Counter Strike 2: Virtus.pro benched and transfer listed lurker FL1T and rifler fame..

Russian Counter Strike 2 powerhouse Virtus.pro announced on Tuesday via its official X (Twitter) account that it has decided to bench lurker FL1T and rifler fame, effective immediately.

According to Virtus.pro's official statement, after careful consideration and internal discussions, the club has initiated the necessary procedures to remove the two players from the current roster and has placed them on the transfer list. They also welcome any clubs interested in signing FL1T and fame to approach them.

The benching of FL1T and fame is closely related to the team's poor start to 2026.

Virtus.pro's record in 2026 series tournaments is 0-5. They finished last in both BLAST Bounty Season 1 and CCT Season 3 European Series #13. During this period, they were also eliminated in the domestic offline tournament, Exort Cataclysm, losing to RUSTEC and WW, becoming the team's most embarrassing performance.

Following the announcement of his benching, FL1T said via his personal social media account: "Hi everyone! A new chapter in my career has begun - it's time to express my sincerest gratitude to my talented teammates and everyone who has worked with me and accompanied me to the end. A new phase lies ahead, and I hope it will be even more exciting. Thank you all, hugs."

It's worth mentioning that FL1T and Fame are actually the third active player to be benched by Virtus.pro.

On February 4th, Virtus.pro also benched their in-game leader, former NAVI ace player Perfecto.

Since then, the team has entered a "temporary adjustment period" to find the "optimal lineup."

HLTV also revealed that Virtus.pro's upcoming roster adjustments are expected to revolve around their emotional trio b1st, tO0RO, and head coach ProbLeM.

After benching Perfecto, FL1T, and Fame, Virtus.pro will lose a certain number of VRS points. However, since the team only had 981 points and was ranked 93rd in the world, the impact wasn't significant.

FL1T has been with the team for over 1350 days, during which time he helped them win major trophies such as the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Rio Major and ESL Challenger Katowice.

Previously, FL1T and fame temporarily formed AY4S and attempted to participate in the IEM Atlanta 2026 qualifiers, but subsequently withdrew for unknown reasons.

The current Virtus.pro roster is:

AWP-er: b1st

Rifler: tO0RO

Coach: ProbLeM

Rifler: fame (benched)

Lurker: FL1T (benched)

In-game Leader / Rifler: Perfecto (benched)

Image source: Internet / Virtus.pro official X (Twitter) account