Gaimin Gladiators return to CS with Major standouts

Canadian esports organization Gaimin Gladiators have returned to Counter-Strike after a two-year hiatus with the acquisition of ECSTATIC's lineup and the signing of former Astralis coach Peter "casle" Ardenskjold. The acquisition of ECSTATIC's Danish squad come after the team made a successful debut at the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, advancing out of the Opening Stage with a 3-1 record before falling in the Elimination Stage with a 1-3 record.

While the team failed to make playoffs at the first Counter-Strike 2 Major, the lineup garnered much positive interest as Major debutantes, something that was seemingly a key factor in Gaimin Gladiators returning to Valve's FPS.

Gaimin Gladiators, originally Oceanus, were originally mainstays in the NA CS:GO scene from 2019 to 2022, hosting a number of ESEA Premier and MDL squads during their time in the space. Their most successful squad during this time was built around David "cynic" Polster and co., with the lineup going on to become Nouns after leaving Gaimin Gladiators in August 2022.

At the time, Gaimin Gladiators claimed the move away from CS:GO was to focus on Dota 2 and other disciplines. This decision largely paid off as their international Dota 2 squad was one of the best in the world in 2023. This international foray may have played a role in Gaimin Gladiator's pivot to a European CS2 roster as well as the squad's current position in the top 20 of HLTV's world ranking.

Gaimin Gladiators have also become the latest NA organization to enter Counter-Strike in the past year, with NRG, TSM, FlyQuest, M80, and Gen.G all joining the scene or returning after multi-year hiatuses.

Gaimin Gladiators are now:

• Tobias "kraghen" Kragh

• Jonas "Queenix" Dideriksen

• Jason "salazar" Salazar

• Magnus "Nodios" Olsen

• Patrick "Patti" Larsen

• Peter "casle" Ardenskjold (Coach)

Gaimin Gladiator's first big event will be the CCT Season 1 Global Finals when they begin on May 16th.