Ilya ‘Perfecto’ Zalutskiy has joined Virtus.pro‘s Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) roster shortly after the organisation’s BLAST.tv Austin Major run.
The Russian CS2 player joins the organisation after becoming a free agent in April, following almost two years at Cloud9.
As a result of Perfecto joining the starting line-up for the second half of 2025, Timur ‘FL4MUS’ Marev has been removed from the active roster. In a statement by the organisation online, Virtus.pro noted that it is “open to discussing transfer offers” for the player.
The addition of Perfecto follows Virtus.pro’s top-11 placement at the Austin Major, where the team successfully qualified for Stage 3. After two early victories in the final stage, the team lost all of its qualification matches, knocking it out of the tournament.
“After the end of the season, we sat down with the players and coaching staff to discuss our next steps and the overall direction of the team,” said Nikolai Petrossian, CEO of Virtus.pro.
“We’re all committed to improving our results and believe in the potential of this roster. As a result of those discussions, we made the decision to adjust the line-up.”
Perfecto is no stranger to success in Counter-Strike esports. During his time at NAVI, the player won several BLAST Premier titles along with Season 14 of the ESL Pro League, IEM Cologne, and the Stockholm Major.
The player’s arrival also marks a reunion with Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov, his former NAVI teammate from 2020 until 2023.
Virtus.pro In 2025
Despite showing glimpses of potential at the Austin Major, the first half of 2025 hasn’t been ideal for Virtus.pro. The organisation’s best finish of the year so far is a top-six placement at IEM Katowice.
With the team struggling to crack into the top four, the arrival of an experienced anchor player in the form of Perfecto is a statement of intent. As such, Virtus.pro will hope that this move can make an impact in the second half of the year.
