Russian esports player Denis "seized" Kostin has announced his retirement from professional Counter-Strike. He made the official announcement on his Telegram channel.
Seized explained that he does not intend to completely exit the professional scene. Next year, he will be involved in various media projects and plans to transition to a coaching role in the future.
"I reached this decision because there was no viable option to continue my career with a team I believed could quickly achieve results—such as qualifying for a Major and competing against the best teams. Given the new Valve rule, I don't see how this can be realised unless you are in a top-30 team in the world. <...>
Next year, I will focus on different media projects and remain within the industry. You'll learn about the specific projects I'll be involved in soon.
After a year, I would certainly like to return as a coach. I still have that competitive drive; I want to compete, attend tournaments, assist the team at arenas, and win trophies in a slightly different role, so to speak."
Kostin added that he had a successful career in Counter-Strike and has no regrets.
"Looking back at my career, I can say it was a good one—if not worthy of a film, certainly deserving of a book. I have no regrets; it was an incredibly cool time. I’m not sure what else to say in moments like this. It’s quite difficult. I’m not going anywhere. We will see each other even more often. I’ll be streaming more frequently soon. So we’ll catch up on the streams."
Recently, Denis joined a new media team created by streamer Vyacheslav "Buster" Leontyev, called "Bogatyri Esports". Alongside Leontyev and Kostin, the team includes Egor "flamie" Vasilyev, Rustem "mou" Telepov, and Almaz "almazer" Asadullin.
Seized‘s last professional team was 9 Pandas, where he played from July 2022 to June 2024. Previously, he had also represented Vega Squadron, Gambit, NAVI, and other clubs. Over his career in CS, he earned $381,000 in prize money.