Virtus Pro is set to rebuild its Dota 2 team after benching carry Alexandr “krylat” Krylatov and position five Andrey “Dukalis” Kuropatkins.
The roster change comes after a shaky performance at DPC EEU 2023 Tour One: Division One, in which they finished in fourth place behind BetBoom Team, Team Spirit, and HellRaisers, and consequently failed to qualify for the Dota 2 Lima Major.
Dukalis joined VP on Dec. 6, 2022, when the organization put together a new roster for the 2023 season and krylat left Team Empire Hope to sign with VP on Dec. 23, 2022 and replace Kamil “Koma`” Biktimirov, who had been slapped with a Valve and PGL ban due to account sharing and impersonating players from other teams during tournaments.
VP is parting ways with krylat and Dukalis because it sees an opportunity to recruit new players and improve both in the short and long-term, according to the organization’s head of the Dota 2 department Alexander “StrangeR” Solomonov.
“I want to make things clear by saying that there were no internal conflicts or insurmountable disagreements within the team,” StrangeR said in an official statement. “The decision to move Alexandr [krylat] and Andrey [Dukalis] out of the active roster is dictated by the recently emerged opportunity of inviting new players, capable of making our team better in both short and long-term perspectives. It was a tough decision, but a necessary one.”
Krylat and Dukalis likely won’t stay on VP’s bench for long as the organization said it’s ready to consider “different options” for the players so they can continue their careers elsewhere.
The Russian organization is working with a list of potential candidates to complete the team and will reveal more details about the new roster soon.
