Virtus.pro Secures Long-Term Contract with mir
| Tags: CS:GO
| Author The Old One
27-Year-Old Mir Set To Debut For Virtus.pro on July 8
Nikolay “mir” Bityokov makes headlines as the surprise addition to the roster of Virtus.pro.The organization signed the Russian on a long-term contract on July 1, and he is lined up to play his first match for Virtus.pro in Buenos Aires this Saturday, July 8. Having replaced the injured David ‘n0rb3r7’ Danielyan, the 27-year-old rifler will be expected to make an impact.
mir’s previous experience truly establishes himself as a force to be reckoned with, having played in two top-tier teams, including Entropig and Spirit, for whom he averaged a 1.6 rating, 1.27 impact and 0.80 KRP over 86 maps, and 1.20 rating, 1.25 impact and 0.77 KRP over 513 maps respectively.
Although he was the torchbearer for both teams, CIS insider Alexey “OverDrive” Birukov previously pointed out that mir had a vision and play style from the game that he zealously did not deter from. This also probably led to him being a difficult teammate and might explain his reason for absence from the top-tier Counter-Strike scene.
Due to the 22-year-old n0rb3r7’s injury, he will be replaced by the Russian rifler in Virtus.pro’s match against 9z in the FiReLEAGUE Battle 2023. Will this switch be permanent? That is unsure as Virtus.pro has announced they will reveal updates for the active roster that will attend the upcoming tournaments later.
Although the Russian organization's announcement surprised everyone, having just won the ESL Challenger Katowice, there were other times n0rb3r7 had been replaced. He had also been previously replaced by Aleksandr “KaiR0N-” Anashkin but made his surprise comeback for the BLAST.tv Paris Major.
Virtus.pro CEO Nikolai Petrossian shared his reasons behind the shuffle, stating that mir showcased seasoned talent in his role and formed strong bonds with his teammates. Nikolai also believes that with mir's experience and the support of the coaching staff, the Russian is poised for sure success with the team.
Virtus.pro’s roster currently includes:
- Dastan “dastan” Akbayev (Coach)
- Dzhami “Jame” Ali
- Alexey “Qikert” Golubev
- Evgenii “FL1T” Lebedev
- Petr “fame” Bolyshev
- David “n0rb3r7” Danielyan (injured)
- Nikolay “mir” Bityukov (stand-in)