pashaBiceps says a Mercedes destroyed Virtus.pro’s CSGO team

Esports squads like Virtus.pro can break up for all sorts of reasons, but getting a Mercedes-Benz as a gift is a weird one.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive legend Jarosław “pashaBiceps” Jarząbkowski has finally revealed why the revered Virtus.pro roster of the late 2010s disbanded. According to an interview with a Polish publication, the dissolution began due to management rewarding a player with a Mercedes-Benz.

According to pashaBiceps, Virtus.pro management wanted to reward a specific player with a Mercedes-Benz vehicle for a good performance at a DreamHack event. The exact tournament was not specified, but the timeline appears to match up with DreamHack Masters Las Vegas 2017.

In-game leader Filip “NEO” Kubski was apparently omitted from the prize due to his status as captain. The reward wound up going to Wiktor “TaZ” Wojtas, who ended the event with a 1.01 KDA and a 53.9% headshot rate. While very impressive stats, TaZ arguably performed the worst of all five players during their $200,000 championship run. 

This decision allegedly led to a massive drop in motivation from NEO. pashaBiceps stated that the IGL felt unappreciated for his work during the event, which made him pessimistic about his future on the squad. Such feelings would eventually lead to the dissolution of the legendary Virtus.pro roster over a Mercedes-Benz. In fact, TaZ was the first player to leave the squad in early 2018.

The old Virtus.pro roster featuring pashaBiceps is one of the most legendary teams in CSGO history. The squad stuck together for years without a single roster change, achieving excellent results almost every year. The team won a Valve Major at Katowice 2014 and placed second at ELEAGUE Major: Atlanta 2017. TaZ’s departure in 2018 lines up with pashaBiceps story. If true, this Mercedes-Benz mishap wound up destroying the most rock-solid roster in CSGO history.

What’s up with esports players getting cars as gifts?

While possibly the most destructive instance of it, the old Virtus.pro breaking up over a Mercedes is not the only time a car has driven a wedge into an esports team. Multiple teams across countries and games have earned cars as a reward for good performances. Sometimes this can end well, but other times, it can destroy entire teams. 

As a positive example, multiple Dota 2 tournaments have given out a Mercedes-Benz to tournament MVPs. In one case, then-TNC Predator captain Park “March” Tae-won won his very first car this way. Vladimir “No[o]ne” Minenko has even won a pair of Mercedes thanks to winning multiple sponsored MVPs.

For another unfortunate example, Chinese Dota 2 organization Invictus Gaming allegedly promised its star midlaner Luo “Ferrari_430” Feichi an actual Ferrari after a great performance at The International 2016. Unofficial info claimed that the organization defaulted on this offer. This possibly resulted in Ferrari leaving the team after an extended run with the organization.

Car gifts in esports are a trait stolen from traditional sports. It’s a great motivator and a powerful flex for clubs that can afford such extravagant bonuses. Soccer club Real Madrid received $2.4 million worth of Audi cars as a Christmas gift in 2019. While such generosity is uncommon in esports, it’s tough to find esports players willing to turn down a gifted car.