On the eve of the start of StarLadder CIS 2021, Akuma player Sergiz «Sergiz» Atamanchuk gave an interview on the official channel of the tournament, in which he shared his thoughts on the preparation of the team. He said the team has a good chance of qualifying for the majors and expects to finish in the top five at those events. He also mentioned that the team did not use any special training system – mainly, the participants worked on their individual skills.
Nevertheless, Akuma's first two appearances at the tournament were unsuccessful. It suffered a 0 : 2 defeat to forZe, which prompted some commentators to point out the stark difference between how the team had performed in the previous tournament and its current state. On June 28, it suffered another defeat – from Gambit, also with the score 0 : 2.
On the one hand, there is nothing surprising in losing to a team that is currently at the top of the world ranking. On the other hand, two consecutive defeats and the fact that the players have not managed to keep a single card so far have made analysts once again remember that there were accusations of cheating against Akuma in the previous tournament. The team has two more matches to play in the next two days - against Natus Vincere and Nemiga.