VP officially activated youth player b1st for CAC 2025, but did not relegate ICY to the bench.

Russian professional Counter-Strike team VP announced on Wednesday that they have confirmed the signing of academy player Vladimir Krasikov (ID: b1st). b1st will replace Kaisar Faiznurov (ID: ICY) as the sniper at the 2025 Counter-Strike Asia Invitational (CAC 2025), but ICY will remain a member of the main roster.

According to the official announcement, this adjustment was jointly decided by the coaching staff and the players. Their purpose is to test new snipers and give young players a chance to make their mark on the international stage.

At only 17 years old, b1st has already demonstrated remarkable talent during his time with the VP.P Academy. He joined VP.P from FLuffy Gangsters in October 2024 and has played 33 maps and 768 rounds to date, achieving an ADR and KPR of 81.8 and 0.81, respectively, a KAST of 74.1%, and an average player rating of 1.20.

With the addition of b1st, VP's lineup for CAC 2025 is expected to be as follows:

Rifleman: Yevgeny Lebedev (ID: FL1T)

Rifleman: Peter Boreshev (ID: ⁠fame⁠)

Conductor: Ilya Zalutsky (ID: Perfecto)

Rifleman: Vadim Alkov (ID: tO0RO)

Vladimir Krasikov (ID: b1st)

Coach: Ivan Kochugov (ID: F_1N)