Update: CLASIA leaves Gaimin Gladiators; X13's garfield called up as replacement

Anthony "CLASIA" Kearney has parted ways with Gaimin Gladiators and been replaced by X13's Otto "garfield" Netteberg. CLASIA's decision to leave the project comes less than three weeks after ChocoCheck were signed by the Canadian organization.

CLASIA initially joined ChocoCheck back in October after a two-month period of teamlessness following his removal from RBG. In late January, CLASIA told Dust2.us in an interview at Fragadelphia 16: Chicago that he had reflected on his time with RBG and was actively trying to be a better teammate, with the end goal being to become a salaried player again.

That makes his decision to leave Gaimin Gladiators interesting as there are precious few opportunities for semi-professional players to be salaried in North America. Despite this, he told Dust2.us he had to leave the team as he said a majority of his former teammates were creating a very unenjoyable environment to play CS:GO in.

During his time with ChocoCheck/Gaimin Gladiators in ESL Challenger League Season 40, CLASIA was the team's top rated player, posting a 1.29 rating over eleven maps. His replacement, garfield, was punching far above his weight on X13; boasting a team-best 1.06 rating over thirteen maps despite the team's abysmal 1-5 record in ECL Season 40.

Gaimin Gladiators are now:

• Carson "nosraC" O'Reilly

• Dominick "JazzPimp" Dimpfel

• Jeorge "jeorgesnorts" Endicott

• David "cynic" Polster

• Otto "garfield" Netteberg

garfield made his debut with Gaimin Gladiators in this weekend's ESEA Cash Cup, with the team being eliminated in round three by Valors 2. He will make his ECL Season 40 debut with the team on March 21st at 08:00PM against Third Impact.

As for X13, they will need to scramble to find a new fifth before they take on MIBR on March 22nd at 08:00PM. The match is a must-win for them; they need to pull off the incredibly unlikely win against the Brazilians or be automatically demoted to ESEA Advanced Season 41.

Update: A member of Gaimin Gladiators' lineup reached out to Dust2.us to provide an alternative description of CLASIA's departure. He says that the team explored options to replace CLASIA due to his behavior hurting the team environment and CLASIA only left due to finding out about his pending removal.

Update 2: David "cynic" Polster also reached to Dust2.us to offer a different account of CLASIA's departure, stating: "We explored options because CLASIA had previously expressed a desire to leave, and we needed to have a replacement ready in case he did."