RMR-bound squad released by NA organization

Kory "SEMPHIS" Friesen, Gaimin Gladiator's coach, has announced that the Canadian organization has parted ways with their CS:GO roster. The release of the squad comes as a massive surprise as Gaimin Gladiators just recently qualified to the IEM Rio Major American RMR on August 16th, where they could potentially claim a spot at the Major. This is coupled with the fact that Gaimin Gladiators recently made a pivotal change to their lineup, replacing long-time member Carson "nosraC" O'Reilly with Danny "cxzi" Strzelczyk.

Along with qualifying for the upcoming American RMR, the now-former Gaimin Gladiators recently locked in an invite to Fragadelphia 17, where the team are in a key position to win the $100,000 event. These two important events, alongside the team's strong performances in ESL Challenger League and various Cash Cups this year, would suggest a continued relationship between the two parties.

According to a source within the team, Gaimin Gladiator's decision to drop the squad came as a complete surprise, as ongoing negotiations pointed to the squad continuing on with the organization. However, it seems that Gaimin Gladiator's have elected to put all their efforts into another Valve title, Dota 2, as the organization's European squad recently qualified to The International 2022.

Gaimin Gladiator's President, Nick Cvillo, told Dust2.us:

It was a difficult decision as we have been revamping a lot with the team and trying to help and build something here in North America, but in all honesty we have a lot going on in the next couple of months, especially [The International in Dota 2] and preparing for all that, for which we will need to alleviate some costs/funding from elsewhere. Frankly, we decided to end this period in CS:GO. Unfortunately, we do not see the economic viability in continuing at this time, and we must concentrate on other areas of the organization that provide us with greater marketability and ROI.

The guys all have been great and I hope they continue on in their careers, and wish them all the best.

This disappointing news sees Gaimin Gladiators as the most recent organization to admit the ROI in semi-pro NA CS:GO is not enough to sustain a team, even one of David "cynic" Polster's level. However, with the upcoming RMR on the horizon, ex-Gaimin Gladiators will hopefully be able to find some support for their upcoming adventures.

ex-Gaimin Gladiators are:

• Dominick "JazzPimp" Dimpfel

• Jeorge "jeorgesnorts" Endicott

• David "cynic" Polster

• Brendan "Bwills" Williams

• Danny "cxzi" Strzelczyk

• Kory "SEMPHIS" Friesen (Coach)

The team's next event will be ESL Challenger League Season 42, which is now set to start on August 23rd.