The Story of Gambit: Valorant's Best Team, Forced To Disband

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In this video, we'll take an in-depth look at Gambit Esports' Valorant Team. This talented group of players has been making waves in the competitive Valorant scene, consistently delivering impressive performances and securing victories against some of the best teams in the world. That was until their tragic downfall after the war in Russia, which led to Gambit falling apart. In this video, I'll be exploring their journey to becoming one of the most respected teams in the game, taking a closer look at their strategies, playstyle, and the individual skills that make each member stand out. I Hope you enjoy!
Footage/Image credit to Riot Games, Gambit, Team Liquid

[@CommendYT]

THE REASON ACEND ARE NOT AT THE START OF THE VIDEO: The Grand Final vs Gambit at Champs 2021 was so incredibly close that at the time, many thought Gambit were still the better team despite Acend winning that series. That's why I didn't include them in the 'undisputed best' list at the start of the video. 🙏

[@megaman8284]

Gambit in the undisputed list even though they lost the most important match of the year isn't fair. Doesn't matter people think, calling gambit undisputed when they got beaten by acend doesn't make no sense. This coming from a guy who supported gambit in that match.

[@kieieiee9343]

@@megaman8284 no commend , dont listen to these people. acend were only the best team of the world for that week or so. m3c, loud, optic , fnc all have shown much longer peaks to justify their places

[@ykali00]

how about fpx

[@ademcancarkac1652]

L

[@megaman8284]

@@kieieiee9343 what u said abt acend is true and it's also the reason why a lot of people liked gambit/m3c (including me) in that matchup. But it's not fair to put acend below gambit because of that since they won the biggest championship of that year. That's what actually matters.

[@albedo9617]

In a different world, Gambit made franchising and won VCT lock in. Legit my favorite team

[@divyanshbhamu2941]

ahh just goosebumps hearing that🥶🥶

[@alexksader_zp8554]

Yeah... I wish Russia didnt start the war, Gambit would be for sure franchised

[@sisig2419]

@@alexksader_zp8554 I think it's not the best reason to wish Russia hadnt started the war, but good idea

[@jagason7494]

@@sisig2419 wym

[@naiyarathanmatheekuna2910]

@@jagason7494 a better reason might be so Ukraine wouldn’t get attack and innocent civilians wouldn’t be killed and injured or forced from their homes. But so a valorant team wouldn’t have to disband is not bad ig

[@its_tiramisu]

man i miss gambit so much, they were always one of my fav team and its so sad to see them go, and its just a heart break seeing just how close they were everytime

[@aidanarendt3442]

They were my favorite team especially d3ffo

[@jorged4736]

This team was the beast team I’ve ever seen in Valorant and the show they gave

[@Elenea__21]

To be honest, banning russian orgs just because Russia attacked Ukraine is stupid. They literally have nothing to do with it… Also nowadays it seems normal to hate russians because of Putin, like how you gonna hate a whole nation because of ONE person? 🫠

[@darkflame4302]

@@Elenea__21 America just wants to bully everyone, thats it

[@ikkstrikknak]

@@Elenea__21 I 100% agree... Politics it's inside everything... Now also in sports...

[@dfg3270]

NGL, Gambit has had the worst fate of any teams there are in valorant. They won a title, had nearly the same thing sentinels the next year, and got torn apart. D3ffo recieved the worst fate, while others still got it.

[@noname-v3e1o]

d3ffo was great

[@jy_den]

Its quite sad that d3ffo didn't get a spot at all in franchising, no one else can 1v5 100t more better than him lol

[@er3n_genes1s21]

he's still in gank gaming in the FGC scene

[@Viberoza]

They fell off the next year. Sentinels was way worst after Iceland. They made it the grand finals at champions. Although they lost they kept there form.

[@sleepyninj66]

@@jy_den i think he wanted a break while the roster build was happening and he went to china

[@conan870]

Best team in valorant history😢 Also don’t forget their coach as well Kru vs Gambit is like watching two best coach in valorant playing chess. He deserves to be signed by a riot contract team as the head coach

[@hofkingpin3216]

best team in val history is still optic, you can twist it however it's still optic

[@riccardo1569]

@@hofkingpin3216 coping hard 😂

[@harsh4898]

@@hofkingpin3216 well optic has certainly more achivements for sure but the best team for many is still gambit.

[@heberdo4639]

@@hofkingpin3216 idk bout that

[@hofkingpin3216]

@@riccardo1569 yeah let me cope with the team that got top 3 in every int'l tourney of 2022 😂💀

[@fabiodavila2512]

What a great video. It would've been cool to add a "Where are they now?" segment at the end, following each of Gambit's ex members and their current teams.

[@IzabelaSSilva]

TBF I think everyone knows where they at.... At least Nats, Chronicle and Redgar. Some people may not know Engh is coaching TSM or that Sheydos is on KOI (Rip his career, can't believe they're doing this to him). But they are very well established players (besides D3FFO)

[@ridikelus4413]

@@IzabelaSSilva what's happening with koi?

[@NotSecar]

​@@ridikelus4413they are last place in masters emea

[@enzotansingco2199]

D3ffO got hit with the "Get ready to learn Chinese, buddy" meme, playing with Gank Gaming in China The others are franchised: nats and Redgar with Liquid(doing good), Chronicle with Fnatic(undefeated), and Sheydos is KOI(I wish there were no guaranteed spots, need this team relegated ASAP)

[@baizeval]

😮

[@Isvarraam]

Tbh, This Gambit Team were the first team to win with legit proper strats. Sentinels of 2021 were good but they were mostly fueled by the fire power and individual ability of their players. This Gambit Team were a well oiled machine that was unbeatable. Thanks Commend for making this video showing how good they were.

[@livvy8919]

I think SUMN FC/FNATIC were also always playing with strats rather than firepower. But Gambit definitely perfected it and I think it is also why so many people still love them, there is just something special about watching a team outsmart opponents instead of just outaiming or overwhelming them.

[@Senbonzakuraaaapp]

The amount of times Gambit has made a comeback as well.I swear every week I see them coming back from a 3-11 scoreline or smth

[@IzabelaSSilva]

My favorite thing about that Envy-Gambit match is how Pansy and Hypoc narrated Haven. They were sure Envy would take it... No one believe it. Redgar on Reyna, Brimstone!!! when Astra was OP. I remember on the winners interview, Chronicle said that Envy lost Haven the second they laughed at the Brim pick bc they didnt understand how good he was

[@CommendYT]

I love how even despite him playing so well on Brim, in the winners interview he says "I'm shit on smokes" LOL

[@IzabelaSSilva]

@@CommendYT He has a love hate relationship with smokes.. What people are doing with omen on icebox today with one ways? He did it with brim a year before hahaha

[@timjobs3634]

@@CommendYT Do you think Gambit have a chance of reuniting after the dust from the ukraine war settles down ?

[@IzabelaSSilva]

The fact that its been almost two years and Gambit is still THE ONLY TEAM who 13-0d someone internationally.....

[@albnia7463]

well loud 13-0d eg

[@IzabelaSSilva]

@@albnia7463 ...... In a domestic duel

[@mikrrain]

@@albnia7463 in masters

[@fur1ous743]

@@albnia7463 it's not internationally my guy.

[@fbiopenup760]

Twice

[@faktaku.]

this team had the greatest site anchorer, the 5head Igl who would sometimes win rounds by himself, a cracked af initiator, a mediocre dive duelist and ryan gosling. truly a great lineup.

[@wizvo455]

LMAO THIS IS MY FAVOURITE DESCRIPTION OF GAMBIT OF ALL TIME LOL. Also don’t forget about coach Engh

[@albedo9617]

Who are you calling ryan gosling

[@faktaku.]

@@albedo9617 Kronikel (just look at the thumbnail lol)

[@albedo9617]

@@faktaku. who igled for gambit? Was it redgar?

[@faktaku.]

@@albedo9617 yep

[@thealiengeneral12914]

Nats singlehandedly popularized the lurking role back in 2022 that every one in my comp matches started to lurk for the whole round.

[@TheYoutubeUser69]

17:53 Derke with hair looks cursed af

[@_reyna_-5514]

Got to know them too late for the glory days, but I'll always be supporting them in their new teams. Fnatic (Chronicle), Team Liquid (Redgar, Nats), KOI (Sheydos), Gank Gaming (D3ffo), TSM (Engh)

[@NikkoMok123]

Sheydos and d3ffo wasted talents should play in a more important team

[@syedmusab1373]

Why does chronicle look like ryan gosling in the thumbnail bruh ☠️☠️

[@truomega5650]

nah deadass he is him ☠️☠️

[@mashiiro_vlr]

Bro d3ffo was one of the best jett player, equal to aspas and derke. He was so good. Hoping to see him again in pro play

[@ikekwa_gimme_pizza]

bro played duelists and initiators in Turkish and Chinese teams last year with no big success. Unfortunately, it seems like he can't find his place in new jett meta

[@Fleischgewordener_Sterbehelfer]

What is important to say is that gambit is a tiny Org, with not so much money. For that they actually have the best resume in the world. - They were the first CIS team to win a cs go major back in 2017 when they got their hands on Zeus. - Made this Valorant team - build up an academy team that later on became their main cs:go team. This team literally dominated the CS:GO world durring the online era. Now Ax1le and Sh1ro are both top 5 players in the world and Hobbit completely revived his career. This org probably has the single best scouting in all of esports and it is no wonder why Cloud 9 even signed the owner when Gambit stopped their opperations.

[@vesta3544]

they won because of god Dosia XD

[@bhgidsahajdoh9523]

They made waves during their time in LoL with the most entertaining team in the game history as well. Guarantee they fell off, but the team was rigged full of visa issue and what not. GAMBIT is just unlucky they are based solely in Russia

[@radessthegoat]

Sucks to live in Russia I guess. Feels bad for the players, not for the country.

[@Dorkster81]

Thats dumb. Let them play. Why stop cause of a war……..

[@Stranger-lh6ho]

Omg. Chronicle did it twice. Winning 9 rounds in a row to make a overtime win on icebox at an international lan event

[@77crow62]

I was rooting for this team every step of the way since Berlin until franchising

[@FPSkazuto]

the fact they took a break and then come back almost winning another tour is insane, imagine if they had more time to train

[@antoinevillard9678]

Gambit died for Fnatic to rise. Fnatic is Gambit’s style but better. Even tho unfortunate events, 2022 Gambit was known and read like a book by most of the best Eu teams (fnc,Liquid, FPX) their time was gone. So sad for Champions 2021 they deserved the W

[@ke11even_official]

technically, putin killed gambit.

[@Nevesta-]

it's it!

[@TrizzyDesigns]

Now Chronicle is most decorated and highest earning player

[@xox0143]

Man, watching nats as a sen lurking on D while chronicle anchoring site was one of the absolute best combo the VCT has ever seen

[@Girvo747]

M3C vs FNC is the greatest match of Valorant ever played. It will never be beaten IMO.

[@er3n_genes1s21]

0.02 second 😢

[@spicyluna]

Really love the video as a Gambit fan :) [Long comment ahead] The first time I saw them play was when they were trying to qualify for Masters Berlin 2021, I never stopped watching them. I remember a G2 match in Bind where Chronicle clutched a plant with milliseconds remaining... Never stopped supporting every match I could watch. I was telling all my friends back then that they would win Masters Berlin 2021 and that nAts would be known as the best viper/cypher player, it felt soo good to see their triumph and tell them 'I told you so'. I always had a saying before whenever Gambit was losing by alot of rounds 'If there was a team to comeback, it's Gambit' .... They were always soo close to qualifying to international events last year, 0.02 will forever haunt me :( It was soo rough and heartbreaking to see my favorite team end, I always try to imagine how they'd fair in the current VCT League, and I'd like to think they would've been one of the stronger contenders. I still do support each and every member in their new teams, it's good to see them compete again, hopefully we get to see D3ffo come thru (I heard he's in the China League).... Again thanks for this video, I miss GMB soo much (side note, ever since I started following GMB, I also followed nAts streams, saw his massive growth after winning Masters and somehow I ended up becoming his twitch mod by end of 2021 up to this day, which I am ever truly grateful for... was really a pain to see M3C lose soo close fights)

[@wizvo455]

dude i miss d3ffo so much man hes my favourite player and it fucking shatters me that he cant play in franchising. sure hes playing in the fgc but it wouldve been great to see him in the emea league

[@1lyntek]

i miss those days!! but at the same time, im glad to see them grow individually even after they split as a team, and most especially im happy for chronicle!

[@sampleshawn5380]

Only thing that hurts is, when politics enters in other matters

[@keyboardyoru6102]

we love nats

[@shadouai]

Chronicle the goat was in 2 of the undisputed best teams at some point, makes his goat status even more as the "greatest player"

[@luailva.]

Fnatic não é indiscutivelmente o melhor time do momento. LOUD perdeu de 3x2 pra FNC, e DRX perdeu de 3x2 pra Loud.

[@akatex8758]

@@luailva. fnatic are definitely the best team in the world

[@er3n_genes1s21]

​@@luailva.Que?????

[@EXTRA.1.97]

OpTic was more consistent than Gambit and has more titles...but that's because Gambit was banned from competing for the situation in Russia and Ukraine...what a pity that the best teams always disintegrate for reasons beyond their control...i miss Gambit and OpTic so much fr 😢

[@tingaverage264]

Gambit: We are Unstoppable! Putin: yeah

[@shinobukocho5923]

This gives me hard nostalgia because I really loved the old Gambit team. They were the most dominant and I followed them since their early days before becoming a dominant team. It's sad to see them not being able to qualify for last year because of the political affairs and things that happened. But it is definitely nice to see them all become the greatest players to exist in EMEA. I really loved this documentary and I hope that you make more in the future! Kudos.

[@pedrocarvalho5271]

Acend winning 2021 champions is the biggest fluke in valorant to this day. Gambit should've won that.

[@justiceplay3518]

I am kinda proud that the Russians got the first championship in Valorant history (or at least, that's what I've heard, might be wroing), but sadly, just 2 years later they had to be disbanded due to the current political situation. This is a living proof of how "politics out of games" policy just doesn't work. Which is sad really. F1 had the same thing (not to include the shit ass driving of Nikita Mazepin), so yeah. There's a word now that associating with Russia = bad, so everybody just try to steer clear of any Russian-like symbolics, members (glad that the Gambit players were being able to find another asylum in the sport). So yeah, just super glad

[@JovaRajiji]

Ryan Gosling vs nAts 😹

[@iorimarco9603]

gambit chronicle looks like ryan gosling

[@Zak1Gafurov]

The valorant not lost the team,valorant lost the CIS Region

[@НабиуллинТимур-ч4о]

The saddest part about the whole story, is that Gambit as an esports org is probably done for quite a while, since we don’t know when the war will end and what will happen after that

[@itsTrickstery]

Babe wake up, it's time to cry about Gambit all over again.

[@adamjensen8112]

I think that this video would have been stronger if you highlighted where the players on gambit are playing now at the end.

[@shreyasgaikwad9768]

Gambit produced best of the best cluthes in valorant, undoubtedly the best team and the individual skills of players like Nats, chronicle, and Sheydos were truly amazing I still remember the final against Envy, Gambit said they didn't had strat for heaven, so the consecutively had gone to A site for 12 rounds straight Honestly missing gambit a lot!

[@futurecyphex9465]

Such a sad story. So much promise but chaos and sadness struck.

[@ZangetsuStorm]

gambit didn't exactly fall off when they lost it was against the eventual winners of the whole series and later on having no org in certain areas start showing its affect... edit: we don't give enough credit to behind the scene ( an extreme but good example is fanatic half sheild strat )

[@StaticMMIV]

i forgot how great this team was damn

[@Soraaacchi]

Man, Chronicle's ace still gives me chills to this day. I miss seeing them play together.

[@Hailoow]

until i saw your comment, i cant lie i completely forgot acend was the first champion... maybe a video on how acend's reign ended so quickly and became quite forgettable? all i could remember is cned who's on navi but maybe it's time that has completely wiped my memory of them

[@kaanulutas9156]

zeek was also pretty good on that roster

[@ma-tg2dy]

Bro gambit had insane defaults and also they had the big boy Nats with the lurks. Honestly gambit va g2 made me a Nats fan 🙏🤌

[@ubalwendrix5081]

There's a different timeline where gambit is thriving and Nats being the best player😅

[@sleepingdeath1461]

NAVI CSGO and GAMBIT VALORANT to ERA that we could have had if war didn't start..

[@hahazame]

I miss this team man, hopefully in near future they will regroup

[@rhaineconsuelo2138]

I hope not I'm happy with chronicle being in fnc and winning everything

[@Reze80]

@@rhaineconsuelo2138 FR CHRONICLE IS THE DUPREEH IN CSGO HAHAHA

[@MTGFaded]

@@Reze80how many majors titles has the guy won?

[@Name-po1ts]

Gmb was my favrt team

[@sdfsfsdf641]

acend is also a lost team no? I mean they got 1st in champions and they didnt make franchising.

[@avoidthevo1d]

Btw, rip CIS Challengers. Now the whole region has to try its best to get into other regions instead, which is super problematic

[@santapig]

I'm disappointed, D3ffos insane ace against Liquid wasnt shown 😭 Apart from that, great vid

[@Munhuu923]

my man Chronicle looking a lot like a Ryan Gosling in the thumbnail

[@KneeOfficial]

FNC vs M3C on split is still in my opinion (yes better than FPX vs DRX on ascent) the best single valorant map ever played.

[@tazim950]

I was a die hard fan of Gambit. I can't explain how much it hurts to know this team is lost 😞

[@BustyVal]

I wonder how crazy gambit would be if they were to play in the current meta, also great video commend!.

[@alexhuynh6805]

Commend you absolute mad lad, you’ve actually returned to make the promised Gambit video❤ Your content is so insightful and entertaining, so keep up the good work Gambit had it all: adaptable players of the highest caliber, who were both mentally resilient to losing score lines and calm and collected in the clutch situations It breaks my heart to see what I believe to be the greatest valorant roster ever formed fall from grace because of uncontrollable circumstances

[@junxz6404]

derke with hair is cursed

[@yugei6554]

Gambit could have been Astralis of Valorant but sad how things work. ThankyouGambit

[@kirito7808]

I hope GMB will be back someday

[@ronlyon4645]

chronicle journey is not over yet

[@andreyvasiliev5557]

In other words Riot playin political card to score some imaginary points disbaned the best team

[@Blasix]

Да помню как гамбит выиграли мастерс. Это было легендарное сабытие и я горд что следил за этой командой с самого ее зарождения и до распада.

[@abhishekjaju69]

Im not crying

[@mojitsuu]

imo prime Gambit were the best team to ever touch this game

[@OfficialKman5625]

Gambit would have made Franchising. They had a really good team and their business didn’t have many flaws unlike Optic or FPX. Unfortunately Russians attacked Ukraine

[@santiagoa4850]

0:05 Acend also were international winners, they won Champions 1

[@Loner_Kun]

yeah it was a bit ambiguous but yes it was mentioned undisputed best i wont call ascend' win undisputed cause gambit were still going strong at that time.

[@faktaku.]

he didnt mention acend and emea's Fpx cuz they werent dominating, they did win yes, but it was pretty close and those teams were on same level as others

[@gragalakaisel1477]

I just found out from this video the reason why gambit disappeared and why they used their masters champions M3C as team name.

[@AJ-jq3hm]

And now, a year later, gambit's legendary coach is back, and turned the worst team in emea into the best. What a guy

[@Miting6]

It's kind of Similar situation with M5/Gambit in LoL. Visa issues and infinite flies destroyed the team back then. Eh Engh is also a good coach

[@moyki10]

I dont hate Russia nor Ukraine, but I really hate war...

[@neildunn512]

i miss gambit

[@Hyunion]

We really have to wonder. Would gambit be the top emea team today if they didn't split?

[@someguyincomments1072]

Gambit are honestly the best team in valorant Esports to date it sad to see them go

[@someguyincomments1072]

Also i think Fpx should also be considered one of the best (right now NAVI)

[@ninjasaurio6611]

LOUD and Optic were the best teams in Valo pre franchise, now its FNC

[@hofkingpin3216]

guy said that forgetting about optic?????

[@Watburnt]

I mean the players arent doing so well outside of chronicle so it doesnt seem that way

[@Browniev2]

@@hofkingpin3216 Prime GMB >>>>>> Prime OpTic is what they're saying essentially.

[@julieevans6482]

18:06 dang if M3C had a good ping instead of 50-70 they had to play on cuz Russia (+ Nats living even further in Kazan), they surely would've gotten it

[@CloWnx699]

Next vid fpx plzz

[@wolfman6307]

where is FPX

[@slyshadow3345]

I feel like the actual meta has a bigger effect than the Russia situation. Chamber meta did not really fit their team imo.

[@masha2210]

great team ❤ and it’s too sad, that they all are not together now. especially d3ffo 😢

[@tirthpatel931]

what happened to him?

[@shlokdhara5798]

@@tirthpatel931 he went to china, i.e left emea region and is currently a t2 player.

[@lazygamer8556]

If you're going to watch cloud 9 former members they said there thay are confident to win on any team except gambit. I think same goes to the other team I'm not saying all team But they're pain in the ass to play with

[@armansaini5500]

This brings a lot of memories back! All those sleepless nights and the matches i used to see. Somehow i remember each one as vivid as i remember recent ones. Really loved the old team rosters, they are but a distant memory now. Anyways thanks Commend!

[@malasian]

Ok but why is Ryan Gosling is in the thumbnail.

[@Opalescencees]

I miss gambit everytime

[@dmoney580]

Chronicle looks like Ryan Gosling in the thumbnail and you can't tell me otherwise

[@TheYoutubeUser69]

i mean it makes sense, ryan gosling has only slightly less sexappeal than Chronicle

[@abhinavprakash5244]

THANK U GAMBIT

[@abhishekjaju69]

Why does fnatic suddenly seems like a villain to me. Who kidnapped chronicle from his family and is using him for their own benefit. OBV he is there by his will and circumstances

[@sting4172]

RIGHT😭 I love how well he fit into fnatic n how the team is also supporting him so that he can always bring out his best form but it still stings when I think about gambit💔

[@therandomman1171]

Not only did you not include acend, which you justified, but you didn't include fpx who won the second masters of the year and couldn't participate in the first one (which optic won) and probably would have won

[@dziugazz]

peak Gambit was not just a good team like the other Masters winners, but they were monsters... I feel like they were VERY scary to play against.

[@sleepyninj66]

they were the underdogs everytime and won it , miss this team

[@IzabelaSSilva]

To think Acend only got to finals because of VK's forbidden camera....

[@Mw2three]

derke with hair is a different person

[@noah463]

I would do anything to see this team play again 😢 Legit so fun to watch

[@lordfenrir1394]

Today we learned that if Russia invades someone, their atleths will suffer. If US invades someone, their atleths may sing proud and loud theirs anthems...

[@mayankgohiya6592]

Good video❤ but why use ryan gosling for clickbait

[@divyam432]

Why does it feels like it all happened just yesterday 😭

[@masha2210]

same 😮