Former Spirit captain Chopper officially announced his retirement at the age of 29.

Russian CS2 legend and former Spirit captain Leonid Vishnyakov (ID: chopper) officially announced his retirement on Saturday, ending his 13-year professional career.

The 29-year-old chopper primarily plays as a shotgunner and has played for several top CS teams throughout his career, including dope, Quest, Tempest, FLuffy Gangsters, Binary Dragons, NokSuKao, ANOX, ALLIN, and Vega Squadron. Since joining Spirit in March 2019, he has played on 1249 maps across various tournaments, averaging a 0.99 rating. He has helped the team win numerous S-level tournaments, including the 2024 IEM Katowice, the 2024 BLAST Premier Spring, the BB Villa Cup 2024 Belgrade, eight S-level tournament championships, the 2024 Perfect World Shanghai Major, the 2025 BLAST Spring Bounty, the 2025 PGL Astana, the 2025 IEM Cologne, and the 2025 BLAST Autumn Bounty.

Now, chopper has decided to end his playing career, which began in 2013. He told HLTV, "I've spent most of my long CS career with Vega Squadron and Spirit. After spending ten years with both teams, they are more than just teams I used to play for."

“I am very grateful to Vega Squadron for helping me take the first step in my esports career. This team has provided me with new opportunities and given me the motivation to continue growing.”

"At Spirit, I established myself as a player, achieved a professional transformation, and improved my media skills. Furthermore, I reached many important milestones in my career. I especially want to thank Nikolai Poluyanov (ID: Certus) for entrusting me with the responsibility of leadership. I also want to thank Sergei Shavayev (ID: hally), with whom we learned how to win."

“My time working at Spirit gave me a deep understanding of its scale. They have a huge professional team behind the scenes, with everyone doing their job. I benefited a lot from my colleagues and am very grateful for the fruitful collaboration I had with them. Looking back, I realize they have become an extremely important part of my life.”

“I would also like to express my special thanks to our fans. Over the years, whether we were making great strides or things didn’t go as planned, your support has always been an indispensable part of this journey. You have shared our joys and sorrows, always believed in us, and helped us keep moving forward.”

"Thank you for your continued support. See you in the live stream!"

Image source: Internet/Dust2