Passion UA has officially announced the departure of their head coach, Mikhaylo ‘Kane’ Blagin, ending a 16-month period where he significantly contributed to the team, including their impressive run towards the Perfect World Shanghai Major.

The 39-year-old was instrumental in assembling Passion UA’s original roster, commissioned by Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko to promote esports growth in Ukraine. Kane’s coaching experience included leading the notable teams pro100 and Virtus.pro in CS 1.6, as well as coaching Natus Vincere and the PGL Major Kraków champions Gambit.

In the last year, Passion UA faced numerous challenges, with their performance fluctuating in various tournaments, ultimately leading to their elimination in crucial moments of competitions.

Without Kane, the team will now rely on their remaining players:

• Nikita “jackasmo” Skyba
• Eduard “zeRRoFIX” Petrovskyi
• Vladyslav “Kvem” Korol
• Oleksii “Topa” Topchiienko
• Vsevolod “s-chilla” Shchurov

Main image

For additional context, check out this article about Zinchenko’s investment in Ukrainian esports: Read more.