We’ve learned Russian esports team Virtus.pro says ESL suspension is cancel culture, as more tech and gaming companies cut off Russia and parties with ties to Russia.
Previously, Virtus.pro and Gambit were the only two esports teams to get suspended as a result of ESL’s audit of the various teams under their umbrella. Virtus.pro is naturally not happy with the suspension.
“There are no rational reasons to suspend us from playing in tournaments, apart from prejudice and pressure from the outside,” the team said in a new statement. “It happened in Dubai with a WePlay event, and it keeps on happening.”
The aforementioned Dubai WePlay event, which is not associated with ESL, apparently drew the same line as ESL and required Virtus.pro to compete without their tag, jersey, and “affiliation to any particular club or country.” Virtus.pro refused, and subsequently got disqualified (via Yahoo!) from the tournament.
When ESL suspended the two teams, they noted at the time they would suspend any “individuals or organizations under alleged or confirmed EU sanctions related to the [Ukrainian] conflict,” suggesting both teams are directly affiliated with the Russian government.
Following the ESL suspension and now the WePlay disqualification, Virtus.pro said the suspension and situation altogether are “a prime example of the cancel culture,” but said they wouldn’t prohibit their players from competing in non-Virtus colors if they wanted to.
“They spend lots of time to become pro players, and unlike some tournament operators, we are not ready to invalidate someone else’s efforts,” Virtus.pro said. “Our players will always be ‘The Bears.’ If they decide to play at the tournament, we will support their decision.”
Virtus.pro is a large player in the worldwide esports scene as they’ve won a record five Dota 2 Majors, as well as the EMS One Katowice 2014 CS:GO Major.
While Virtus.pro says ESL suspension is cancel culture, comparatively, fellow Russian esports outing Team Spirit wore non-branded “Peace” jerseys to their first playoff game, “in order to call for a peaceful end to the war.”
As the war in Ukraine continues, more tech and gaming companies have been cutting off services to Russia and Russian-affiliated groups – the latest being Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal cutting off services to the country. Activision Blizzard halted sales in Russia, Microsoft also halted sales and services, and Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt RED halted their sales in Russia.
