CEO of Passion UA and Olexander Zinchenko told how the team broke through to the major, plans for the future and changes in the team

The Passion UA project has reached a new level after participating in the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024, where the team made its debut on the world stage.

Now that interest in the Ukrainian team is growing, the organization's CEO Artemis Ryabovs and owner Oleksandr Zinchenko, a football player of the Ukrainian national team and Arsenal, became guests of a large streaming podcast with commentator Leniniw. On the air, they shared unique details about transfers, the team's work, plans for the future, and the impact of playing at the major on the entire project.

Kane is a merit of ceh9
According to Artemis, it was the legend of Ukrainian esports, ceh9 , who suggested the candidacy of Mikhaylo “Kane” Blagin for the position of coach. After consultations, the coach was officially appointed. It is worth reminding that it was with Mikhaylo that the team held the Major in Shanghai and showed stable results, although the cooperation ended in early May.

Prize money after the major: equivalent instead of a car
Passion UA players did not receive the promised cars for reaching the major. As the CEO explained:

The guys didn't get the cars, but they got their equivalent. It was difficult to send money because our organization is registered in the UK. We send them money in installments, and they still haven't received the full amount.
CEO Artemis Ryabovs

Interest in players after the major
The day after the major ended, Passion UA started receiving offers for players. Fnatic contacted the club about the fear transfer the day after the tournament. And a few days later, Fnatic contacted us about Jambo , and there was interest from Falcons .

T.C.'s work and language adaptation
The new T.C. coach has already fully integrated into the process. As Artemis noted:

The theory is in English, in-game calls are in English, match analysis is in English, but the communication in the game is in Ukrainian. T.C. has already learned all the names of positions on the maps in Ukrainian. He fully understands what is happening on the server.
CEO Artemis Ryabovs

The CEO also promised that in six months the coach would be giving interviews in Ukrainian.

Funds from stickers and team funding
All the funds received from the stickers at the major were used to develop the team. Neither the CEO nor Zinchenko took a penny of the money.

“During the major in Shanghai, Passion UA earned an amount equal to the team's two-year budget.

Transfers: DemQQ and kvem
The DemQQ transfer cost us a quarter of Passion UA 's annual budget. We could have waited until his contract was over, but DemQQ is stupidly top.
CEO Artemis Ryabovs

On the situation with kvem :

There are no problems with the transfer of kvem now. Even if Bednarski goes to court, he is unlikely to win.
CEO Artemis Ryabovs

The updated roster of Passion UA :

JACKASMO
kvem
Topa
Woro2k
DemQQ
T.c (coach)

Development plan
The team is trusted for long-term development. The current roster has three more majors to break into the world's top 20 and gain a foothold in top-level tournaments.

We have plans to create our own academy. However, before that, we need to 'put our main squad on wheels' and only then focus on the academy
Oleksandr Zinchenko
In just 11 months, Passion UA has gone the way they had planned for themselves for three years: from launching the project to entering the mainstream. Transparency in finances, openness to the Ukrainian language, strategic transfers, and a professional media presence all indicate that we are not looking at a temporary focus on the backdrop of hype, but rather the foundation for the future flagship of Ukrainian CS2 .