Sanjar "SANJI" Kuliev is no longer tied with Virtus.pro, the loyal rifler has confirmed on Twitter this Thursday. That marks the end of a more than two-year spell on the Russian team alongside Dzhami “Jame” Ali and company.

In the Tweet where he announces his free agency, the 24-year-old Uzbek left a quite mysterious statement saying that he’s “not going to play”. Whether that means SANJI is set to take a break from CS:GO indefinitely or not, is tough to conclude solely from this Tweet.

We have therefore, prior to the publication of this article, reached out to SANJI for an elaboration on the statement and what it actually means.

SANJI was often described as the last true support player in modern-day CS:GO. The Uzbeki player Sanjar "SANJI" Kuliev was part of the Virtus.pro roster that qualified for the PGL Major in Stockholm, but shortly before the tournament, the 24-year-old player was benched to make way for Evgeniy "FL1T" Lebedev.

He has won several tier-1 tournaments with both Virtus.pro and his former team Avangar. Here he also participated in his only Major, where he made it all the way to the Grand Final at the StarLadder Berlin Major in 2019, where Avangar lost to Astralis.

[slugORMA:{"slug":"sanji-explains-absence-from-competition-played-with-back-injury-1-5-years","isNewTab":true}]

SANJI

Virtus.pro

Sanjar "SANJI" Kuliev hasn’t played a single minute of competitive Counter-Strike ever since his benching on Virtus.pro in October 2021. We haven’t seen or heard much from the 25-year-old support player in the past 12 months while being on the sideline.

Now SANJI has decided to comment on his lengthy absence from pro play in a [link:{"url":"https://twitter.com/xDsanji/status/1599775684611563520","isNewTab":true,"text":"Tweet"}], where he explains that he has been playing with pain in his back for around 1.5 years.

- I see that a lot of people write that I did not play for a long time and did not appear anywhere, there were reasons for this, I played with acute back pain due to hernias for about 1.5 years, and now I am in Tashkent, I feel much better, SANJI said and continued:

-btw, I'm waiting for the end of the contract, and then maybe something interesting will happen. Who knows?

[slugORMA:{"slug":"former-virtus-pro-player-is-ready-comeback","isNewTab":true}]

He was often described as the last true support player in modern-day CS:GO. The Uzbeki player Sanjar "SANJI" Kuliev was part of the Virtus.pro roster that qualified for the PGL Major in Stockholm, but shortly before the tournament the 24-year-old player was benched to make way for Evgeniy "FL1T" Lebedev.

Since then the news about SANJI has been almost non-existent. Until yesterday when the rifler announced his desire to return to competitive CS:GO. 

Sanjar "SANJI" Kuliev has won several tier-1 tournaments with both Virtus.pro and his former team Avangar. Here he also participated in his only Major, where he made it all the way to the Grand Final at the StarLadder Berlin Major in 2019, where Avangar lost to Astralis.

The quickest and most efficient way to kill an enemy in Counter-Strike is to hit them in the head with either your pistol, rifle or sniper rifle. Despite it being the quickest way to get a kill, it’s also the hardest way. For some players, it can be very tough to hit a headshot.

The CS:GO world also contains a list of players whose natural-born headshot machines, where tapping heads are their strongest capability on the server. We have found the very best headshot players this year by looking at several headshot statistics among top 20 teams.

1. {cflag:UA} [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/b1tgod","isNewTab":true,"text":"Valeriy 'B1T' Vakhovskiy"}] (NAVI) | 1459 / 67.0%

2. {cflag:CA} [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/twistzz","isNewTab":true,"text":"Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken"}] (FaZe) | 1457 / 64.0%  

3. {cflag:FR} [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/jackz","isNewTab":true,"text":"Audric 'JaCkz' Jug"}] (G2) | 1380 / 63.9%

4. {cflag:UZ} [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/sanji","isNewTab":true,"text":"Sanjar 'SANJI' Kuliev"}] (Virtus.pro) | 1286 / 62.1%

5. {cflag:LV} [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/yekindar","isNewTab":true,"text":"Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis"}] (Virtus.pro) 1894 / 61.5%

6. {cflag:NO} [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/rain","isNewTab":true,"text":"Håvard 'rain' Nygaard"}] (FaZe) | 1219 / 59.5%

7. {cflag:DE} [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/k1to","isNewTab":true,"text":"Nils 'k1to' Gruhne"}] (BIG) | 1424 / 57.7%

8. {cflag:KZ} [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/qikert","isNewTab":true,"text":"Alexey 'Qikert' Golubev"}] (Virtus.pro) | 1515 / 57.4%

9. {cflag:DK} [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/teses","isNewTab":true,"text":"René 'TeSeS' Madsen"}] (Heroic) | 1267 / 56.5%

10. {cflag:DE} [link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/players/tabsen","isNewTab":true,"text":"Johannes 'tabseN' Wodarz"}] (BIG) | 1524 / 55.1%

THE BEST PRO CS:GO ONE TAPS OF 2021! (INSANE AIM)

B1tGOD

Twistzz

YEKINDAR

tabseN

k1to

rain

qikert

JaCkz

TeSeS

Virtus.pro has brought in the profiled 20-year-old Evgeny "⁠FL1T⁠" Lebedev to boost their roster, the Russians confirm on Friday. The former forZe star will replace Sanjar "⁠SANJI⁠" Kuliev in the lineup, owing to the Uzbek being axed a few days before the start of PGL Stockholm Major.

Sergey Glamazda, General Manager at Virtus.pro describes the decision to sign FL1T and replace SANJI as a necessary action for the team if they want to achieve the best possible result at the upcoming Major.  

Major is the main event in CS: GO, which everyone has been waiting for two whole years. Its outcome is very important both for our club and for the fans. We want to show the best result, but for this our team needs a shake-up. We got the opportunity to play with Evgeny, and our club decided to use it. We hope that his participation will become the very impulse that will help the team to perform at the peak of their capabilities.

 Glamazda explains that this new VP roster isn’t set in stone, and possible changes after the Major might happen as well. "At the moment, no decisions have been made regarding the future of our squad. Everything will be decided on a cold head at the end of the tournament, the VP GM states.

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"teams/Virtus.pro/Virtus.pro_tvckzp","originalWidth":2047,"originalHeight":1151,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: StarLadder Igor Bezborodov"}]

Virtus.pro roster (then Avangar) at Starladder Berlin Major in 2019, where they ended second overall after Astralis. (From left to right: buster, dastan (Coach), SANJI, Jame, Qikert, AdreN)

{cflag:LV} Mareks "⁠YEKINDAR⁠" Gaļinskis

[slugORMA:{"slug":"pgl-major-opening-day-schedule-revealed","isNewTab":true}]

[slugORMA:{"slug":"attending-list-pgl-major-stockholm-is-settled","isNewTab":true}]

FL1T

forZe

When it comes to professional CS:GO there are some players who receive an enormous amount of praise from fans around the world and often it is very much deserved. However, there are also some players who never seem to be appreciated enough. One of these players is Sanjar "SANJI" Kuliev from Virtus.pro. Due to the way the roster's strategies are organized "SANJI" is often left with very little in terms of firepower, fulfilling the role as a pure support player. This has meant a big difference in stats such as kills and assists between him and his teammates and has left many fans criticizing him for not being good enough. 

The truth is, however, that "SANJI" is a beast when unleashed. Whilst he often doesn't get to showcase his true abilities he is one dangerous rifler when the opportunity arises. Once again he proved this when left alone against 3 NaVi players in a post-plant clutch. Remaining calm and collected he executed all three players with headshots and won the round for his team - take a look: 

[twitchClip:SmoggyHilariousCakePanicBasket-NNv3SZpdl0aXjzc3]

Natus Vincere and Virtus.pro are currently battling for a spot in the Grand Finals against Gambit. You can watch the Bo3-series LIVE right here down below: 

Natus Vincere

The first map was played on the famous map Mirage, where most competitive games are being played.

It was a very even map, where NIP ended up taking the map win after winning 16-14.

In the first half, NIP got themselves a great start as the T side, where their offensive plays bulldozed through the CT defense from the Russian side, but then they came back in the game Virtus.pro and only lost the first half 8-7, after a great half by NIP.

Nip delivered again as the CT side, where they had troubles holding the A bombsite, but they managed to win 8-7 again in the second half, meaning that they won the map 16-14, but from here on the game had one team, and that team was Virtus.pro as NIP seemed to have disappeared from the game after Mirage.

Virtus.pro got themselves the perfect start at their map pick Inferno, they won 10-5 in the first half, and they were in full control of the game.

It was almost certain that the game would need a third and decisive map, but NIP fought on in the map, but they didn’t come any closer in the map against a strong Virtus.pro side, as both teams managed to win 6 rounds in the second half, and this was enough for Virtus.pro who won the map 16-11.

Therefore, a third and decisive map was needed and it was on Overpass, a map where there only was one team on the field.

It is not any day that we witness such a clear demonstration of powers on the professional scene, but the performance by Virtus.pro in the third map was outrageous and clearly near perfect.

After the first half, where Virtus.pro started as the CT side they were leading 14-1, a perfect CT side on the map.

The NIP offense didn’t have a chance against the perfect defensive strategy from the Russian roster.

The map was already decided if we shouldn’t see the biggest comeback in CS:GO history, but they fought bravely after being demolished in the first half, they managed to win themselves three round in the second half before losing two against Virtus.pro, which was enough for them.

NIP – Virtus.pro (1-2) | IEM Summer 2021

16-14 (Mirage) | {cflag:SE} hampus – 1.43 Rating / 26-16 K-D / 89.0 ADR

11-16 (Inferno) | {cflag:UZ} SANJI– 1.61 Rating / 27-15 K-D / 102.1 ADR

4-16 (Overpass) | {cflag:KZ} buster – 1.59 Rating / 19-7 K-D / 95.8 ADR

MVP: {cflag:KZ} Timur ”buster” Tulepov – 1.29 Rating / 62-38 K-D / 81.6 ADR

buster

hampus

Ninjas in Pyjamas

Virtus.pro is on an incredible streak with three consecutive tournament victories in a row. At cs_summit 7 they were invincible and did not lose a single map during their run for the title.

The three wins a Flashpoint 2, DreamHack Open December, and cs_summit 7 has elevated the team to their highest world ranking since November 2019.

The talented roster will undoubtedly be one of the most exciting rosters to follow in 2021. 

You can see highlights from the Grand Final at cs_summit here.

Jame

The Russians from Virtus.pro has been an unstoppable force on the CIS scene for months, but the young and promising team has now expanded their dominance. They have taken home strong titles at Flashpoint 2, DreamHack Open December, and yesterday they added another trophy to their cabinet, with the victory at cs_summit 7.

[link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/news/virtus-pro-are-your-cs-summit-7-champions/","text":"Read more: Virtus.pro are your cs_summit 7 champions "}]

After the Grand Final against fnatic, VP’s young Latvian player Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis gave an interview with the BTS desk, where the 21-year rifler talks about taking on the elite of CS:GO in Astralis, Vitality, and Natus Vincere.

[twitchClip:InexpensiveUglyWhaleSoonerLater]

YEKINADR also touches on his teammate Sanjar "SANJI" Kuliev, who he believes is one of the cornerstones on the roster and a huge reason for their recent success, even though some may see him as a liability.

[twitchClip:ZanyAggressivePigeonPanicVis]

Fnatic

After two even maps Virtus.pro came out on top in Group C final against Furia.

On Inferno it was an even match up until 13-13. From here on Virtus.pro secured the three last rounds to win Furia’s map pick. A big blow for the Brazilians, who came out hot on Overpass. A solid 11-4 lead at halftime was not enough though for the South Americans, who still play with their stand-in player Honda.

Virtus.pro quickly reduced the lead in the second half. Instrumental was YEKINDAR, who constantly destroyed the Brazilian offense, who could not break through on the A-site. The Latvian ended Overpass with 35 kills and secured his team a 16-12 win.

Virtus.pro - Furia 2-0 (Inferno: 16-13, Overpass: 16-12)

MVP: Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis, 49-41 k/d, 86.9 ADR, 1.28 rating.

FURIA

In this series, we take a look at the teams that finished 2020 in the top 20 rankings. Today we take a look at number 12.

2020 did not look like a year, that Virtus.pro would look back on with joy. The team struggled with the performances in the first half of the year ultimately leading to the departure of Dauren “AdreN” Kystaubayev. Since then the results kept improving. The team ended the year with three trophies and ended as number 2 on the money list of 2020.

After a surprising win at IEM New York CIS, there were high hopes that Virtus.pro could be a dangerous team to face in Flashpoint 2. The CIS team had to go through a qualifier to even be at the event. Here they dismantled teams like Cloud9, Gen.G, MAD Lions, BIG, fnatic, and OG in the Grand Final securing them a whopping $500.000. Even more impressive was the fact, that none of the Virtus.pro players finished the tournament in the top 10 rankings individually. A pure team performance from the CIS team.

By winning DreamHack Open in December Virtus.pro cemented their position as a team to count on when the 2021 season launches. The team is invited to the Play-in at IEM Katowice, and will definitely be one of the rosters to keep an eye on to qualify. With an average age of 22, the roster seems to be exactly where they are supposed to be, so don’t be surprised, if Virtus.pro ends 2021 in the top 10 of the world rankings.

Headshots are the quickest way to take down your opponent and requires only one shot from an AK-47 and is, therefore an essential discipline in the game of CS:GO. To be able to hit headshot continually in every duel is what separates the very best players from ordinary players.

Liquid’s strong rifler Twistzz has always been a one tap expert since his entry on the scene and the last couple of months has been no different. The Canadian player tops the charts in front of strong players as rain, YEKINDAR and b0RUP.

Best headshot percentage last 3 months (Headshot percentage – Headshot per round)

1.      Russel ”Twistzz” Van Dulken (Liquid) 68.4% - 0.47

2.      Sanjar ”SANJI” Kuliev (Virtus.pro) 64.3% - 0.39

3.      Mario ”malbsMd” Samayoa (TeamOne) 63.5% - 0.48

4.      Håvard ”rain” Nygaard (FaZe) 63.2% - 0.40

5.      Mareks ”YEKINDAR” Galinskis (Virtus.pro) 63.2% - 0.49

6.      Johannes ”b0RUP” Borup (Heroic) 62.0% - 0.38

7.      Jakob ”jabbi” Nygaard (Copenhagen Flames) 62.0% - 0.38

8.      Sander ”Grusarn” Iversen (Apeks) 61.7% - 0.39

9.      Ivan ”Patrick” Ivanov (FATE) 61.3% - 0.39

10.   Christian ”ADDICT” Pendleton (VERTEX) 61.2% - 0.40

Watch the Canadian 'Aim god' in action down below.

	30 days	90 days
Fixture count	0	0
Maps count	0	0

SANJI

Player stats

Articles mentioning SANJI

SANJI leaves cryptic message as his Virtus.pro contract comes to an end

SANJI explains absence from competition: I played with a back injury for 1.5 years

Former Virtus.pro player is ready for comeback

The Headshot Kings of 2021

Virtus.pro add in FL1T prior to PGL Major

Highlight: SANJI wins crazy 1v3 clutch

Virtus.pro humiliated NIP in the end at IEM Summer

Virtus.pro on the rise

Virtus.pro youngster: We are ready to take on the elite of CS:GO

Virtus.pro ready for playoffs

Spotlight on the Top 20: Virtus.pro

Who has been the best at hitting headshots?

Follow Pley