Virtus.pro replace Xoma with PASHANOJ

Virtus.pro  has moved head coach Andrey "⁠Xoma⁠" Mironenko to the bench and replaced him with their analyst, Pavel "⁠ PASHANOJ ⁠" Legostaev, ending the former's short-lived three-month stint as the team's skipper. The decision was "made after detailed discussions with the players of the team," according to the announcement on the organization's website.

The change comes amidst  Virtus.pro 's continued struggles since the blockbuster signing of Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov in April. The team initially made playoffs of ESL Pro League Season 19 and reached the semis of Esports World Cup and BLAST Spring Final, but evidence of a stylistic mismatch between players quickly became evident and VP has been unable to find a solution.

In June, Xoma replaced long-time head coach Dastan "⁠dastan⁠" Akbayev as the organization made its first change in an effort to turn things around. However, the same stylistic issues and drop-off in performance from Evgenii "⁠ FL1T ⁠" Lebedev continued to plague the team as they failed at BLAST Fall Groups, IEM Cologne, BetBoom Dacha, and BLAST Fall Showdown.

"Xoma is a talented coach with a deep understanding of the game," Virtus.pro CEO Nikolai Petrossian stated about the change on the organization's website. "We sincerely thank him for his work and dedication. Currently, Virtus.pro management, together with Andrey, is working on finding the best option for his future career."

PASHANOJ  has been  Virtus.pro 's analyst since July 2023 and briefly stepped in as coach between dastan's dismissal and Xoma's appointment at BLAST Spring Final, where VP finished in 3-4th place. He was previously the assistant coach of  K23  and takes over as VP's skipper ahead of their ESL Pro League Season 20 campaign.

The club now needs to focus on the current challenges the CS2 roster is facing, so we will refrain from additional comments on this situation," Petrossian's statement concluded.

Virtus.pro  is now:

 Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov
 Evgenii "⁠ FL1T ⁠" Lebedev
 Dzhami "⁠Jame⁠" Ali
 David "⁠n0rb3r7⁠" Danielyan
 Petr "⁠fame⁠" Bolyshev

 Pavel "⁠ PASHANOJ ⁠" Legostaev (coach)

 Nikolay "⁠mir⁠" Bityukov (substitute)
 Andrey "⁠Xoma⁠" Mironenko (benched)