chopper retires as a player

Leonid "chopper" Vishnyakov, the 29-year-old Russian player, has officially announced his retirement from professional Counter-Strike.

I spent most of my competitive Counter-Strike career in two organizations: Vega Squadron and Team Spirit. For me, they became much more than just the teams I played for, since I spent 10 years there.

I’m grateful to Vega Squadron for helping me take my first steps in esports; this organization opened up new opportunities for me and gave me the momentum to continue growing.

In Team Spirit, I established myself as a player, evolved professionally and improved my media skills. Besides, here I achieved the major milestones of my career. I'd like to extend my gratitude to Nikolay "Certus", who entrusted me with the role of IGL, and to Sergey "hally" — we learned to win together.

Working at Team Spirit also gave me an inside look at the scale of the organization. Behind the scenes is a large team of professionals, each of them has their own area of responsibility. I learned a lot from my colleagues and am grateful to them for our fruitful collaboration. Looking back, I realize that they've become an extremely important part of my life.

I’d also like to give a special thanks to the fans. All these years, your support has been a vital part of my journey, both during moments of triumph and during times when things didn’t go our way. You shared our ups and downs, believed in the team, and helped us move forward.

Thank you for being there for us, and see you on the streams!

Vishnyakov had competed on the professional Counter-Strike scene since 2013, earning more than $1 million in prize money over the course of his career.

chopper had represented Team Spirit since early 2019. He was moved to the bench in December 2025 and officially left the club a few days ago.

Origin: www.hltv.org