Zeus ends his career as an esports pro

Natus Vincere captain Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko announced that BLAST Pro Series Moscow 2019 will be his last tournament as a professional player. Last December, the Ukrainian veteran Counter-Strike told HLTV.org in an interview about his plans to end his career in 2019.

It was a tough decision — I have been thinking about it for a while. There were rumors I could leave after BLAST, but I believed our new roster could win a Major, or make it into the finals at least. But we lost early on, and I realize I need to give way to the youth. It’s rough, honestly: I have devoted 20 years of my life to Counter-Strike, and it’s about time to wrap it up. I want to thank everyone who was with me all this time, cheered for me and believed in me.

This is not an end, but a start of a new path. There will be lots of interesting stuff: I want to develop esports in CIS, build a pro academy, engage with the young. I have lots of ideas. But I will not be coaching, at least for now. It might happen sometime in the future.

My last event, BLAST, will start in a few days in Moscow. I am inviting every person who can — come and support us. Our eyes are set on the victory.

Hugs and kisses to all. Thanks for all the support throughout 20 years. It’s pleasing to read the supporting comments: you do indeed warm my heart in this hard moment!

uaDanylo «Zeus» Teslenko

Thanks for the leadership, for the trophies, for the loyalty, for the mentoring, for the will, for the positive vibes, for the humor, and of course, for the efforts to make the club succeed. I know for sure you wanted to end our path together with a Major victory, but that would not change your status — you’re our captain, the legend and an inalienable part of our history.

I am sure our fans will show it all at your last tournament as a player. Thanks for everything, Danya!

uaYevhen Zolotarov

Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko started his career as a professional player in Counter-Strike in 2002. In CS 1.6 he represented such famous teams as pro100, Virtus.pro, forZe, KerchNET and Natus Vincere. Together with the "born to win" he moved into an emerging version of Global Offensive in 2012.

In August 2016, Zeus was expelled from the main squad of Natus Vincere, and soon moved to Gambit, with whom he won several championship titles, including the PGL Major Krakow 2017 trophy. Exactly one year later, he returned to Na`Vi, and during this period he managed to lead the team to victories at StarSeries i-League CS:GO S5, CS:GO Asia Championships 2018, ESL One Cologne 2018, BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen 2018 and StarSeries i-League S7.

In May 2017, Zeus founded an esports club, which received the legendary pro100 tag. In December 2018, Danylo Teslenko launched the league at FACEIT for players from the CIS and Baltic countries, which is currently the most popular competitive platform in the region.