Virtus.pro bolsters Dota 2 roster with former legend, youngster

Virtus.pro (VP) announced a significant shakeup to its roster today.

The team’s failure to secure a Major seat prompted the organization to bring back a familiar face in Artsiom “Fng” Barshak, who captained Virtus Pro during their successful 2015-2016 campaign. In addition to Fng, VP has also recruited the up-and-coming carry player Ilya “Kiritych” Ulyanov from Nemiga Gaming.

Despite signing a young and promising roster at the beginning of the 2023 Dota Pro Circuit, VP was blindsided by a permanent ban wave that involved one of its new recruits. VP then filled an open spot in its roster from a pool with a limited number of players since the free agency market had dried up at that point.

While Alexandr “krylat” Krylatov agreed to step up and fill the void of VP’s banned player Kamil “Koma” Biktimirov, it wasn’t enough to send the organization to the Lima Major. Considering there’s always a roster shuffle period after each Major, VP took the opportunity to bolster its ranks prior to the second tour.

With three youngsters and two veterans in the roster, fng and sayuw, VP hopes to strike out for that working formula. Given fng’s rich history with the organization that involves multiple tournament wins, fans might get to watch a completely different VP this season, aiming to make it to the Berlin Major.

The Eastern European DPC is scheduled to start in three days and VP will play their first match versus HellRaisers, a team that’s also in the middle of a roster change.