Let’s decode the bullsh*t PR statement issued by Virtus Pro on Pure’s termination and the apparent harsh punishment handed by Valve.
Virtus Pro’s statement
Right after the incident with Pure during game 1 we contacted Valve and the tournament organizer while conducting our own investigation. Sergey Glamazda, CEO of Virtus.pro, personally talked to the players between the games to find out more about what happened. Pure publicly explained himself right after the game. BTS also contacted other players of our team to hear their side of the story. We were notified that the final decision was up to the publisher.
What they really meant
Right after Pure showed his support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we went into damage control as we knew that there was no way we could say anything against the player.
Virtus Pro’s statement
The severity of the punishment is shocking. Valve has a certain history of imposing disciplinary measures, but disqualifying the whole team from a DPC tournament based on a drawing on a minimap by a single player sets up a whole new precedent.
What they really meant
Since we’re indirectly financed by the Russian government, the best that we could do was a pathetic show of ourselves, while we tried to frame ourselves as victims of the obviously deserved ruling that Valve and BTS reached.
The severity of the punishment allows us to play the victim card, which we wouldn’t have to play if we weren’t supported by Russian government money.
Virtus Pro’s statement
Any actions have consequences, whether intentional or not. Virtus.pro has been consistently opposing any cases of inciting hatred in esports. The club terminates contract with Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko for his diminishing actions that led to disqualification from the tournament and caused a great deal of harm to our relationship with the worldwide esports society.
Further changes in our roster will be announced shortly.
What they really meant
Because that cost us a DPC tournament spot, we terminated our contract with Pure, as if that would make us look better to the esports community after we didn’t go against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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