The Story of Jame in AVANGAR, Virtus.pro and PARIVISION. The Greatest Tier-1 Comeback from the Bottom of the Pro Scene in CS2?
On Sunday, January 25, 2026, the first major event concluded – BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 1, where PARIVISION sensationally emerged victorious. This win cannot be called a fluke, as they defeated Spirit, FURIA and Falcons on their path, giving up only one map across three matches. There’s no doubt that Jame became the main reason for such a young organization’s success, and it’s his story we want to tell in this article. The legendary captain’s career resembles the scariest roller coaster with the steepest drops and climbs. Let’s take a ride together!
AVANGAR – The First Serious Organization
Jame joined the Kazakhstani organization, which was ranked 54th in the HLTV world rankings, and from that moment the team only climbed higher and higher. Throughout the year, players left and new faces arrived, until in July 2019, a couple of months before the start of StarLadder Major Berlin 2019, the young SANJi, Qikert, buster, and Jame were joined by PGL Krakow Major 2017 MVP – AdreN.
The result didn’t take long to arrive, and AVANGAR confidently made it to the grand final, where they lost to the incredibly strong Astralis. Second place at the Major shocked absolutely everyone, and many were already talking about Jame’s unusual, calculated playstyle. However, many also noticed another pattern – an incredibly high individual rating for a captain (Jame finished the tournament with 1.14 and received EVP).
After the Berlin Major, the community split into two camps: those who claimed that AVANGAR’s silver medals were a fluke, and those who began to closely follow the guys. Just a couple of weeks later, everyone had the opportunity to confirm or refute their assumptions about the “upstarts” from CIS. BLAST Pro Series Moscow 2019 ended with AVANGAR’s victory, and Jame himself received his first MVP award. Captain, sniper, and best player on his team – how is this even possible? It’s simple – this is Jami Ali, who doesn’t know any other way.
The Virtus.pro Era. A New Steep Climb
The entire AVANGAR roster received Moscow registration and was sold to Virtus.pro. The team’s game didn’t click immediately, and at the very first major tournament – IEM Katowice 2020 – they finished in last place. Then all competitions moved to online format, and perhaps this became an excellent opportunity for Jame to concentrate on playing CS and integrate YEKINDAR into his system. Just six months later, at the end of 2020, the team wins Flashpoint 2 with a prize pool of $1,000,000, which previously could only be seen at Majors.
A month later, VP takes second place at IEM Katowice 2021 (also online), wins cs_summit 7, and Jame once again receives MVP from HLTV. By March 2021, he and the guys climb to third place in the world rankings and firmly establish themselves among the best teams.
Forming His Own Style. Jame Time
After two years of consistently competing at tier-1 level, the team management style and Jame’s individual play stood out significantly. His system became more like mathematical calculations, where he relied not on specific strategies, but tried to determine the probability of winning in a given situation. Saving in a 4v5 situation was a know-how that viewers didn’t like, as they always want to see active CS. Jame cared little about this – his goal was to win, and saving the AWP to increase the chances of winning the next round wasn’t something shameful.
The team completely trusts his decisions, and having exactly such fighters in the lineup (believing in his system) is a key moment for ultimate success. Perhaps that’s why he was always surrounded by young players who unquestioningly adhere to his vision of the game and situations on the map. The end justifies the means. If Jame needs a player to run banana every round and go all-in – he will do it. If the captain wants you to guard the site until the timer runs out – you must do it, and Jami himself will do all the rest of the work.
This playstyle is very irritating to opponents, and no one has ever liked playing against Jame. You can study their demos, come up with anti-strats, but Jame will prepare so thoroughly that his players will only need to click left mouse button. He sends his fighters forward, and if something goes wrong, clutches are his strong suit, where his composure and confidence help resolve situations in his favor.
The Outsiders Era. Victory at IEM Rio Major
During that period, Jame primarily lost not the opportunity to represent VP on the world stage, but a stable roster that he had spent a huge amount of time on. YEKINDAR and buster left and two completely raw youngsters in the form of n0rb3r7 and fame joined the team. For the captain, a new stage begins, where he locks himself with the guys at an extended bootcamp and explains to them how to play “Jame’s CS.”
The guys made it to the Major in Rio and perhaps you don’t remember a single round from that tournament (except for Jame’s clutch against MOUZ on Overpass), as absolutely no one understood how they were winning matches. It seemed like the match had just started, and Outsiders led by Jame were already getting up from their seats and moving forward. At this Major, Jame lifts the cup – the most significant trophy of his career – and once again becomes MVP.
The Decline at Virtus.pro. Attempting to Build the World's #1 Team
In March 2023, VP moved to Armenia and removed all restrictions on participating in tournaments under their tag. By this point, Jame had already made the unpopular decision to take KaiR0N- instead of n0rb3r7. At the qualifiers for BLAST Paris Major 2023, an unprecedented situation occurred, and in the middle of the tournament VP made an emergency substitution, after which n0rb3r7 played the last match. It feels like after this, the dark streak began in the Bears’ camp.
The management wasn’t satisfied with stable top-10 HLTV placement, and they demanded that Jame build a top-1 collective that consistently takes trophies. Because of this, the captain tried to find an aggressive player, but after all attempts, he made the choice in favor of a “proven workhorse” and mir joined the team. This was a player who perfectly fit Jame’s system, unquestioningly performing his role and not interfering with the captain doing his work.
In this lineup, the guys looked very solid, consistently stayed in the HLTV top-10 and were one step away from making the playoffs of PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, if not for the fatal server disconnect and the round given away against G2 on the second map.
Respect must be given to Jame, as he never called this the reason for their failure to make the playoffs. He continued to work and found that very “reinforcement.” ElectroNic appeared in VP – possibly the only player in Jame’s career with greater authority than his own. This roster wasn’t so bad, taking 3rd-4th place at BLAST Premier Spring Final 2024 and the prestigious EWC 2024. But, as we know, after the failure at Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024, the management made the choice in favor of Denis Sharipov, and Jame was benched (despite statements that they always have a contract with an open date on the table for Jame, waiting for his signature at any moment).
Transfer to PARIVISION. Rising from the Ashes
It seemed that Jame’s career was coming to an end, he talked a lot about the difficulty of adapting to CS2, and recent results didn’t allow him to secure an invitation to a top collective. On top of everything, Jame had a reputation as a captain who wants to completely control the process, which means starting everything from scratch. Obviously, not everyone was ready to take such a risk. But PARIVISION appeared on the horizon, where his old friend – coach dastan, with whom he had worked throughout his entire career – had already been for several months.
The guys assembled as a team at 190th place in the HLTV rankings, having no VRS points in their assets. For a whole year they played numerous tournaments, and to bond with the team, Jame once again gathered everyone at a bootcamp, where he even brought his wife, because he understood that he wouldn’t be home anytime soon. Having practically no chance of making the Major in Budapest – they received the coveted slot. Funnily enough, this happened thanks to VP’s visa problems at one of the tournaments and a victory at the local Majestic LanDaLan 3.
At the Major itself, they passed two stages, reached the top-16 and received enough points for invites to most tournaments in 2026. The first of these was BLAST Bounty 2026 S1, where Jame lifted his next tier-1 trophy, which he hadn’t lifted since IEM Rio 2022. After the victory, he said one very interesting phrase: “One year of life is nothing, and a trophy is everything.”
Looking back, this is a very important thought that has pursued him throughout his entire career. He spends approximately a year explaining to players how he sees CS, and then inevitably shoots up and achieves results. This is exactly what happened at PARIVISION. The right players gathered around, ready to absorb his knowledge and trust him completely. And in the game itself, practically nothing has changed: Jame is fragging again and is at the top of the rankings, teammates concentrate on shooting, and everything else has been brought to automaticity at the endless bootcamp. Opponents once again complain about the uncomfortable and unpleasant playstyle, and Jami just shrugs his shoulders, saying that he’s always played this way, you just forgot a little.
Conclusion
Perhaps Jame’s system isn’t perfect, and it would never allow him to achieve his own era, like Astralis, NAVI or Vitality. But to always be at the top, to achieve minimal goals – it’s definitely capable of that. There’s a feeling that he simply found a formula that allows him to win the required number of rounds for victory, and it seems that no one in the world has such a formula except Jami Ali. Jame accomplished something almost incredible and proved his genius and uniqueness. While former stars and new organizations are trying to break through to the top by buying “ready-made rosters,” Jami relied only on himself and his talent, and we already know how it all ended.
Author: Alex
Alex is an author and esports observer with more than seven years of experience. He specializes in analyzing new releases in the world of computer games, gaming services, and in-game economies. Alex shares practical experience and an expert perspective on the development of gaming, helping readers understand complex mechanics and stay up to date with the latest news.
