YEKINDAR becomes free agent

The Latvian has bought himself out of his contract with Virtus.pro.

Mareks "⁠YEKINDAR⁠" Gaļinskis has become a free agent after buying himself out of his contract with Virtus.pro, the Latvian announced via his Twitter account.

The move officially brings an end to a two-year partnership between the rifler and Russian organisation, dating back to May 2020 when he was brought on as a replacement for Timur "⁠buster⁠" Tulepov.

YEKINDAR was a part of Virtus.pro — later Outsiders — for over two years. During that time, the 23-year-old powered his side to playoff appearances at several Big Events, namely locking in 5-6th place finishes at IEM Cologne 2021 and IEM Katowice 2022, alongside a top-eight finish at PGL Major Stockholm. The Latvian star also netted himself an appearance on HLTV's top 20 players of 2021, his 1.14 rating across the year being enough to gift him a spot at No. 8 on the ranking.

YEKINDAR made no secret of the uncertainty of his spot on the Outsiders roster following Russia's invasion of Ukraine back in February. In an interview with sportacentrs.com towards the end of IEM Katowice, the 23-year-old stated that, "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." Changes eventually followed, with both YEKINDAR and buster being benched by the organisation following the squad's 9-12th place run through PGL Major Antwerp back in May.

YEKINDAR also referenced the change in ownership at Virtus.pro as a reason for the delay in his release from his contract. The organisation is now run by Armenian national Aram Karamanukyan, the CEO of the company.

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Virtus.pro bench YEKINDAR and buster

In recent times, YEKINDAR has been seen plying his trade with Liquid, becoming a staple member of the team that has seen a rebound in form — notably finishing runners up at the recently-concluded ESL Pro League Season 16 before securing their place at IEM Major Rio with a first-place showing at the IEM Road to Rio Americas RMR.

YEKINDAR has been linked with an official move to Liquid for the past few months, though US-imposed sanctions on Virtus.pro have made any transfer up until this point seem unlikely. With the Latvian now released from his contract, there appears to be little to no roadblocks in preventing the 23-year-old from officially completing the jump to the North American roster, with YEKINDAR also set to participate at IEM Major Rio with Nick "⁠nitr0⁠" Cannella and company.