Virtus.pro said Friday that the organization and rifler Aleksey “Qikert” Golubev have mutually decided it’s time for a change of scenery for the Counter-Strike Global Offensive player.

“In any sport, there comes a time when players need a new challenge,” said Nikolai Petrossian, CEO of Russia-based Virtus.pro. “Qikert has been playing in this roster for many years, winning a lot of important trophies. We had a long discussion with Aleksey and the coaching staff, and together we came to the conclusion that he needs to discover new opportunities and restart his career.

“Everyone understands that Qikert is a very high level player, but we all need to move on. His talents and experience will be useful to so many teams, so I have no doubt that he will find a place for himself in the competitive scene.”

While Qikert will continue with Virtus.pro for now, Petrossian said the organization is “ready to negotiate on all the proposals that will suit both the club and the player.”

Qikert, a 24-year-old from Kazakhstan, joined Virtus.pro in December 2019. In the past year, the team has finished first at ESL Challenger Katowice 2023 and DreamHack Rotterdam 2022, as well as at the 2022 Rio Major.

“It’s time for me to get out of my comfort zone,” Qikert said. “We maintain a friendly relationship with all the guys, and will keep playing together in the next tournaments until a transfer offer is received. We are ready for changes that will benefit us all in the long run.”

The current Virtus.pro roster also includes Dzhami “Jame” Ali, Evgeny “FL1T” Lebedev, David “n0rb3r7” Daniyelyan, Petr “fame” Bolyshev and Nikolay “mir” Bityukov.

–Field Level Media