Passion UA was on nobody’s radar ahead of the RMRs for the Shanghai Major. The Ukrainian team, founded by Oleksandr Zinchenko in August 2023 and run by Artemijs Rjabovs from Latvia, has had a lightning-fast rise to prominence in CS2.
In October last year, Passion UA was ranked 195th. Now it is ranked 28th. The roster consists of five Ukrainian players and a coach. Four of the five players are under 20. The 5th, Rodyon “fear” Smyk, is 24. He is a former NAVI Junior member.
The entire lineup looks highly skilled and, as the name of the organization suggests, very passionate. At 17, the drive to compete and succeed is high because you’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.
In 2024, Passion UA won four C-tier trophies, at tournaments like European Pro League and Real Game Cup 2024. These victories likely improved the team’s morale and incentivized the players to train hard for future events.
Despite failing to qualify for S-tier tournaments, Passion UA gradually developed its playstyle to the point where they were able to cause serious challenges to almost any opponent.
The Shanghai Major RMR Success
In the second European RMR for the Shanghai Major, Passion UA encountered two formidable Russian teams in the first two rounds: Virtus.pro and Team Spirit. Each time, they won by the skin of their teeth. The scores were 16 – 14 against VP and 13 – 11 against Spirit.
Then came two dramatic defeats: 1 – 2 against BIG and 1 – 2 again against HEROIC. In the fifth round, Astralis were supposed to beat them with the same score. But they were defeated. Once again, the scores were very close: 13 – 9 on Inferno and 13 – 11 on Ancient.
Thanks to these results, Passion UA will compete in the Shanghai Major, the first big tournament in the organization’s history.
