Viperio has enlisted Mohamad “Ducky” Nourelden for the organisation following the buyout of Markus “upE” Johansson by Swedish org Alliance. UKCSGO understands that Viperio will use their upcoming events as a trial period to test Ducky’s suitability on the roster, but are open to taking other players on a trial period until a permanent solution is discovered.
Viperio has had mixed success since pivoting away from its previous UK cores at the beginning of 2024. The international roster has succeeded in gaining promotion from ESEA Main to ESEA Advanced following a 9th-12th placement in the league. However, they will be looking to have more impact in other competitions. With help from their new rifler, Viperio will attempt to find greater success in United21 and CCT events while competing in ESEA Advanced, whereby Ducky boasted a strong 1.12 rating in Season 49 of the competition.
Viperio’s British coach and Danish IGL Daniel “papp” Hart Rasmus “zodi” Frølich are both deeply familiar with the British rifler, following stints together at XRAVEL and Arctic Raptors. Ducky’s strong performances with Arctic Raptors garnered praise and attention, with UKCSGO featuring him as “One to watch in 2023.” It will be those kinds of performances Viperio will be hoping to see as they sign their first British player since the departures of Reegan “ReegaN” Ward and Marco “MMS” Salomone in April.
During Ducky‘s stay in Verdant, he was considered a solid and reliable piece, typically playing lone-anchor roles for the team. Having played with the Verdant core since August of 2023, and under the umbrella of the org since September of the same year, his stay with the roster ended upon Matas “Extinct” Strumila’s re-entry to Verdant in early July.
upE joined Viperio after promising stints in The Prodigies SE and Kappa Bar. The move to Viperio signified the player’s first move away from an all-Swedish roster, but his excursion into international rosters has proved to be a short-lived one. Following a 0.98 average rating on HLTV-eligible matches, the 20-year-old Swede has taken the decision to move back to a purely Swedish roster with Alliance.
UKCSGO contacted Viperio co-owner Brodie Mulvaney for comment, who had this to say:
“Although we are sad to see Markus leave, we are glad he is making a positive move in his career. Everyone at Viperio will be rooting for him from the sidelines. We are still looking for a 5th, and will be trialing people from today onwards – so reach out to Daniel “Papp” Hart if you are interested in playing anchor roles!
I feel Viperio is truly becoming a home for up-and-coming talent within European esports. With seven player transfers to date, Viperio aims to continuously be a home for talent to grow, develop, and move on to something bigger.”
Viperio’s roster now consists of:
Rasmus “zodi” Frølich
Rasmus “dezt” Nyström
Dimitar “Skrimo” Yanulov
Slaven “AwaykeN” Lyubenov
Mohamad “Ducky” Nourelden
Daniel “papp” Hart (Coach)
ROSTER UPDATE
Markus "upE" Johansson has been traded to @thealliancegg, effective immediately.
We thank Markus for his contributions over the last 3 months. pic.twitter.com/Ur6GrxZ0Ir
— Viperio (@viperioesports) July 26, 2024
