Ivan “F_1N” Kochugov has decided to resign from Virtus.pro effective immediately, the organization announced on November 12th. The Russian head coach leaves the team a few weeks after they hit rock bottom and fumbled their qualification for the StarLadder Budapest Major.
This forces Virtus.pro to explore the market for a new CS2 head coach once again this year. In 2024, Virtus.pro released both Dastan “dastan” Akbayev and Andrey “Xoma” Mironenko before signing Pavel “PASHANOJ” Legostaev.
The Russian team parted ways with PASHANOJ in April before picking up F_1N. With his help, they qualified for the BLAST.tv Austin Major, but the team have been massively underperforming in this second part of the season.
Before F_1N resigned, Virtus.pro had tons of player changes: academy players Vadim “tO0RO” Arkov and Vladimir “b1st” Krasikov were promoted in September to replace Denis “electroNic” Sharipov and Kaisar “ICY” Faiznurov, and Ilya “Perfecto” Zalutskiy was made the new IGL.
F_1N’s decision to leave Virtus.pro surprised the team, according to CEO Nikolai Petrossian.
Ivan’s decision to resign came as a surprise to everyone at the club. However, we understood his request and relieved him of his position. On behalf of the club, I express my gratitude to Ivan for his time with us. I wish him success in his future endeavors.
TaZ could be a great coach for Virtus.pro. Credit: Viola Sophie Schuldner | © ESL
Understandably so, Virtus.pro hasn’t got a new CS2 coach lined up. But, the organization said it will announce a new one “soon.”
Unless Virtus.pro signs up for a tier-two tournament, their year is pretty much finished as a consequence of missing the StarLadder Budapest Major. So, the organization should take all the time in the world to find a coach whose vision aligns with the current players and can provide steady leadership for 2026.
Even though Virtus.pro are currently a full-Russian team, perhaps they could explore international waters. If the organization wishes to go down that pathway, Wiktor “TaZ” Wojtas could be an interesting name.
The Polish veteran has been away from competition since G2 parted ways with him in June. During his time with them, they won multiple titles, such as the IEM Dallas 2024, BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024, and the BLAST Premier World Final 2024.
TaZ is one of Virtus.pro most legendary players, having represented the organization for many years, and most notably winning the EMS Katowice Major 2014 alongside Jarosław “pashaBiceps” Jarząbkowski, Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski, Filip “NEO” Kubski, and Paweł “byali” Bieliński
Feature image credit: Sebastian Pandelache | © PGL
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