Team Empire Is Parting Ways with Chappie
Team Empire Is Parting Ways with Chappie
Team Empire officially announced that its carry player, Vladimir "Chappie" Kuzmenko, is becoming inactive and is listed for transfer.
The manager of the team, Alexandr "StrangeR" Solomonov, commented on the situation:
”Last week Team Empire played without Vladimir. Right after the return from Germany he was allowed to go on a short vacation in order to think about his future. As a result of these thoughts Chappie told us that he wants to change the team. Vladimir thinks that he will have play and develop himself more comfortably in a new squad. During this year we've managed to overcome many problems and achieved our main goal — participating in the main event of The International. This fact proves that we, Team Empire management, made the right choice last season. It is really heartbreaking that ludicrous bureaucratic accident has not allowed Chappie to join the team on that tournament. Nonetheless, Chappie is still one of the best carry players in CIS. Vladimir is currently under contract with Team Empire and he has not chosen his new team. We are open to any negotiations regarding Chappie's transfer and will provide maximal assistance to help Vladimir find a new home”.
Chappie joined Team Empire on January 8th, 2017. Last summer the team managed to qualify for The International 2017, but due to visa problems Chappie missed the tournament and was replaced with Roman "Resolut1on" Fominok. The team managed to secure 7-8th place and take a prize of $617,000. In the post-TI period, the team failed to qualify to any tournament. In the last few weeks the team played with Airat "Silent" Gaziev as a temporary stand-in. Although the team with updated roster managed to qualify to Adrenaline Cyber League, it’s still unknown whether Silent will remain in Team Empire.
Current roster of Team Empire:
- Rostislav "fn" Lozovoi
- Andrey "Ghostik" Kadyk
- Yaroslav "Miposhka" Naidenov
- Ivan "VANSKOR" Skorokhod
- Airat "Silent" Gaziev (stand-in)