When I first saw the announcement that Monte had parted ways with Viktor “sdy” Orudzhev, I felt the same mix of shock and inevitability that every professional player feels when a roster era ends. Monte’s 1-3 finish at the Copenhagen Major RMR was a bitter pill, and when a team misses the sport’s biggest stage, someone usually pays the price. This time it was sdy, whose contract was not extended by mutual agreement. He became a free agent in late February 2024, and the Counter-Strike world immediately started wondering where the Ukrainian star would land next.
From my seat as a competitive player, I know that RMR failure never tells the whole story. Monte’s Copenhagen campaign was derailed partly by sdy falling ill. He missed matches, the team scrambled, and even though he returned mid-RMR, the damage was done. Monte lost 1-2 to Astralis in their elimination match during European RMR B. That kind of loss stings because you never get to see what the full roster could have done at full strength. I have been on teams where one player’s health or travel issues change everything, and it is brutal.
Monte’s farewell message called sdy a legend of the organization, the player with whom they experienced their brightest moments. I do not think that is just polite PR. Over the past year, Monte was one of the standout teams in Counter-Strike 2’s early era, and sdy was a big reason. He performed on the server, but he also shared in-game leader duties alongside Volodymyr “Woro2k” Veletniuk. That dual role is rare. It takes a player who can frag, read the map, and communicate under pressure. Not many pros can do all three at a top level.
The results back it up. Monte reached the BLAST.tv Paris Major playoffs in 2023 and finished 7-8th. They also secured a top-four placement at ESL Pro League Season 18, where they ultimately lost to NAVI in the semifinals. For an organization without the giant budgets of some European superteams, those runs were massive. They proved that Monte could compete with the best, and sdy’s flexibility was central to that identity.
Here is how Monte’s Counter-Strike 2 roster looked after sdy’s departure:
| Role | Player |
|---|---|
| Rifler | Alexander “br0” Bro |
| IGL / Rifler | Volodymyr “Woro2k” Veletniuk |
| Rifler | Sergiy “DemQQ” Demchenko |
| Rifler | Szymon “kRaSnaL” Mrozek |
| Coach | Sergey “lmbt” Bezhanov |
That roster still had talent, but losing a player like sdy creates a hole that stats do not fully capture. He was not just a fragger. He was a stabilizer, a secondary voice, and a player who had already proven he could handle Major pressure.
sdy’s own statement was clear. He said he was looking for a new home, hopefully in a short period of time. He felt his best game form was now, and that he could contribute in many ways to a top team. He also said he was in discussions with several teams, but nothing was validated. I respect that honesty. Too many players pretend they have everything figured out. Free agency is chaos. You wake up, you scrim with a mix, you talk to orgs, you wait for buyouts, and you try to stay sharp while your future is uncertain.
Now, writing from 2026, I can look back at that moment with more clarity. The Copenhagen Major was the first Counter-Strike 2 Major, with a $1.25 million prize pool and the best teams from around the world. Monte failed to qualify, and sdy’s exit became part of the great post-Major shuffle. In the years since, the CS2 scene has only become more competitive. Rosters change faster, coaches demand more, and free agents have to sell themselves like never before. sdy’s situation was an early example of how brutal that market can be.
If I were advising a top team today, I would still look at sdy. He can rifle, he can support, he can share calling, and he has deep-tier experience. The question is fit. A top team needs more than skill; it needs voices that do not clash. Monte found a way to make sdy and Woro2k work together, and that is a blueprint. Any org that signs him should understand he is not a plug-and-play star who will silently follow orders. He is a competitor who wants to help shape the game.
For Monte, the split was a reset. For sdy, it was a chance to prove his best form was still ahead. For me, it was a reminder that in Counter-Strike, loyalty and results always live on a knife’s edge. One bad RMR, one illness, one elimination match, and everything changes. The best players do not just survive those moments. They use them as fuel. I will be watching to see how sdy’s next chapter unfolds, even in 2026, because players with his versatility do not stay quiet for long.