deko says he'd only return to pro scene for "$100,000 a month" after standout performance against VP
Russian streamer Denis "deko" Zhukov, after leading his team WW to victory at the WINLINE MPKBK LAN, declared he has no intentions of returning to professional Counter-Strike. The 25-year-old AWPer, who retired from competitive play in 2024, set a strict condition for any potential comeback: a salary of $100,000 per month and a contract duration of at most one year.
In the five-map final series against Virtus.Pro, deko delivered a monster performance, dropping a match-high 90 frags. It was immediately after this standout display that he made his statement about returning to the scene. According to deko, he is "genuinely too lazy" to play pro CS2 and would only agree to return under the specific financial terms mentioned.
A monthly salary of $100,000 places deko on a higher income level than most superstars in the Counter-Strike 2 scene. Since returning to streaming in November last year, he has represented WW, posting an average rating of 1.24 across 181 maps played.
deko currently boasts a Twitch channel with over 700k followers, where he regularly streams to an average of 8,000 viewers. His decision to retire from competitive play at just 23 years old left many wondering what could have been after his most recent performance at the LAN event.
Имба
