s-chilla leaves Passion UA

The Ukrainian player is out of the team just weeks after their unlikely run to the Shanghai Major.

Passion UA have announced that Vsevolod "⁠s-chilla⁠" Shchurov has stepped down from the roster to take a break from action for an undetermined period.

In a video posted on the organization's YouTube channel, s-chilla revealed that he had been dealing with burnout for some time.

"It wasn’t sudden," he said. "Last summer, when we were playing, even before the RMR, I realized this routine, everything that was happening around me -- I didn’t like it. From May to August, I knew I didn’t want to continue living like that, I wanted to change something. I don’t know if it will be a good or bad decision, but I just want to try and then we will see. But this is my decision.

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"This is my problem. We all tried to do our best, but this routine doesn’t fit me personally and I want to improve in other areas of my life and take a break.

"When I decided I would take a break, I understood I would still need to give my all, help the boys because they deserved it. I wanted to help them as best as I could, but they need a fully motivated teammate, someone better mechanically than me, or someone with a better character than me."

The news comes as a huge surprise as Passion UA were the feel-good story of the Shanghai Major. They qualified for the event after beating Virtus.pro, Spirit and Astralis in the Europe RMR and nearly made it past the Opening Stage before losing back-to-back qualification series against GamerLegion and Wildcard.

That run catapulted Passion UA in the rankings but also generated strong interest in the team's players. Dmytro "⁠jambo⁠" Semera was at one point on Falcons' shortlist, while Rodion "⁠fear⁠" Smyk has been linked with fnatic.

In November, Passion UA CEO Artemijs Rjabovs said that the entire team had recently signed new contracts until 2027. However, he made it clear the organization would not stand in the way of a player leaving for a bigger team.

Passion UA are now:

Rodion "⁠fear⁠" Smyk
Dmytro "⁠jambo⁠" Semera
Nikita "⁠jackasmo⁠" Skyba
Eduard "⁠zeRRoFIX⁠" Petrovskyi

Mikhaylo "⁠Kane⁠" Blagin (coach)