Popular free agent lineup M3 Champions disband

M3 Champions, a Russian free agent team, disbands as its members decide to leave and pursue other opportunities on an individual level. Yaroslav “Jady” Nikolaev,  Igor “Redgar” Vlasov and Timofey “Chronicle” Khromov will each separately look for offers from EMEA teams, in particular from any VCT partnered teams.

The heyday of the Russian lineup, which ruled supreme in 2021 under the Gambit Esports banner at VCT, has come to an end with the dissolution of M3 Champions, one of the most promising free agent teams. Chronicle, Sheydos, Redgar, and coach Denis “Gray” Danilyuk follow Nats’ lead and announce their departure from the squad in order to explore separate offers for the upcoming Valorant season.

George Geddes, Dot Esports’ reporter, claimed that the squad was banking on certain EMEA league teams being chosen for partnership in order to get recruited as a squad, however, the teams were reportedly unable to secure the deal. Although a North American organization has reportedly shown interest in the players, the import restrictions placed on Russian players make it unlikely that they will leave Europe. Instead, it’s likely that each player will look for individual offers to join the EMEA partnership league. They won’t know their fate until the partnered teams are officially announced, so uncertainty will surround them until then. 

Gambit’s last legacy in Valorant ends with the disbanding of M3C

Chronus, Sheydos, Redgar, and assistant coach Gray were members of the longstanding Gambit Esports, which made a splash in the VCT year of 2021. In their first year, Gambit Esports dominated the CIS region and excelled at multiple international competitions. The team won the Masters Berlin competition and placed second at the Valorant Champions 2021 event, narrowly losing out on the Champions title to Ascent.

However, their golden time with Gambit soon came to an end when Riot Games sanctioned the Russian organizations following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 2024. After the sanctions, the core team came together in March 2022 and formed a new team M3 Champions. Despite a sluggish start to the year, the Russian team has had some success, but not as much success as they had the year before. M3C finished fifth to sixth at the VCT 2022: EMEA Stage 1 Challengers in March and fourth at the Stage 2 Challengers, just missing out on a spot at Masters 2 Copenhagen. M3C put on a solid performance at the Last Chance Qualifiers with a slightly changed squad, but fell short against Team Liquid in the Grand Final, missing out on qualifying for an international event three times in a row.

Header: Riot Games