WW Team adds tried and Ryujin as stand-ins after deko and ct0m departures

WW Team has confirmed Gleb "tried" Kholmogorov and Boris "Ryujin" Kim as temporary additions to its Counter-Strike 2 lineup, filling the vacancies created by the recent departures of Denis "deko" Zhukov and Artem "ct0m" Maksimov.

Both newcomers have been announced as stand-ins rather than permanent signings, leaving WW Team's longer-term roster plans open. The rebuilt five is expected to begin competing immediately, with Exort Fiesta Series 2 providing an early test of how the team adapts after losing two members of its previous lineup.

Quick summary

Detail	Information
Team	WW Team
Departing players	deko, ct0m
Temporary replacements	tried, Ryujin
Status	Stand-ins
Announcement date	September 21, 2026
Core players remaining	StRoGo, m3wsu, kelieN
Coach	shadowkek
Next event	Exort Fiesta Series 2
Next opponent	Phantom Academy
Permanent replacements	TBD

WW Team replaces deko and ct0m with tried and Ryujin

WW Team announced on September 21 that tried and Ryujin will play for the organization as stand-ins in its upcoming CS2 tournaments.

The move fills the two openings left by deko and ct0m, whose exits were confirmed earlier in September. Cybersport.ru reported that WW Team specifically described tried and Ryujin as stand-ins, meaning the announcement should not be treated as confirmation of permanent transfers.

The resulting lineup consists of Ivan "StRoGo" Shurpatov, Timur "m3wsu" Korenev, Vladimir "kelieN" Boldyrev, tried and Ryujin.

The changes came together quickly. ct0m left on September 15, while deko's departure followed on September 17. Liquipedia's roster history independently records those dates, while HLTV also lists the two departures in WW's transfer history.

For tried, the move is also a reunion. The Russian player was part of WW's earlier roster, having originally joined in 2024 before leaving the team in November 2025.

Ryujin, meanwhile, arrives as the new face in the five. The Uzbek rifler has most recently been associated with ARCRED and previously represented 1win.

Updated WW Team CS2 roster

Player	Status	Context
Ivan "StRoGo" Shurpatov	Active	Remains from previous lineup
Timur "m3wsu" Korenev	Active	Remains from previous lineup
Vladimir "kelieN" Boldyrev	Active	Remains from previous lineup
Gleb "tried" Kholmogorov	Stand-in	Returning former WW player
Boris "Ryujin" Kim	Stand-in	Temporary addition
Maksim "shadowkek" Pavlov	Coach	Coach

The distinction between active players and stand-ins is important. WW Team has not announced that tried or Ryujin has signed as a permanent replacement, nor has the organization provided a deadline for deciding on its long-term five.

How WW Team reached this point

WW's roster situation changed significantly over the space of less than a week.

ct0m was the first of the pair to leave. He had been connected to WW since the team's original 2024 lineup, making his exit a notable break with the project's earlier core.

Two days later, deko also departed.

According to StRoGo's public comments reported by Cybersport.ru, deko and ct0m subsequently joined a media-oriented project involving Leonid "chopper" Vishnyakov. Cybersport.ru reported that the lineup was expected to compete under the CS3NEWS tag.

That development is separate from WW Team's own roster announcement and does not change the temporary status of tried and Ryujin.

WW Team roster-change timeline

Date	Development
August 31, 2024	tried and ct0m join the original WW project
November 25, 2025	tried leaves WW
November 25, 2025	deko joins WW on loan, according to Liquipedia's roster record
September 15, 2026	ct0m leaves WW
September 17, 2026	deko leaves WW
September 21, 2026	WW announces tried and Ryujin as stand-ins
September 21, 2026	New-look WW is scheduled to face Phantom Academy at Exort Fiesta Series 2

Why the WW Team changes matter

Replacing two players simultaneously is more than a simple one-for-one roster adjustment.

WW must integrate two players while continuing its tournament schedule, and one of the outgoing names was deko, the team's AWPer. The available sources do not confirm how WW will redistribute AWP responsibilities in the temporary lineup, so the team's exact role structure should be considered TBD until the five plays or WW clarifies its setup.

There is at least one element of continuity: tried already knows the organization and has substantial previous match experience under the WW tag.

HLTV records tried as having played for WW from September 2024 until November 2025. That prior history could reduce some of the adaptation required from a completely unfamiliar stand-in, although the current lineup is not identical to the team he previously represented.

Ryujin presents a different tactical piece. Liquipedia lists the 24-year-old as a rifler, while HLTV records him with ARCRED and shows recent competitive activity during September.

That makes his addition structurally different from replacing deko with another established primary AWPer. Until WW's first matches with the temporary five provide evidence of its setup, however, assigning specific new roles would be speculation.

Tactical impact: WW must solve its AWP question

The biggest immediate tactical question concerns the sniper role.

deko was WW's established AWPer before his departure. Ryujin is listed as a rifler by Liquipedia, and no official announcement accompanying the stand-in move identified him as deko's direct role-for-role replacement.

WW therefore has several possible ways to reorganize its weapon and role distribution, but there is not yet enough verified information to state which approach the team will use.

The first official matches with tried and Ryujin should provide answers.

Beyond the AWP situation, WW will also have to adjust positioning, communication and utility responsibilities. Even if tried's previous experience with the organization helps, the team is effectively introducing two pieces into a five-man lineup at once.

Tournament impact

WW does not have a long preparation window before its new lineup is tested.

The team is scheduled to meet Phantom Academy in the Exort Fiesta Series 2 Round of 16 on September 21. The event is an online European competition running from September 11-23 with a $20,000 prize pool.

The playoff match is a best-of-three, meaning the temporary lineup could immediately be forced to show how much of WW's existing map structure it can preserve.

The winner advances deeper into the playoff bracket, while the loser is eliminated.

Next match

Detail	Information
Match	WW Team vs. Phantom Academy
Event	Exort Fiesta Series 2
Stage	Round of 16
Date	September 21, 2026
Format	Best-of-three
WW lineup	StRoGo, m3wsu, kelieN, tried, Ryujin
Stakes	Playoff advancement
Confirmed map veto	TBD

One caution is necessary when checking match pages immediately after the roster announcement: some third-party databases were still displaying deko and ct0m in WW's match lineup at publication time. WW's newer roster announcement supersedes those stale lineup listings unless another update is issued.

Ranking and VRS impact

A precise ranking-impact calculation cannot be made from the roster announcement alone.

HLTV's match page listed WW at No. 81 in its world ranking and No. 68 in VRS ahead of the Phantom Academy match, but roster changes and subsequent results can alter those positions.

More importantly, no verified source supplied with the announcement establishes the exact long-term VRS consequences of using tried and Ryujin as stand-ins.

For that reason, any exact projection of WW's future ranking or Valve Regional Standings position would be premature.

Current ranking/VRS impact: TBD pending official updates and match results.

tried returns to familiar surroundings

tried is not starting from zero with WW.

The 21-year-old previously spent more than a year associated with the organization. HLTV records his WW tenure from September 2024 to November 2025 and 96 maps in its WW-specific statistical sample.

That history makes him a particularly logical temporary option during an abrupt roster transition.

It also creates an unusual dynamic: WW is not simply trialing two completely new players. One of its emergency additions already has extensive competitive history under the same tag.

Whether that familiarity translates smoothly to the current version of the lineup remains to be seen.

What Ryujin brings to WW Team

Ryujin gives WW another experienced rifling option.

Liquipedia identifies Boris Kim as an Uzbek rifler who has competed professionally since 2020. His team history includes ARCRED and 1win, with his latest stint listed under ARCRED.

HLTV's player page showed Ryujin with a 1.19 Rating 3.0 across 46 maps over the previous three months at the time of publication.

Those numbers provide context for his recent form, but they should not be interpreted as a direct prediction of his output with WW. Changing teams can alter positions, responsibilities, opponents and the wider tactical environment around a player.

His immediate challenge will be fitting into a lineup that has changed two pieces with virtually no transition period.

What changes now for WW Team?

For the short term, WW once again has a five-player lineup available for competition.

The more important question is whether this version of the roster is an emergency solution or the basis for the organization's next permanent lineup.

Because both newcomers were explicitly presented as stand-ins, WW retains flexibility. Strong results could potentially encourage continuity, while the organization could also continue searching for permanent replacements.

No permanent signing decision has been announced.

That makes the upcoming tournament run relevant beyond individual results: it can serve as the first competitive sample of the StRoGo-m3wsu-kelieN-tried-Ryujin combination.

What to watch next

The first point to monitor is WW's role distribution, particularly who takes primary AWP responsibilities following deko's exit.

The second is tried's reintegration. He has prior WW experience, but the roster around him has changed since his earlier spell.

Ryujin's usage will also be worth tracking. His established profile is that of a rifler, so his positions and responsibilities may reveal how extensively WW has reworked its structure.

Finally, the wording of future roster announcements matters. WW currently calls both additions stand-ins. Any later description of either player as a permanent signing would represent a meaningful change in status.

Related teams, players and events

WW Team: StRoGo, m3wsu, kelieN, tried, Ryujin, deko, ct0m and shadowkek are the central entities connected to the current roster story.

tried: A returning former WW player who previously represented the team between 2024 and 2025.

Ryujin: Uzbek rifler most recently associated with ARCRED and previously with 1win.

deko: Former WW AWPer whose departure was confirmed on September 17.

ct0m: Long-serving WW player who left on September 15.

Exort Fiesta Series 2: The first confirmed event in which the newly announced stand-in lineup is expected to compete.

Phantom Academy: WW's scheduled Round-of-16 opponent on September 21.

FAQ

Who replaced deko and ct0m on WW Team?

WW Team announced Gleb "tried" Kholmogorov and Boris "Ryujin" Kim as temporary replacements following the departures of deko and ct0m.

Are tried and Ryujin permanent WW Team players?

No permanent signings have been announced. WW specifically presented tried and Ryujin as stand-ins for upcoming tournaments.

Why did deko and ct0m leave WW Team?

Both players left during September 2026. Public reporting confirms their departures, but this article does not attribute a definitive motive beyond what the players and other involved figures have publicly stated.

Has tried played for WW Team before?

Yes. tried was part of WW's earlier roster and represented the team from 2024 into 2025 before leaving in November 2025.

When will the new WW Team roster play?

WW is scheduled to face Phantom Academy in the Exort Fiesta Series 2 Round of 16 on September 21, 2026. The match is expected to be the first competitive test for the newly announced stand-in setup.