On Wednesday, April 22, Gambit Esports announced that it will stop operating its League of Legends team, which competes in the League of Legends Continental League. The storied organization said, in its statement, that the decision was tough to make as the former EU LCS team was its first official esports squad. Konstantin Pikiner, Gambit Esports’ CEO, thanked Riot Games, fans and the original Gambit League of Legends team members for their contribution to the Gambit legacy.
“Unfortunately, this exciting journey has come to an end,” Pikiner said, “but we are grateful that you have walked this path together with us.”
Today we close our League of Legends roster.
We are grateful to the guys for victories under our banners and wish them success in the future ✊🏻 pic.twitter.com/i7j3iOwYWR
— Gambit Esports (@GambitEsports) April 22, 2021
The organization will continue to run its top ranked VALORANT and Counter Strike: Global Offensive teams.
Gambit Esports history in League of Legends
Gambit Esports started in League of Legends by acquiring the legendary Moscow Five roster. The team consisted of Danil “Diamondprox” Reshetnikov in the jungle, Alexey “Alex Ich” Ichetovkin in the mid lane and Evgeny “Darien” Mazaev in the top lane. Their bot duo consisted of current FURIA Esports head coaches Edward “Edward” Abgaryan and Evgeny “Genja” Andryushin.
5 men. 1 dream. 9 eyebrows.
Rest in power #GambitLoL pic.twitter.com/iX37bjAZJl
— Gambit Esports (@GambitEsports) April 22, 2021
With this lineup, Gambit would win two Intel Extreme Masters championships and the ESL Major Series: Winter 2012. They would also finish second in the regular season and in the playoffs of the inaugural EU LCS season. The team also booked their first World Championship appearance in Season 3. They went on to make the knockout stage and lost to NaJin Black Sword in the quarter finals. Those were the highest highs for the organization in the European league.
From there, the team would place bottom to mid table in the EU LCS in the following years. They would also go through roster changes throughout, as most of the Moscow Five members retired. Gambit’s last act in the EU LCS was in 2015; the team fought to stay in the league in the EU LCS 2016 Promotion tournament. They beat Mouseports 3-0 to retain their spot. But, Gambit sold its league spot to Team Vitality in December of 2015.
Gambit then announced its new team, Gambit Gaming.CIS, in the CIS regional league. The team started in the SLTV Challenger league, earned its way to the LCL after one split and continued their legacy in the region. Gambit legend Diamondprox was a part of the LCL squad throughout most of its regional run. In the LCL, Gambit won three regular season and playoff titles. They also went to the World Championships twice and the Mid-Season Invitational once.
