The organisation, with many well-recognised players such as JoyStiCK and ShepparD, competed under “Outsiders” in 2022
Virtus.pro are back! Ubisoft announced that for the 2023 season, Virtus.pro will be allowed to compete with its own name, after a year of being disallowed from doing so. The players were known under the “Outsiders” name throughout the last year of competition, due to Ubisoft sanctions.
Why was Virtus.pro sanctioned?
The organisation Virtus.pro is owned by ESforce Holding, which itself is owned by VK, the largest Russian social network. Its CEO was sactioned by European and American governments following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, leading to sanctions against Virtus.pro being allowed to compete in various games, such as Rainbow Six Siege and Dota 2.
However, these actions are now being reversed, with Value allowing Virtus.pro to compete in its leagues, and Ubisoft doing the same. Therefore, we are seeing Virtus.pro compete once again in the European League.