Virtus.pro has hit rock bottom after suffering a disappointing defeat at the Shanghai Major
CS212-02 23:00
Virtus.pro is the fifth CS2 team to be eliminated from the Perfect World Shanghai Major following a disappointing loss to Wildcard on Monday, December 2.
The Russian team led by Denis "electroNic" Sharipov and Dzhami "Jame" Ali struggled for most of the tournament, only managing one win against Rare Atom. Before losing to Wildcard, Virtus.pro also lost to MIBR and BIG.
This poor result at the Shanghai Major will certainly lead to roster changes during the mid-season break. Although Virtus.pro received praise for signing electroNic in April, the former Cloud9 and NAVI star never felt comfortable under Jame's unique tactical system.
Virtus.pro hasn't had good results all year, but this Wildcard elimination is the worst performance ever for the Russian team. Fans predicted Virtus.pro would at least make the top 16, so being eliminated in the Opening Round of the Shanghai Major was not ideal.
Wildcard 2-1 Virtus.pro at Shanghai Major
James and his teammates have never played so bad (Photo by Perfect World)
The qualifying series started well for Virtus.pro as they won Ancient, their map of choice, 13-10. However, they appeared out of place in both Inferno (July 13) and Anubis (August 13) afterwards.
While Virtus.pro showed a clear lack of cohesion, Wildcard's in-game leader Peter "stanislaw" Jarguz turned back the clock and showed off his full potential. The 30-year-old Canadian had key kills throughout the series and most importantly, his calling was sharp.
Wildcard performed well and most importantly read how Virtus.pro defended or attacked a bombsite.
This, combined with some truly terrible individual performances from Virtus.pro, made it impossible for the Russians to win the game. Jame and electroNic were supposed to be the main stars of the team, but instead, they were the most underrated players facing the Wildcard.
In contrast, the North American team saw Swedish ADC Love "phzy" Smidebrant dominate with AWP.
Full stats of Virtus.pro vs. Wildcard at Shanghai Major (Screenshot by esports.gg via HLTV.org)
This result is simply not good enough for Virtus.pro, who has five Major champions on its roster. Meanwhile, Wildcard played extremely well with a veteran IGL that most people had forgotten about and a trio of players still in development.
Wildcard will have the chance to continue to surprise when they take on Passion UA, another underdog, tomorrow for a spot in the top 16 of the Shanghai Major.
