Ilya "Chira JUNIOR" Khirtsov will step down to the bench for the upcoming tournament, with Ilya "Squad1x" Kuvaldin stepping in as a stand-in. This decision was announced by the team’s coach, Timur "Ahilles" Kulmukhambetov:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to clarify the situation a bit. I always strive to be honest with you. Our team’s peak performance, in terms of both execution and communication, was during the TI qualifiers and the Elite League tournament.
However, we’ve been in a decline since then. We’ve genuinely tried every possible way to maintain this roster and deliver the level of performance we expect from ourselves. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out.
Chira will be moving to the bench. He’s an immense talent and a breakout player for me last season. Stepping out from a tier 3 team to outperform some of the world’s best players is something very few can achieve.
I’m confident this decision will benefit both the team and Chira.
Thank you for continuing to support and follow us. See you at the upcoming 1win tournament Squad1x will be standing in."
Chira JUNIOR has been part of the 1win Team since its formation under the Klim Sani4 tag in November 2023. During this time, the team secured second place at Elite League Season 2 and qualified for The International 2024, where they finished in 9th-12th place.
1win Team Roster:
- Nikita "Munkushi~" Chepurnykh
- Alexander "Cloud" Zakharov
- Georgiy "swedenstrong" Zainalabidov
- Egor "RESPECT" Prokurat
- Ilya "Chira JUNIOR" Khirtsov (benched)