YEKINDAR on continuing with Virtus.pro: "The future is uncertain"

1-3-2022 20:41

The Latvian star spoke about the potential consequences the Russian-Ukrainan conflict will have on him and his team.

As sanctions are imposed on Russian companies and sporting entities proceed to ban Russian representatives from participating in competitions as a response to the country's invasion of Ukraine, Mareks "⁠YEKINDAR⁠" Gaļinskis admitted that he is not certain about his future with Virtus.pro.

In an interview with Latvian outlet sportacentrs.com conducted on the final day of IEM Katowice, YEKINDAR said that if his teammates won't be able to travel to or participate in tournaments, changes are likely.

What does the future hold for YEKINDAR?

"If there are any regulations or restrictions regarding the arrival of my teammate from Russia to the tournaments, visa [issues], or rules from the organizers themselves, then it is very likely that there will be some changes. Well, most likely there will be. All I can do is wait and see how things unfold, the future is uncertain," the 22-year-old said on Sunday, two days before the announcement that BLAST will not invite Russia-based teams such as Virtus.pro to their competitions.

At the moment I really don't know if it will be possible [to continue playing with them]

Mareks "⁠YEKINDAR⁠" Gaļinskis

The eighth-best player of 2021 added that if circumstances allow, he would like to continue playing with his current team, having created a special bond during nearly two years he spent with Dzhami "⁠Jame⁠" Ali and co. "Everyone on the team is great friends."

"[Would I continue playing with them?] I think so. But at the moment I really don't know if it will be possible. I haven't gone into sanctions and changes yet, including on the financial side, there is still uncertainty."

Virtus.pro are slated to play ESL Pro League Season 15 starting on March 16, but whether they will be able to remains to be seen.

BLAST pledges not to invite Russia-based teams in foreseeable future

Unlike BLAST, ESL hasn't made a stance on Russia-based teams as of Tuesday, but even if the tournament organizer doesn't ban the likes of Virtus.pro and Gambit from participating, getting the players from Russia to Germany could prove to be an insurmountable task as flights to and from the world's largest country get rarer every day.

unlucky

2022-03-01 20:42

40 replies

Welcome to FaZe Clan!

2022-03-01 20:43

39 replies

faze fans dont want him

2022-03-01 21:03

35 replies

Talk for urself

2022-03-01 21:07

i do

2022-03-01 21:09

I do

2022-03-01 21:12

Everybody would do it lel.

2022-03-01 21:13

Wtf do you mean. He would be an excellent entry fragger and replacement for rain. They would have another 2018 super team

2022-03-01 21:38

4 replies

Better than 2018 team

2022-03-01 23:39

3 replies

+1 the only problem is that there will be too many stars in the team

2022-03-02 03:53

2 replies

Not really honestly, I don't think he'd need any more space in the role that Rain has. He'd just have more success in his entries. Although Karrigan would probably want to tweak Yekindar to play differently to utilize him better.

2022-03-02 08:53

1 reply

true. karrigan could make yekindar even better.

2022-03-02 10:59

He's been second after ropz when it comes to replacing players in faze And unlike jks who really was good because he was in a good team environment primarily, YEKINDAR would actually replace rain very well role wise.

2022-03-01 21:39

2022-03-01 23:40

No way faze will change the only player that has been with them though all these years, who is close friend to karrigan and after recent success.

2022-03-02 03:27

NIP YEKINDAR over eztag. NIP GET ON THE DEAL RIGHT NOW MAKE SWEDEN GREAT AGAIN

2022-03-01 21:40

5 replies

they will have to change language though

2022-03-02 06:07

does es3tag speak swedish? i thought they were already playing in english besides im sure a roster of device brollan hampus rez yekindar wins at least 1 t1 event this calender year

2022-03-02 08:35

rez and yekindar on the same team omegalul

2022-03-02 08:52

this team seems impossible. Who will play support and take over the worst spots on the map? This team requires too much space imo. yekindar and hampus seems off since both are aggressive and look for openings.

2022-03-02 09:13

Yes, an interview with hampus (I think it was hampus) it was stated that estag has a bit of trouble with swedish. He usually understand very well, but when rounds get chaotic, it takes a few seconds for him to proccess what is being said.

2022-03-02 16:26

What do you mean mens I love Rain, I really do, but Yekindar is friends with Broky (both from Latvia) and the best entry in the world (matches roles with the only player to potentially be replaced)

2022-03-01 21:41

tf you mean. we want him

2022-03-01 22:08

2022-03-01 22:27

-1 its funny to read everyone's comments to this

2022-03-01 22:32

Who doesn't?

2022-03-01 23:38

2022-03-02 01:03

2022-03-02 01:36

Fuck off

2022-03-02 01:49

come to faze

2022-03-02 02:21

fake faze fans wtf

2022-03-02 02:45

plastic fan

2022-03-02 04:34

Why, he is literally the best replacement for rain.

2022-03-02 06:08

2022-03-02 10:58

Rain is good player tho right?

2022-03-04 03:21

wrong

There is nothing to dislike about yekindar, nice guy, good in interviews and even joined the analyst desk at Katowice. Friendly and extremely skilled too.

2022-03-02 15:41

tf u talking about??? LMFAO we do want him

2022-03-03 00:54

broky>jame

2022-03-02 08:27

2022-03-02 09:10

As much as I love the thought of having Yekindar on FaZe, I don't think it would work out. Rain brings a lot more than just entry fragging and space creation. Years of lan experience, chemistry, mid round calls, tactical plays with Karrigan as they play the same sites most of the time etc. Besides Rain = Faze clan. I think Yekindar would an improvement to fire power and maybe even the best choice 1-2 years down the road but I don't think he'll actually add value atm.

2022-03-03 02:25

welcome to G2

31 replies

you mean faze?

2022-03-01 20:45

18 replies

no space after they sign jks

2022-03-01 20:52

jks entry?

2022-03-02 02:47

He did great in that role honestly

2022-03-02 09:07

Who would he replace in any of those teams?

2022-03-01 20:53

14 replies

rain or jackz

2022-03-01 20:59

13 replies

If rain is removed, you dont think Faze would take jks after this tournament? xD Also dont think he'd mesh well with the people in G2. His personality doesnt fit whatsoever with Niko and the others

2022-03-01 21:01

8 replies

YEKINDAR best entry arround why would they take a passive player. JKS is good but he played without pressure if he were to be their entry it wouldnt work longterm

2022-03-01 21:28

'played without pressure' youtube.com/watch?v=xmRtBkQMo40

2022-03-01 23:25

He will be really good at faze bacause, his roles and rain roles match 1:1 since both are entries, and he is good friends with broky, so another positive. While, on g2 I am not sure how Niko and Yekindar will go well together and by removing jackz you besically ruin the whole teams chemistry, jackz is good friends with all of them baits for them and tries to cheer everyone, his role is way more important than what he provides on the server

2022-03-02 06:15

love to see some jackz appreciation 💜

2022-03-03 13:08

+1 jks performed above expectations as a stand-in, there has to be at least some thought going towards him being a replacement for rain. that is of course assuming that they are even considering replacing rain, they might just be happy with what they have.

2022-03-02 18:48

Yeah I dont think they are planning on removing rain atm

2022-03-03 14:07

2022-03-06 17:27

why rain he is a god at what he does and he is such an important member of that team

2022-03-01 21:27

rain is very good and people usually underrate him too much. but Yekindar can simply do everything rain does and more at a higher level. if any team could add him, they should.

2022-03-01 22:49

plus broky/yekindar friendship

2022-03-02 15:28

exactly theres even a clip of Karrigan saying after IEM Katowice "I don't know how he solo entries mid in the t side of mirage, no one could figure it out, so we had to play more basic on mirage."

2022-03-02 06:16

cuz 3 superstars isnt enough?

2022-03-01 20:51

10 replies

perfect role-for-role swap for jackz and a nobrain update also pretty cool as a personality

9 replies

hunter cant perform w/o jackz

2022-03-01 21:04

Bs excuse on pro level.

2022-03-01 23:41

m0nesy needs jackz

2022-03-02 02:54

but YEKINDAR can dont forget he can be a star as well

2022-03-02 01:05

#FreeYekindar maybe not to FaZe, if the Russia-Ukraine crisis gets any worse he is going to be left without a team or an income. He doesn't want to leave VP, which is admirable, but he may have his hand forced soon!

2022-03-03 21:09

Jackz brings good energy plus he is used as bait. Dont think yekindar would like that role even tho they are both entry

if anyone is being used by bait it's yekindar

thats what i was thinking too

Yes but this G2 lineup looks so promising and one of the reasons they look so good is Jackz, especially outside the game

2022-03-01 21:14

Good luck to him

Faze Yekindar?

6 replies

Goddamn I hope so. Even moreso than jks, s' insane stuff

jks would have that spot 100% if they would even consider removing rain

2022-03-01 20:54

no because they need an entry and not a passive player JKS did good because he had no pressure and teams couldnt read him

2022-03-01 21:29

+1 people need to understand how imporant the role of a hard native entry like rain or yekindar is.

2022-03-01 22:57

+1, people are really underrating the fact that teams were playing basically blind against jks during playoffs. give a full EPL worth of demos to analyse and his impact surely wouldn't be the same, even if he performed as well as he did

yep exactly, i think JKS is a phenomenal Player but teams had no idea what his moves were. thats why 2nd AWPs can be really strong like ropz, k0nfig since enemys cant properly flash you or know your tendencies

2022-03-01 23:02

rip

Sadge

Come to FaZe <3

Yebroky <3 Twopz <3

poop

2022-03-01 20:58

more like brokindar

2022-03-02 04:35

Who would be out?

2022-03-01 20:44

Rain

Rain since he is the entry for FaZe Yekindar is the best entry in the world would make no sense to not jump on him

12 replies

+1 G2/FaZe would be monsters with him.

2022-03-01 20:49

11 replies

Hunter is the entry fragger for G2 why would you put Yekindar in a support role?

2022-03-01 20:50

Entry is jackzz bro... Hunter is the lurker

you right my bad Hunter was entry fragging before tho

7 replies

Yeah I thought Jackz was entry, that's why I thought G2/FaZe Yekindar would be cool for either team. ^^

should be illegal for G2 to have that much firepower lmao

Then there would objectively be no excuses for not winning a trophy. Not winning with NiKo, Yekindar, Hunter, M0nesy LULW

2022-03-01 20:55

funny how you leave that one guy out, I see what you did there! :D

2022-03-02 03:26

:D He has yet to prove himself, FaZe's comeback on Inferno was due to his poor T side, and even on Mirage they had a weak one (so did Faze to be fair). If those were polished up and we wouldn't be in a world where Faze 3-0'd them.

2022-03-02 16:01

100% agree. If you throw inferno like that something's wrong with your IGL. Mirage pretty much the same.

2022-03-02 16:14

he wasnt a good entry

2022-03-01 21:20

Hunter is an aggressive lurker. He becomes an entry sometimes depending on spawn and opportunities.

2022-03-01 23:43

YEKINDAR <3

Maybe Navi Yekindar? If the Navi ruskis can't play, that's a solid option. Navi can get Yekindar, Headtrick and blad3 player IgL till they get a solid 5th

2022-03-02 01:43

they can

2022-03-02 10:36

astralis yekindar

@CarlosR?

axaxaxa I reported it first

Good luck GOD

Faze Yekindar please?

Pls no..

2022-03-02 07:52

With the bans from blast and esl to VP yekindar will most likely come to Faze, but it would be interesting to see what team he will join if not Faze

2022-03-02 19:17

unlucky maybe FaZe yekindar?

Rip rain XD

Well, if he goes to G2 then ezpz 5 majors confirmed.

replace who bench jackz hunters gonna cry like previously when it happened aleksi m0nesy are newly signed Niko is Niko so

2022-03-01 20:46

"bench jackz hunters gonna cry like previously when it happened" he had stat drop because he is a lurker and had to do some entrying but if they replace jackz with an entryfragger it wouldn't cause that much of a problem role wise and I'm not saying that they should just your argument is worthless

2022-03-01 21:36

so you're also saying his mentality won't be impacted as he said before which in turn leads to people playing worse best show is navi currently

2022-03-01 22:22

I didn't say anything also

2022-03-02 16:36

nvm

G2 YEKINDAR monkaS

Oh dear, imagine him actually going to G2 to replace Jackz..

cl_brain 0

Why?

2022-03-01 20:48

wut?

won't work

But why?

Playstyle,personalities,roles Roles is the most important one (not in t on ct mostly)

2022-03-01 21:11

You don’t know how it will work. I’ve defended Jackz and what he brings forever. But he’s getting “old” and a chance to bring a young guy who’s so good is something they will 100% consider.

2022-03-02 09:24

jackz is very important for g2 atmosphere & for m0nesy mentality since he is new in t1

2022-03-01 21:05

As if Yek1ndar isn´t one of these positive people who always crack a joke as well...

2022-03-01 21:15

Hes “old” though do you really think g2 would slip the possiblity? Dont think so

2022-03-02 09:23

idk its a possibility , cause i heared that they wanted ropz before he leave mouz

2022-03-02 16:17

Come to MIBR, Legend

This is your moment Carlos. Get him before Faze does and becomes unstoppable.

Actually it won't improve the team, they are great as they are right now. -jackz will disrupt the chemistry, so

Also role clashes on ct

True, just immedaite reactions to the news lmao. In time this G2 should be winning titles.

2022-03-01 22:43

Actually, it could work. Jackie and Yekindar are both cool guys in real life, funny backslappers, yk. Theyre roles are pretty similar. Yekindar and m0nesy are both russian speakers, they are both young. In the end, the most important part - Yekindar individually better. Anyway, I don't think that G2 will buy him. But if they will, I will be surprised and glad to see that.

2022-03-02 01:32

karrigan might want rain but i hope he thinks about yekindar, broky could convince him i think

2022-03-02 03:05

Does he speak russian? I mean, Yekindar does.

2022-03-04 13:06

2022-03-03 04:44

actually very sad

faze pls

carlos do your thing

:( I just hope this war stops and everyone will be safe.

YEKINDAR could even entry me, if he wants to

Careers are so short it’s too bad they are interrupted. But there are things bigger than ESL Season 15.

Faze yekindar pls

G2 YEKINDAR

why nobody says Vitality????? -misutaaa +yekindar ... its a fucking no brainer

Amanek instead of Misutaa would also be pretty cool

cuz dupreeh is entry

yekindar is not entry, he is space creator

2022-03-01 21:16

"Yekindar isn't entry" Mate have you lost your brain???? Hes the best entry in the world

2022-03-01 21:34

you clearly didn't listen to what yekindar himself said about his role on sunday, right?

2022-03-01 22:51

2022-03-01 23:47

ya its hltv confirmed XD

2022-03-02 09:06

2022-03-01 22:42

cuz vitality already have apEX and dupreeh, even ZywOo entryfrags often. I won't touch anything in VITA for the moment, but if someone has to arrive, should be something like KRIMZ or AmaNEk

2022-03-01 22:54

???? Who tf plays support then? ZywoO?

Very sad

2022-03-01 21:06

faze, g2, og or ence are the realistic teams for him if we talk international

As if Ence had even a sliver of the money they'd need for Yekindar

ence made 1.3 mill + in profits last year. they earn alot from esl louvre agreement and apparently the sticker capsule from the major netted every team close to a million

2022-03-02 12:49

I had no idea that they made this much, you've humbled me

2022-03-02 12:53

the eighth* best player

come to furia my boy

Carlos and the G2 magic Russian-ukrainian war was part of the inevitable plan

Jonathan P... remove my 6pack, Jonathan P... I want to be fat. See you in 12, see you on LAN.

If jks finds a team and in a few months rain underperforms then FaZe yekindar might be possible otherwise i dont think so

the only way to stop cis domination by starting a war between ukraine and russia. Putin secretly rooting for eu

-rain +YEKINDAR The firepower on this team would be unmatchable

Not without suNny

2022-03-02 00:11

Yes ofc mens))))

2022-03-02 16:22

Well… there is room for him instead of Karrigan…

2022-03-02 16:54

LMAO And who is going to be an IGL for FaZe then?

2022-03-02 17:40

Obv best firepower igl Sunny

2022-03-03 13:59

That be me)))

2022-03-03 16:08

welcome in MOUZ

2022-03-01 21:17

would be nice to have a Baltic duo, but they have Bymas as a yung yekindar already and frozen is aggro player too with IGL dexter whos not afraid to be first in as well, so that would be a bit too much I think

2022-03-01 22:02

It's sad for VP to get fucked this way cause they have worked hard to be where they are. He has right to search for better options. Currently I can see G2, faze and NiP lining up for him. Replacing jackz for him could work, I feel yekindar and niko are on the same wavelength when it comes to seeing the game and creating solutions so for example that A site mirage would be on lockdown. Or going inferno banana to meet him or niko, or even worse - both. (insert dark souls "you died" animation) I do not think faze wants to replace rain, even if this worked with jks we all know and they know that was "honeymoon" and likely unsustainable. But even if they want to replace rain they have a person they hardcore trialed for that position, winning an even sounds like a good trial. NiP, they need useful players. But I hope he does not go there, he deserves better treatment than that shit org gives. G2 then, carlos, where are thou? I know hunter and jackz are bros but this is a huge upgrade. There would need to be some rotations and hunter's stats would suffer a bit at start cause him and jackz do have setups in few maps but I think it's worth it. I like jackz a lot, he's charming as fuck

NIP wouldn't make any sense, as they'd have to change language from swedish to english.

2022-03-02 15:47

De_nuke is coming

2022-03-01 21:25

Sad, hope the best for Yekindar :(

Get rid of jackz and get him to G2, after that G2 will be impossible to stop to win at least 1 map at a grand final

2022-03-01 21:26

FaZe YEKINDAR

Yekindar top 5 2022, what a player

2022-03-01 21:33

hope the best for yekindar

Yekindar to make Team Liquid great again

2022-03-01 21:42

i'm begging lol

2022-03-01 23:57

There's a bigger chance G2 will get him instead of FaZe, replacing Jackz. Because FaZe has a deep connection with and around Rain, and has said before that they have built a team around Rain.

2022-03-01 21:47

Money doesn't talk, it swears, there's no bound that deep, if it will make them make more money a change is going to happen.

2022-03-01 22:20

Its one of the same reasons Xyp9x is stil on Astralis

2022-03-02 06:36

hltv.org/news/32175/xyp9x-on-future-with..

2022-03-02 16:34

Imagine Yekindar with FaZe!!!!

Say thanks to Putin for that.

2022-03-01 21:48

FaZe YEKINDAR WELCOME!

2022-03-01 21:50

Currently the best vp player. It will be better for him. Meanwhile jame is saving.

2022-03-01 22:11

If he goes to FaZe it might be the best roster of all time on paper, literally flawless. The only flaw might be karrigans fragging but as long he contribute with good igling its not a problem and hes a strong igl rn

2022-03-01 22:12

Vitality yekindar

2022-03-01 22:14

Finally Yeki released

Navi -S1mple -b1t -Yekindar -Hobbit -Buster/qikert a possible Lineup

2022-03-01 22:26

Mesedj to Zuus …

2022-03-01 23:54

russian players aren't banned, just orgs.

2022-03-02 01:55

Russian orgs atm only banned by blast. But Russian players get visa issues.

2022-03-02 07:37

Sad for VP :(

2022-03-01 22:40

team up with Tarik (he can learn any language in a week)

2022-03-01 22:53

@Virtus Pro - Well then you boys need to pack up and leave Russia. Move somewhere so you can still be a team and compete. I wouldn't think twice about it, never let something like this stand in the way of your dreams!

2022-03-01 23:23

You don’t understand what travel sanctions mean, do you? It wouldn’t matter where they temporary stayed, since tournaments are in many different countries.

2022-03-01 23:51

They need to drop their team and continue under another team without russian capital and yet still will have jame and flit who have russian citizenship

2022-03-01 23:58

What are their other options?

2022-03-02 01:16

sad

2022-03-01 23:35

the effects of this war getting bigger and bigger

2022-03-01 23:42

GORILLAZ Yekindar

2022-03-02 00:10

I mean as long as only bl*st is bigoted then I wouldn't care & stay with the team.

every team be looking like : 👁👄👁

👁👁👁👁👁👁👁 content

2022-03-02 01:17

2022-03-02 01:19

The only good thing putin did :)

2022-03-02 01:23

-karrigan -rain +jks +yekindar

2022-03-02 02:19

Delusional

2022-03-02 16:07

its jame time?

2022-03-02 02:26

OG is the most likely outcome for Yekindar. I’m not sure Faze are willing to replace Rain.

2022-03-02 02:40

lawl at the punish-all-russians virtue contest

2022-03-02 03:02

Yekindar to dignitas or Navi Junior?🤣🤣🤣 But if we leave jokes aside he would perfectly fit in any team, but NIP need to seriously consider him as an option. Also let's not forget that Mir is without team and this duo can be suuuper Dinamic. Who knows maybe Cloud9 or Col will consider creating new squad around him

2022-03-02 03:49

nip is all swedish can he speak swedish? then sure

2022-03-02 18:00

Their English is very strong, they can easily speak English. Also unsure if Estag can speak Swedish

2022-03-06 21:18

-Shox +YEKINDAR

2022-03-02 04:11

If FaZe get Yekindar its over... They a complete the superstar team

2022-03-02 05:05

faze or g2 better grab this guy. literally you replace jackz or rain which are 2 bots for a guy which can even outlperform NiKo / ropz playing as entry

2022-03-02 05:53

go get him faze. would be pretty cool for faze to be baltic majority.

2022-03-02 05:59

Yes would be cool

2022-03-02 09:52

rip.. whatever happens to you mens next, ill be looking with excitement!

Every Russian gets punished? Is this world the biggest fkn joke of all time. Pathetic! Western media is disgusting.

2022-03-02 06:39

agree, just dogs of US

2022-03-02 08:10

wow. sad for VP but this could be good for Faze and G2. i read some of the comments and agree Yekindar to Faze or G2 will be dream transfer. but i dont think it will happen before major in may. most of top 20 teams probably already lock their major roster except for fnatic.

2022-03-02 08:20

welcome back tier 3 ? lul pro100

2022-03-02 09:17

Yo what about Na'Vi? Ban electronic, perfecto and boombl4?? Stay loyal with your restrictions till the end!?

2022-03-02 09:56

looks like they aren't going after russian players, but after russian orgs owned by russian oligarchs.

2022-03-02 10:52

FaZe Yekindar looks great on paper, but it's unlikely to happen. Rain is doing great job and changing the roster all the time doesn't work that great. Rain is support and enables superstars to shine.

2022-03-02 09:59

Faze Yekindar = win all turnaments

2022-03-02 10:28

Tournaments without cis - not tournaments

Sure they are.

2022-03-02 11:27

Please save Russian and Ukrainian people... War will damage everything , including esports

2022-03-02 11:18

Welcome to FaZe!

2022-03-02 11:30

i think he needs a change as well. why not liquid?

2022-03-02 11:40

Can non russians from CIS teams make a one monster team? Yekindar, B1t, S1mple, Hobbit and maybe Lack1

2022-03-02 12:22

Where else could he go?

2022-03-02 12:38

YEKINDAR TO FAZE LETS GO LATVIAN DUO FTW

2022-03-02 12:46

COME TO POLAND brother

2022-03-02 15:34

report hltv for denying russian invasion of ukraine

2022-03-02 16:41

Double standard white skin pig gtfo. uSa is cancer of the earth.

2022-03-02 17:09

why is this news ? "oh a player will continue in the team", so now do it with all the players

2022-03-02 19:42

These are different circumstances.

2022-03-03 04:23

If he joins g2 it would be sick

2022-03-03 00:45

G2 YEKINDAR PLZ

2022-03-03 05:18

his future is secure coz the man can easily replace any entry fragger on any team right now even better than ax1le on entry

2022-03-03 06:26

better than ax1le on entry worse than ax1le in any other situation

2022-03-03 06:29

doesn't matter until he plays his role better

2022-03-03 06:31

ax1le isnt even main entry? nafany is entry

2022-03-03 06:32

but ax1le is best entry on his team the despite not being main just like Niko on G2 that's why no point comparing with nafany

2022-03-03 06:34

hes not main entry, yekindar is main entry why compare people in different roles?

2022-03-03 06:36

Because I feel like if a player could be compared right now with Yekinder on entry fragging it would ax1le no one else comes close

2022-03-03 06:39

only people i would compare to yekindar rn are hampus, arT, nafany, k0nfig, rain, xantares, stavn and people who i would compare to ax1le are NiKo, twistzz, electronic, REZ, valde

2022-03-03 06:47