The players around Sh1ro from Gambit Esports are among the best in the world in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. But shortly before the PGL Major Antwerp 2022, the pros join the US organisation Cloud9.
A sour taste is in the air. Shortly after the Ukraine conflict began, the professional players of the Russian organisation Gambit Esports are flying a neutral flag. This is because Gambit is not allowed to participate in major CS:GO tournaments due to the sanctions against Russian companies. These include, among others, the PGL Major or the ESL events. However, this is changing for the affected players, because on Sunday Cloud9 announced the commitment of the entire Gambit team.
Cloud9 failed miserably with its Esport team last year and now wants to get involved in CS:GO again with the Russian players, who currently form one of the five best teams in the world. Because the pros around Dmitriy “sh1ro” Eduardovich Sokolov have qualified for the PGL Major Antwerp 2022, which will already take place in May, Cloud9 will also be competing again in one of the most important CS:GO tournaments ever.
We finally signed CS:GO Players. pic.twitter.com/MawBtLf3fX
– Cloud9 (@Cloud9) April 24, 2022
The players signed include Sh1ro, nafany, HObbit, Ax1Le and 1nterz. This was also confirmed by Gambit Esports shortly after Cloud9. In addition, coach Konstantin Pikiner, team manager Alexander Shcherbakov and analyst Ivan Kochugov will also be signed. Thus, the sporting entity remains in place, which can now also play under an official name. In the major qualifying tournaments, the Russian professionals played under the code name “Players” because the name Gambit Esports could not be used due to the sanctions.
There is currently no information about a possible transfer fee for Gambit Esports. It is also not known where the new Cloud9 team will be based. A headquarters in the USA seems obvious, although a location in Europe would also be obvious. World number one FaZe Clan, who also reside in the USA, have a location in Europe for their mixed team.
For Cloud9, the commitment of the Russian top players is a new opportunity to be able to celebrate sporting success in CS:GO. On the other hand, it ends a success story that could have been an even bigger one without the ongoing Ukraine conflict. Last year, Gambit Esports won several top tournaments and climbed to the top of the world rankings. Currently, the team is among the top three and is part of the Legends Stage of the upcoming Major event alongside the German flagship BIG.
