tO0RO Praises Teammates After Virtus.pro’s Win Over FaZe at IEM Chengdu: “The Guys Carried Me”

tO0RO Praises Teammates After Virtus.pro’s Win Over FaZe at IEM Chengdu: “The Guys Carried Me”

Virtus.pro eliminated FaZe Clan from IEM Chengdu 2025 with a 2–1 victory in the Group B lower bracket, taking Mirage (13–5) and Inferno (13–7) after dropping Overpass (8–13). It marked VP’s first win of the event following their opening loss to Team Vitality, while FaZe exited in 13–16th place with $4,000 in prize money.

After the match, 17-year-old rifler Vadim “tO0RO” Arkov said he “played badly” and that “the guys carried” him through the series. He noted that Virtus.pro “gave away” the first map and struggled on the T side before regaining control on Mirage and Inferno. The young player thanked fans for their support and said the team would focus on preparing for their next opponent, G2 Esports.

In-game leader Ilya “Perfecto” Zalutskiy also admitted the team still has issues on attack, pointing out “a lot of mistakes on the T side” and poor trade execution. Teammate Vladimir “B1st” Krasikov added that VP’s communication improved after a rough start on Overpass, allowing them to stabilize and close out the following maps.

This victory carries extra weight for the revamped Virtus.pro lineup. The organization recently benched Denis “electroNic” Sharipov, promoted tO0RO from the academy team VP.Prodigy, and handed leadership duties to Perfecto. The young rifler had already impressed in 2025 with strong anchor performances in VP.Prodigy, including wins over Liquid and FUT in BLAST Premier Rising and trophies at ESEA Elite Cup and Myskill Pro League Finals.

Perfecto, now leading at tier-one level for the first time, previously said he was encouraged by NAVI coach Andrii “B1ad3” Gorodenskyi to consider becoming an IGL. While he initially declined, he has since embraced the challenge at Virtus.pro and is learning to guide a new generation of players.

This wasn’t Virtus.pro’s first time sending FaZe home in 2025. Back in August, VP defeated them 2–1 in the BLAST Bounty Fall qualifier. After that win, Perfecto joked that his teammates “carried” him — a sentiment echoed by tO0RO in Chengdu, highlighting the team’s culture of humility and resilience.

Virtus.pro’s next test comes against G2 Esports in the lower bracket. The IEM Chengdu 2025 tournament runs from November 3–9 in China, featuring a $300,000 prize pool and an additional $700,000 distributed among partner organizations.