Russia-based esports organization Team Spirit, announced on social media that they will relocate all of its workers and personnel to a new headquarters in Belgrade, Serbia’s capital.
According to the press statement, Team Spirit’s management has decided to scrap plans to extend the infrastructure in Moscow owing to the “conflict between Russia and Ukraine” which prevents the company’s work team from interacting normally.
The accessibility of esports has always been its unique feature. Wherever you live, whatever you do, whatever you believe in, the doors to esports have always been open for you. However, everything is changing, and one of these changes is the current situation between Russia and Ukraine, where many of our players and employees come from. Given the circumstances, both practical and ethical, the decision to relocate seems like the only right one. Esports has never known borders and it has never been tied to a dot on the map. We at Team Spirit have been building a close relationship with the community around the world for many years, and we believe that it will only get stronger. No matter where you live and what language you speak.
Team Sprit
The current Team Spirit’s CS:GO lineup, which was introduced in early February, features five Russian players. The European RMR, which will be held from April 21 to 24, will be the next tournament for Team Spirit.
Several tournament organizers, like ESL and BLAST, had previously prohibited Russian-based teams from competing under their official identities at their tournaments due to the conflict in Ukraine. Virtus.pro and Gambit are now competing in the ESL Pro League Season 15 under the neutral tags.
Also read: ESL bans orgs with ties to Russian government from upcoming season
Team Spirit CEO explains the relocated to Belgrade:
In an interview with Escorenews, Team Spirit’s CEO Nikita Chukalin, detailed why the organization’s personnel and staff were relocated from Moscow to Belgrade. According to him, such a choice is not a wish to break relations with the Russian-speaking minority, but rather a necessity. Chukalin also mentioned that the CS:GO lineup has already arrived for the new bootcamp. The players must decide whether to stay or move, as well as whether or not to change citizenship.
We do organize the bootcamp here as well as the office in Belgrade. This does not mean that we left Russia and slammed out. But such a decision was crucial for our player’s and staff’s well-being. There are no national leagues or national teams culture in esports. This is the Internet space, and we gather players to build strong teams no matter the nationality and without a wish to carry any county’s flag. We associate ourselves with the whole Russian-speaking society and that will never change. Everyone who rooted for us during all the ups and downs, our true fans means a lot to us. We will go on making content and communicating to the audience in Russian.
Team Spirit CEO Nikita Chukalin
Read more: kennyS: “I’ll switch to VALORANT, maybe I’ll stick with CS:GO, maybe I’ll just be a content creator”
