Gambit Esports & “fng” Officially Go Their Separate Ways

In a move that has been discussed by many in the industry, Gambit Esports has finally made the decision to part company with Artsiom “fng” Barshak. In a move that was believed to have been mutually agreed by the two parties, the Belarusian pro having been on loan at Alliance since May this year. With Gambit having not taken part in a Dota 2 competition since the ESL One Birmingham back in May, roster changed had been anticipated, with the departure of fng being the first major alteration.

Having been Gambit’s Captain and longest serving player, fng agreed to leave the organisation at the end of his contract on August 31, with the 24-year-old having initially joined the team in December 2018. With fng in their ranks, Gambit became one of the leading teams in CIS Dota, helping them in reaching various Majors, turning the Russian organisation into a force to be reckoned with.

What the Departure of fng Means for Gambit

The Gambit Dota roster now features Kiyalbek “dream” Tayirov, Gpk, Maxim “Shachlo” Abramovskikh (inactive) and Danial “XSvamp1Re” Alibaev, with Nikolay “distilled” Prokhorenko fulfilling the coaching role. As for fng, the former Virtus.Pro and Team Spirit player is now a free agent, however a permanent switch to Alliance almost seems inevitable, having performed well for the Swedish organisation since his arrival back in May. Alliance has finished in the top 8 positions in each and every tournament in which they have competed in since the arrival of fng.

There could well be additional changes for Gambit’s Dota roster in the coming weeks and months, with leading mid-laner Daniel “gpk” Skutin believed to be on the wish list of a number of teams, with Virtus.Pro having shown the greatest interest to date. The 19-year-old has represented both FlyToMoon and HellRaisers during Gambit’s break from competing, however it remains to be seen as to what his next move will be. During his time at Gambit, fng has won two WePlay! Dota 2 Madness competitions, finished as runner up at the Bucharest and StarLadder Imba TV Minors and claiming third place at the ONE Esports World Pro Invitational in Singapore.

How Other Teams Have Made Changes to Their Dota Roster

Gambit will now be looking to complete their roster in a bid to return to competitive action, with the organisation having announced the departure of fng on their Twitter page on Wednesday afternoon. They have not been the only team to make such changes however, with Vici Gaming having parted company with Zhou “Yang” Haiyang and Bai “r0tk” Fan just 24 hours earlier.