“There is passion in our Ukrainian blood.” Arsenal star starts an e-sports team
Footballer Oleksandr Zinchenko – defender of Arsenal and the Ukrainian national team – is starting his own e-sports team playing CS: GO. Passion UA will bring together young players under the supervision of an experienced coach who has worked with the best teams in the industry.
A young Arsenal player invests in the world of e-sports. Oleksandr Zinchenko has already been involved in electronic sports, and now he wants to give a new generation of players a chance to shine.
Passion UA – a new Ukrainian CS:GO team sponsored by a football player
The 26-year-old athlete announced the founding of Passion UA - a team that will compete in the extremely popular Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Passion for games is to be the central value of the team, which is to allow the Ukrainian team to achieve more and more.
– We decided on the name Passion UA because our Ukrainian blood has a passion for doing something. What you name your boat affects how it sails. I am happy with this name, but it is not the most important thing, Zinchenko comments for HLTV.
The idea to start the team was born from Zinchenko’s deep love for games and the desire to develop e-sports in his native country. The team is intended to give a chance to young players of Ukrainian origin. The team includes unrecognized players who are only at the beginning of their careers. The age of the members is from 16 to 20 years old.
“Kane” is the coach of Passion UA
However, they will be trained by an e-sports team. Mikhaylo “Kane” Blagin, 37, has previously coached the Ukrainian pro100 team and the Polish senior CS 1.6 team Virtus.pro. He has been training CS:GO teams since 2016. The famous Gambit squad won the world championship under his leadership, and the Natus Vincere team was runner-up.
– (Blagin) has incredible experience, focuses on quality and knows what we need to do. I have full confidence in him and I believe that this project can become a huge success. I am a CS fan myself and when I heard about the idea for Passion UA, I was happy to get involved, Zinchenko recalls.
As the Arsenal defender adds, he plans to get involved in the team’s activities as much as he can. However, it won’t be easy due to his tight football schedule. Zinchenko has already met with the young players, for now virtually. However, I plan to visit them during the bootcamp at the first opportunity.
