Cloud9 has replaced supporting rifler Timofey “interz” Yakushin with the former Virtus Pro rifler Timur “buster” Tulepov today ahead of the start of the 2023 CS:GO season.
This is the first roster change for the team led by nafany since C9 picked up the former Gambit lineup in April 2022, but most importantly, it’s the first roster change on this team since July 2020, when they were still playing under Gambit Youngsters and added the PGL Kraków Major champion HObbit to the team.
Interz had been playing alongside nafany and sh1ro since April 2019 when they were picked up by Gambit Youngsters. The 22-year-old helped the Russian squad become one of the best in the world in 2021 when they won IEM Katowice in February, IEM Summer, and BLAST Premier Spring Final in June.
Interz and crew, however, didn’t showcase the same form in 2022, the year in which tournaments went back to a LAN setup, and only won IEM Dallas in June. The Russians played fewer events than other tier-one teams and had subpar showings at both 2022 Majors. Interz averaged a 0.99 rating across 120 maps played last year, according to HLTV.
As for buster, he’s been on the sidelines since May 2022 when VP placed him on Outsiders’ bench. He’s most known for his ability to anchor bombsites and for winning BLAST Pro Series Moscow in September 2019 when he, Jame, and qikert were still playing under the AVANGAR banner. Buster played less than 50 official maps in 2022 and averaged a 0.95 rating, according to HLTV.
Buster will debut under C9 at IEM Katowice, which will be played between Jan. 31 and Feb. 12.
