Virtus.pro (VP) is an international esports organization that was started in 2003 in Russia. In 2022, the organization was bought by Armenian investors, partly because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The group has players who compete in games such as Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Rainbow Six Siege, Warface, and EFT: Arena.
VP's Dota 2 team has taken part in many Majors, winning 5 of them and tying with Team Secret for the most Major wins. This team also became the top team in the first season of the Dota Pro Circuit. Their League of Legends team won the LCL Spring 2017 tournament.
VP's former Polish CS:GO team is regarded as one of the best teams in Counter-Strike history. This team won the EMS One Katowice 2014 Major and other major tournaments. In 2022, VP's CS:GO team, made up of players from countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), won the IEM Rio Major 2022 under the name Outsiders.
VP is also part of the Esports World Cup Foundation Club Support Program, which is supported by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.
Ownership and naming
In November 2015, the team received an investment of more than US$100,000,000 from Alisher Usmanov’s USM Holdings. From 2015 to 2022, Virtus.pro belonged to the ESforce Holding (and also to VK). In March 2022, Virtus.pro created a new team name, Outsiders, because tournament organizers required it due to claims about the team’s parent company (VK) having ties to the Russian government. The name Outsiders is neutral and does not imply any specific connection.
In September 2022, Virtus.pro announced that the club was bought by Armenian investor Aram Karamanukyan. He became the club’s new CEO. Since then, the club has competed under its original name, Virtus.pro, in Dota 2 and other games. However, it continued to play as Outsiders in CS:GO. The new CEO said he contacted ESL, the CS:GO tournament organizer, to discuss using the name Virtus.pro and shared all required documents, waiting for a decision.
On March 22, 2023, CS:GO tournament organizers removed their ban on using the name Virtus.pro.
Current divisions
On 25 January 2014, Virtus.pro signed the five-player roster of AGAiN, including Jarosław "pashaBiceps" Jarząbkowski, Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski, Paweł "byali" Bieliński, and Golden Five players Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas and Filip "Neo" Kubski. Virtus.pro won the EMS One Katowice 2014 tournament by defeating Ninjas in Pyjamas in the finals. The team then placed 5th–8th at ESL One Cologne 2014. In April 2015, Virtus.pro won at ESEA. The team later defeated Natus Vincere to win CEVO Season 7 in July 2014.
In October 2015, Virtus.pro joined an esports team trade union along with a dozen other teams.
In 2016, Virtus.pro reached the quarterfinals of MLG Columbus after defeating G2 Esports 2–0 in a best-of-three match. The team then won the inaugural ELeague season, earning $390,000. In December 2016, Virtus.pro re-signed its roster for another four years. In 2017, Virtus.pro finished 2nd at the ELEAGUE Atlanta major, winning $150,000, and won DreamHack Masters – Las Vegas 2017, earning $200,000. The team also finished 2nd at EPICENTER 2017, winning $100,000.
Due to poor results, on 13 December 2018, Virtus.pro’s CS:GO roster was suspended. "Vegi" replaced "Toao" in the active squad, and "Snax" took over the IGL role in 2019. Because of poor results and dissatisfaction with the team, Paweł "byali" Bieliński left Virtus.pro. VP added Okoliciouz as a replacement for byali. Virtus.pro tested some players, benching Michał "Okoliciouz" Głowaty briefly and replacing him with Tomasz "phr" Wójcik. In 2019, Virtus.pro won the Polish Esport League Spring, earning $10,708. This was the first 1st-place finish since Adrenaline Cyber League 2017, which was won by the original roster. In December 2019, Virtus.pro announced the signing of the AVANGAR roster, benching the Polish roster.
In May 2020, Virtus.pro acquired "YEKINDAR" from pro100, with "buster" stepping down from the starting lineup. Additionally, "Flatra" joined as an assistant coach.
The roster competed under the name "Outsiders" from early March 2022 after several tournament organizers banned esports teams suspected of having ties to the Russian government. Under the "Outsiders" tag, the team won IEM Rio Major 2022, defeating Heroic in the final. On 22 March 2023, ESL and BLAST lifted the ban on Virtus.pro.
On 17 December 2023, Virtus.pro defeated Apeks at ESL Challenger Atlanta 2023, where Pyotr "fame" Bolyshev received his first-ever HLTV MVP award. Their victory qualified the team for ESL Pro League Season 19.
On 14 April 2024, Virtus.pro announced the signing of former Natus Vincere and Cloud9 player Denis "electroNic" Sharipov. On 25 June 2025, Virtus.pro completed its Counter-Strike 2 roster with the addition of Ilya "Perfecto" Zalutskiy, who took over the slot previously held by Timur "FL4MUS" Marev.
Virtus.pro attended The International 2014 and placed 5th–6th at The International 2015. The team failed to qualify for The International 2016 but reformed shortly after. In November 2016, the team won The Summit 6 LAN event, defeating OG 3–0 in a best-of-five series. Virtus.pro placed 5th–6th at The International 2017. In 2017, Virtus.pro won ESL One Hamburg 2017, the first major of the 2017–2018 Dota Pro Circuit season. In 2018, Virtus.pro won four majors: ESL One Katowice 2018, The Bucharest Major, and ESL One Birmingham 2018. They became the first team to win two ESL One majors back-to-back. In the 2018–2019 Dota Pro Circuit season, they won the first major of the season, the Kuala Lumpur Major.
Despite finishing second in the 2018–2019 Dota Pro Circuit season and being a favorite to win The International 2019, Virtus.pro was eliminated by Royal Never Give Up, finishing 9th–12th. After this, the roster was rebuilt, with Ramzes and 9pasha leaving the team after three years. Austin "Cap" Walsh stated that the previous roster was unsalvageable due to poor results at The International tournaments.
On 1 April 2020, Virtus.pro announced its second Dota 2 lineup: VP.Prodigy. On 17 May 2020, VP.Prodigy’s youth squad defeated Virtus.pro to win the Epic Prime League. In July 2020, Virtus.pro ranked among the top 3 in Europe and the CIS in terms of prize money, win percentages, and tournament placements during the quarantine period. On 5 November 2020, the team announced a new roster.
In 2021, the team faced challenges, including the suspension of its roster due to poor performance. In 2022, the team restructured its lineup and began competing under the name "Outsiders."
In 2023, the team’s name was restored, and it continued competing in various tournaments.
In 2024, Virtus.pro signed new rosters for multiple games, including Honor of Kings, Overwatch 2, and Marvel Rivals. The team also returned to games such as Apex Legends, WoT, and CoD: Warzone. In February 2025, Virtus.pro signed a men’s and women’s team for MLBB and a roster for Marvel Rivals.
Former divisions
On July 19, 2018, Virtus.pro started a Fortnite team. The first players were Arthur "7ssk7" Kurshin and Jamal "Jamside" Saydayev. On September 21, 2018, Dmitry "HURMA" Heins and Seid-Magomed "FiveSkill" Edilgireev joined the organization. On October 16, 2019, "FiveSkill" and "HURMA" left the team. On April 29, 2021, Virtus.pro announced they would temporarily stop competing in Fortnite.
Virtus.pro signed their first StarCraft II team in 2011. On July 1, 2014, the organization said they would close their StarCraft II section and focus on League of Legends instead.
In May 2024, Virtus.pro returned to Fortnite. They signed Maxwell "Astrea" Angel, the highest-ranked American player at the time. Angel left the team in September.
On June 28, 2014, Virtus.pro acquired the roster of Dragon Team. The team later ended. In November 2016, Virtus.pro restarted its League of Legends team and acquired the LCL spot of Vaevictis Syndicate. On September 19, 2017, the organization closed its League of Legends department.
On June 21, 2018, long before the game was released, Virtus.pro announced its first player in Artifact, Maria "Harleen" Kobzar, who previously played Hearthstone. On November 23, 2018, Artem "DrHippi" Kravets and Olzhas "Naiman" Batyrbekov joined the team. Artifact was released for sale on November 29, 2018. On February 27, 2019, "DrHippi" and "Harleen" left the team. On September 10, "Naiman" retired, and Virtus.pro stopped competing in Artifact.
On August 25, 2025, Virtus.pro announced it was ending its partnership with its Deadlock team, which it had signed on February 1, 2025. The organization said there was not enough information about Deadlock’s future in competitions and that the game was still in a beta testing phase.