degster joins OG CSGO team
Stephanie Lindgren/BLASTOG have announced the signing of Team Spirit’s benched AWPer Abdul ‘degster’ Gasanov, as reported by Dexerto on July 14.
degster will replace longtime member Mateusz ‘mantuu’ Wilczewski, who has been with OG since the famed Dota 2 organization entered CS:GO in December 2019.
His signing comes just weeks after impressing for OG as a stand-in at the BLAST Premier Spring Final. He averaged a team-high 1.16 rating as the team reached the semi-finals before losing to eventual winners NAVI.
“After an unforgettable performance at the BLAST Premier Spring Final, I couldn’t choose another team,” degster said in a statement.
“I feel that with them I’m ready to show beautiful CS and continue to develop myself as a pro player.”
A vibrant young AWPer
degster burst onto the international scene in late 2020 as part of Espada alongside Robert ‘Patsi’ Isyanov, another rising Russian star.
He joined Team Spirit after the turn of the year and helped them to a semi-final run in IEM Katowice 2021 in one of his first appearances for the team.
Stefan Petrescu/PGLTeam Spirit struggled to remain relevant in the scene for almost a year, but then they shockingly reached the semi-finals at PGL Major Antwerp in one of the greatest Cinderella stories in the game in recent years.
Shortly after the event, Team Spirit announced that they were parting ways with degster by mutual agreement due to a difference in views regarding the team’s future.
In a statement posted on Twitter, degster explained that his departure was motivated by the team’s relocation to Serbia, expressing his wish to return to Russia.
“The organization wants every player to spend at least nine months per year in Serbia,” degster wrote. “However, there are certain personal matters that prevent me from being able to meet these demands.”
degster will make his first appearance as a full-fledged OG player in the BLAST Premier Fall Groups, scheduled for August 19-28. The tournament will mark the return of top-tier Counter-Strike after the player break.
OG’s new CS:GO roster:
- Shahar ‘flameZ’ Shushan
- Nemanja ‘nexa’ Isaković
- Adam ‘NEOFRAG’ Zouhar
- Maciej ‘F1KU’ Miklas
- Abdul ‘degster’ Gasanov
- Casper ‘ruggah’ Due (Coach)