of WEU qualifiers with Alliance.
Considering VP’s high standards and the level of internal competition within the EEU DPC, VP’s new roster will strive to prove themselves so they can make it to the Major events throughout the year. As one of the most dominant organizations within the region, a decline in recent years and missing TI11 was something unacceptable for VP, and starting fresh can help the org reach its glory days if the team happens to have good chemistry.
The fates of the former VP members are currently still being determined and they only have a few days before the roster lock date. Rumors are claiming DM might end up on OG as the team’s offlaner, but there have been no confirmations so far. Failing to find a team in time might mean that the ex-VP players may need to sit out the first DPC tour.
