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Dimapur, April 24 (EMN): American professional esports team Cloud9 on Sunday announced a return to the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO) esports scene with the acquisition of Russian powerhouse Gambit Esports for an undisclosed fee.
Cloud9 had previously withdrawn from the professional scene in March 2021 citing "financial and "remote training" struggles.
However, Gambit's talented line-up had been banned from competing under the Gambit tag due to the sanctions imposed on the Russian organisation amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. As a result, the entire Gambit roster was up for sale and needless to say, Cloud9 jumped in to rope in the third-best CSGO team in the world according to HLTV rankings.
We finally signed CS:GO Players. pic.twitter.com/MawBtLf3fX
— Cloud9 (@Cloud9) April 24, 2022
"We finally signed CS:GO Players," wrote Cloud9 in a tweet on Sunday along with a montage of the former Gambit roster's popular tournament highlights.
Cloud9’s new Counter-Strike roster includes:
Sh1ro, nafany, HObbit, Ax1Le and 1nterz have joined Cloud9.
— Gambit Esports (@GambitEsports) April 24, 2022
Team's manager Alexander Shcherbakov, coach Konstantin Pikiner and analyst Ivan Kochugov will continue working with them in a new organization.
We wish all of them luck at the upcoming major and other tournaments.
❤️
The former Gambit players are now expected to debut under the Cloud9 banner at PGL Antwerp Major in May.
Besides the players, Cloud9 has also managed to rope in Gambit head coach Konstantin "groove" Pikiner, analyst Ivan "F_1N" Kochugov, and the Gambit team manager Aleksandr "Sweetypotz" Scherbakov.