Roman Dvoryankin: “Cypher considered offers from Europe and America, but chose Virtus.pro”

Virtus.pro General manager Roman Dvoryankin told us how the idea to sign the Quake player Alexey “Cypher” Yanushevsky first came about, what difficulties arose during negotiations, and what other esports disciplines the organization may enter in the future.

Cypher and Virtus.pro: how did it happen?

We learned about the plans for QuakeCon as far back as early March. An internal presentation was held for the key teams. At that point, we were already calmly following Quake with our finger on the pulse. In May, Bethesda officially confirmed that there would be a tournament and supplied all the details about the prize pool. That was when we started looking at who we could sign. The main question was whether to sign one player or four. With this being a new discipline and us operating within our approved budget, we couldn’t simply conjure up the large amount of money needed for a whole team. We made a few cuts here and there, and decided to work with Alexey. I am glad that such a legendary player, who is still in his prime, is becoming part of our team.

Was money the only reason you signed one player rather than four?

The main reason we didn’t go for four has to do with our policy. We only enter a discipline if we are capable of taking a leading position in it, either globally or regionally. That was the case with League of Legends, to name an example. We didn’t want to sign mediocre players in order to just give it a try. With Alexey, I am sure we will be able to achieve the highest results.

Were there any difficulties during negotiations?

Alexey had received offers from both European and American teams. He talked to us and considered those offers. He has a good understanding of what Virtus.pro is in terms of reliability and organization size. The negotiations went smoothly, but it was not as though we were the only ones who came to him and said, “Come join us, buddy”, and he said yes at once. It did not go like that. He took some time to think it over, and informed us of the offers he had at the time. We verified that he had indeed received those offers and was not just trying to squeeze more money out of us. In the end, we offered him terms that satisfied him.

Was living in Minsk among those terms?

Yes, certainly. He will regularly come to Moscow for certain sponsor events, but let him live in Minsk, no problem there. We cannot disclose all details of our contract, but, for instance, his salary is tied to his performance at QuakeCon. If he is successful there, he will receive a bonus. The contract’s fairly long duration will allow Alexey to feel confident and immerse himself fully in the game. We have signed one of the best players in the world and are now positive that we can maintain a serious and long-term presence in this discipline.

Are you planning on expanding Virtus.pro’s Quake roster in the future? Or perhaps branching out into other disciplines?

We will see how QuakeCon goes. We have scheduled a meeting with the game’s creators in order to get a better understanding of their plans. We have certain information about a league being planned, but we will wait for QuakeCon results before finalizing our decision. Regarding expanding into new disciplines, we are carefully watching the developments in both classic and console videogames. We take note of mobile games too: so far, mobile-platform esports is in an embryonic state, but I am sure there is a lot we will hear about within a year from now. If there is a new up-and-coming new discipline, we will be in it.

Author: Gleb Chernyavsky