Players from the Russian organisation Gambit Esports are only allowed to participate in tournaments in VALORANT and CS:GO under certain conditions.
For Russian organisations, the classic esports routine has become a distant memory. One of the best known among them is Gambit Esports. Especially the top players of the shooter titles VALORANT and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive are left to their own devices.
“It continues to be a very difficult time for everyone, not least all of us with family and friends living in Ukraine,” Gambit Esports announced via Twitter on Monday due to the ongoing Ukraine war. In the message, the Russian esports organisation also announced that all VALORANT professional players will be allowed to compete as a neutral team in the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) competitions.
Gambit has made the decision to allow individual players to continue in the VCT competition as an independent team.
Starting Wednesday March 16, the players will compete under the ”M3 Champions” name and all of their postponed matches will be scheduled for the upcoming days. https://t.co/CT2GSDgsxh
– VALORANT Champions Tour EMEA (@valesports_emea) March 14, 2022
Due to the Russia sanctions imposed as a result of the Ukraine war, Russian organisations are not allowed at these tournaments. Thus, the Gambit pros compete independently under the name “M3 Champions”. The name Gambit Esports or any reference to the organisation will be kept away from the tournament. The competition will begin on Wednesday in the EMEA region.
CS:GO stars may compete in ESL Pro League
Already last Friday, Gambit Esports temporarily released the CS:GO pros, allowing them to compete as an independent team at the ESL Pro League Season 15 in Düsseldorf, Germany. The competition will take place from 9 March to 10 April. The ESL had previously announced the exclusion of Russian organisations such as Gambit Esports and Virtus.pro – also as part of the sanctions against Russia.
– Gambit Esports (@GambitEsports) March 11, 2022
“Our players are allowed to participate in the tournament under a neutral name,” reads the statement from Gambit Esports. Meanwhile, the new name is still unknown. Whether the pros from the VALORANT and CS:GO divisions will return to Gambit Esports is also uncertain. In both titles, the pros are among the best in the world.
The organisation, which was founded nine years ago, also has pro teams in League of Legends, Dota 2, Fortnite and Apex Legends.
