Youngsters Become The Main Roster On Gambit

After three years of trying to configure the best roster, Gambit has moved up their Youngster players to the main roster. The decision for this change was made on October 5 of this year, and Gambit Youngsters has officially disbanded. The mostly Russian roster includes nafany, sh1ro, interz, Ax1le, Hobbit, and their coach groove. Back in 2019, the org signed on a publicly funded team consisting of nafany, sh1ro, and interz. Supra and Poyra would, later on, get benched and both filed for a team transfer. That’s when Ax1le and Hobbit joined the picture. Both exceptional players that already had a history with Gambit.

After F_1N was suspended for being involved in the coach bugging scandals, groove came along. The 37yo coach had a long list of experience with Russian teams like Moscow Five and even played for Virtus.pro back in 2009. Despite F_1N’s suspension groove was the perfect fit and would eventually become the head coach. He even worked with teams in Kazakhstan which happens to be home to team captain Hobbit. The addition of nafany and sh1ro was a natural pairing since they both played together on FLuffy Gangsters and Vyalie Pitoni. Interz, on the other hand, had no previous experience with Gambit while Hobbit was a loaned player for them back in 2016.  

Hobbit was a well-known player who hopped between HellRaisers and K23. Having little to no wins with both teams, he eventually made his way back to Gambit. Hobbit started playing on the main roster years before he played with the Youngsters. He was signed by Tengri, a small team that disbanded in 2018 with only forty thousand in earnings. Hobbit proceeded to play with the team for less than a year until he got benched. The following year he played as a sub for multiple teams until making his way back to Gambit, becoming one of the first consistent players on the team.

Groove saw the potential in Hobbit after his years of practice and rewarded the young star with a starting spot. Not only is groove the team coach, but he’s also the CEO for Gambit, allowing him to make the player choices for his team. After releasing their most well-known players Dosia and mous, the team was lost. With almost seven hundred thousand dollars in 2017, Gambit struggled to continue their winning streak. The year after that, they earned around one hundred grand, which was a huge drop from their previous season. Not to mention their fan base dwindled once Dosia failed to step up and make big plays. 

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A Rough Start

Gambit was struggling so much that they didn’t even participate in most of 2019 after announcing a roster delay. They played a couple of qualifiers earning zero tournament earnings. Gambit Youngsters became the glue for its organisation. Practising every day and participating in loads of tournaments. The Youngster had a rough couple of years before joining the main roster. They had zero tournament earnings in 2016 and 2017. Due to roster issues on the main team, Gambit Youngster didn't perform in 2018. 2020 was their golden year after winning fifty thousand dollars and finding multiple first-place finishes. The players definitely outperformed their higher-ups and proved their skills.

So far the team has placed first in seven tournaments around the C and B-Tier. These tournaments don’t hold the world’s best players but provide a lot of prize money. Perfect for smaller teams or those that want to rebuild their roster. Recently the team received their highest achievement at Nine to Five #4 beating out twenty-seven other teams. Including CS:GO legends like f0rest, GeT_RiGhT, and friberg who play for Dignitas. Other teams like Virtus.pro couldn’t even place in the earning bracket. 2021 might be the turnaround year for Gambit’s new roster. They’ve also shown talented play styles but were never consistent.  

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Hobbit's Legendary Status 

Gambit has given credit to supra for his roster input and expects a lot from hobbit. He’s a strong player who happened to have won the PGL Major Kraków in 2017 alongside Dosia. Hobbit has legendary status and is very much willing to once again play on a winning team. From major winner to B-Tier player, hobbit needs to prove once again his place in CS:GO. Gambit Youngsters lost to their old teammates on K23 in the IEM Beijing Online: Open Qualifier. Despite their first loss they successfully secured their first two games at the Flashpoint Season 2: Open Qualifier.  

This is a high tier tournament worth a total of one million dollars. That’s a lot of cash, especially if you’re Gambit. Flashpoint could be a huge turn around for the team and put them back on the map. Nothing would be better for revamped rosters. The best part is that the team has been playing together for a while now, allowing them to focus on their games rather than team bonding.

It’s the perfect mixture for an award-winning group.
 

Images via Gambit