OG has confirmed the benching of Danish rifler Valdemar “valde” Vangså one day after French outlet 1pv.fr reported that he and Nikolaj “niko” Kristensen were about to be cut.
Valde joined OG from North in December 2019 when the European organization known for its Dota 2 team entered the professional CS:GO scene. He experienced mixed results during his stint, though. OG never became a top team, failed to qualify for the two Majors Valve hosted, and did not win a big tournament. Valde’s best result with OG was second place in Flashpoint season two in December 2020.
OG’s decision to make a roster change comes after the squad did not qualify for the PGL Antwerp Major last month. The Europeans are now down to just Mateusz “mantuu” Wilczewski, Shahar “flameZ” Shushan, Nemanja “nexa” Isaković, and Nikolaj “niko” Kristensen, who could be the next one moved to the bench.
“I have been very happy here at OG and appreciate the people and the culture here,” valde told OG’s official website. “But sometimes you grow apart. In this case we’re seeing the road to achieve greatness differently and after a very disappointing RMR we have had long talks and have agreed to go our separate ways. Therefore we have agreed that I will step aside, while I spend my focus and energy on finding a new home where I can pursue my immediate ambitions.”
Teams interested in acquiring the services of valde will likely have to buy him out of his contract with OG. The Danish rifler said today in an interview with Dexerto that he wants to play for a top team and win championships. He was in talks to join Evil Geniuses for the 2022 season but the deal didn’t come to fruition.
