From Empire to Moscow 5

Back in 2011, a Russian team of 5 high ELO players qualified for IEM Kiev in such a one-sided way that people are still talking about it. They were playing under the clan tag Empire. Soon enough, after seeing how dominant they are, the entire team roster was picked up by the Russian organization Moscow 5, a big name in eSports with tons of achievements and traditions in its background.

First appearances

Moscow 5's first major tournament was IEM Season VI - Global Challenge Kiev, where the team steamrolled trough the competition, beating some of the most famous and well established teams in the world.



Season 2

The Russian team couldn't have wished for a better start of the Season! After IEM Kiev the Moscow 5 Fever spread around the Globe like wild fire. Suddenly everybody was talking about "Wombo Combos", aggressive counter-jungling and unorthodox picks.

The squad's next big performance was hands down the IEM Season VI World Championship in Hanover. Repeating their dominance from Kiev, Alex Ich and the gang went undefeated in the group stage (scoring a 5:0 result) and continued their streak all the way to the Grand Final, beating team Dignitas 2:0 and being crowned IEM World Champions. A fun fact is that during the entire tournament they didn't lose a single game!



As 2012 was progressing, the Russian team was proving again and again that they are not the typical "One-Hit Wonder" and were constantly placing top 3 in every major tournament.They also added two second places on their account - Corsair Vengeance Cup and DreamHack Summer, where they lost to the former European CLG Lineup (now known as Team EG) in a match that will forever remain in history as one of the best comebacks in competitive League of Legends.

Then came the summer and with it - European Challenger Circuit: Poland. The team attended the event after online qualifications where they beat their biggest rival CLG.eu. The numbers however, were different on LAN, as the Russians previously did lose to the exact same opponent on various occasions. As fate likes to play practical jokes on people, the same opponents met at the Grand Final. Vengeance was sweet for M5, as they won 2:0 and were crowned champions once again!



How the Dream came True: Season 2 European Regionals

Being one of the 8 teams invited to participate Moscow 5 would go to Cologne for a chance to qualify for the biggest event - the Season 2 World Championship. Having scored the most circuit points throughout the year, the team was placed as the first seed and were paired with EloHell - a Polish team led by the Season 1 MVP Maciej 'Shushei' Ratuszniak. They managed to defeat their opponent in a pretty one-sided way and continue to the playoffs to face another huge organization - Season 1 winners fnatic . The series were close, but the Russian team prevailed again, winning 2:1 and going to the Grand Final verse our very own SK Gaming . Moscow 5 eventually won the tournament and secured their spot in Season 3.



Season 2 World Championship

With their eyes fixed on the ultimate prize Moscow 5 went to Los Angeles for a shot at becoming the S2 World Champions. They were given a BYE to skip the group stage and were selected to play against Invictus Gaming - a Chinese powerhouse team that was feared by many in the Asian continent. The Russians answered iG's challenge for aggressive play and after losing the early game in both matches they managed to come back, sealing the series 2:0. Their next opponent were the eventual winners of the event - Taipei Assassins. Although M5 won the first game, the Taiwanese team quickly recovered and turned the series around 2:1. The dream didn't come true for the Russian team as they had to settle with 3rd-4th place, but they were looking positive for a bright new future!

End of Moscow 5 era and the Rise of Gambit

On January 10th, some months after Moscow 5's CEO got arrested, the entire roster had to be released, due to lack of funding. This unfortunate event however didn't stop the team from pursuing their dream and soon enough - they were back on track with a bright new shiny name: Gambit Gaming! Now, more than ever, they are motivated to show the world, that they are still a force to be reconed with!



Their first major tournament under the new name was just recently - IEM Katowice. In the group stage, the Russian team's performance left some doubts in many, as they weren't on their regular A-Game. After being 1:2, they had to survive a nerve-wrecking 3-way tie to qualify for the Semi-Finals. At that moment, however, something radically changed in the players and they seemed more motivated and playing better. First, they knocked out Azubu Frost, then proceeded to the final to face the Korean's brother team Azubu Blaze. Winning 2:0 on both occasions, Gambit secured their first major tittle this year!



Team Roster



"We play only broken champions" - Alex Ich (AP Mid)


One of the most dominant Mid laners for the last year. His versatile play style, unconventional picks and unpredictable moves make him a hard pill to swallow for every opponent he faces. Born in the Russian federation on January 31th, Alexey Ichetovkin is one of the only married competitive LoL players. The community, however know him by a different name - Alexey 'Alex Ich' Ichetovkin. His favorite champion is Ryze, with which he has scored some important victories in the past. Alex also enjoys playing unusual mid lane champions such as AP Master Yi, Malphite, Zilean and Tryndamere.

"I'm not a good jungler by myself" - Diamondprox (Jungler)


Two times MVP in major tournaments - IEM Kiev and Season 2 Regional Finals, Daniel 'Diamondprox' Reshetnikov is Gambit Gaming's jungler. Born on December 24, the 20 years old Russian player has slowly revolutionized jungling. He is widely known for his Lee Sin and Shyvanna, but has a large arsenal of back up champions, in case players decide to "target ban" him. His trademark play style relies heavily on early counter-jungling aggression and champions with fast clear times such as Udyr and Xin Zhao.

"See Hero, Kill Hero" - Genja (AD Carry)


First of the dynamic bot lane duo is Eugene 'Genja007' Andryushin. Most famous for his AD Kennen, Miss Fortune and "Solo Bot" Tank Urgot. When asked about the secret of his team's strong performance his reply was "Any team could do the same. The way to kill other heroes so fast is you see hero, you kill hero. It's not special". Genja is the pioneer of Wriggle's Lantern on AD Carries - a standard followed by many others until the item was eventually "nerfed" and forgotten.

"Sona is the "perfect" champion!" - Ed Ward (Support)

There are some support players that like to play aggressive. There are others that prefer a more passive playstyle, and then there's Edward 'Ed Ward' Abgarian - a player known for his positive KDAs and negative manners towards the enemies. As any other member of Gambit, Ed Ward (formerly known as GoSu Pepper) has brought innovations in the meta. He is famous for bringing Nunu down to the bot lane, where they had a fearsome duo, alongside Genja's Kog'Maw and had a trademark move, which was simply called "Empire!" His favorite champion is Sona and he even calls her perfect because of her skill set.

"В активном поиске (Actively Searching)" - Darien (Top Lane)


If you're looking for a Top laner that has a huge array of champions, which he plays on the highest level, or just a player who is always calm and cool and just does his job, then you should consider Eugene 'Darien' Mazaev. Top lane is all about acquiring advantages, and versatility is vital - this is where Darien excels the most. Playing champions like Shen, Lee Sin, Jax, Yorick, Darius, Renekton, Vladimir are just few of the brawlers in his repertoar. His favorite champion used to be Kayle before her remake, but now he claims that Xin Zhao is his best.