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Gambit Gaming's Wild Ride: Will Alex Ich Return?
After nearly being crowned Season 2 champs to relegation, Gambit Gaming's been on a wild ride.
They could have easily won Season 2
© LoL eSports
Responsible largely for making Shyvana and Dr. Mundo popular, widely regarded as some of the most individually skilled players of their time, and known for their unrelenting jungle and solo lane pressure, Gambit Gaming—then Moscow Five—were indelibly season two’s biggest stars. Their decline has been in the background of the League of Legends competitive scene for the past couple of years, a reminder that if these titans could fall, any team could.
They could have been season two’s world champions, but they weren’t. And in season four, they were relegated; a far cry from their former success. This past Friday, however, in the midst of yet more roster swaps Alex Ich hinted he might consider rejoining the team as a top lane player. It’s possible that season five could be their comeback, or in the very least remind everyone exactly what potential they used to hold.
Shyvana was a key part of their Season 2 plans
© League of Legends
Season Two and Three: The Golden Days
The days before the LCS were wild times and they were by far the glory days of the team. They relished in unconventional picks and counter-jungling from Diamondprox coupled with the dominating presence of Alex Ich on assassins; Moscow Five was known for claiming their opponent’s enemy jungle and never relinquishing it, trending toward previously underplayed champions like Shyvana to pull the feat off. For the season two World Championship, they earned a regional bye and won against Invictus Gaming before being put onto Summoner’s Rift versus the Taipei Assassins. Although they convincingly took the first game, they lost the next two as TPA adapted quickly to their strategy and playstyle. Facing TPA was poor luck.
It’s likely if they had of seeded into the other team, Azubu Frost, they would have been in the finals—M5’s track record against Azubu was strong and they would win against them in future tournaments in 2-0 best out of threes. In other words, being knocked out by the world champions was unfortunate as they were clearly the second place team in terms of skill. They still ended up getting third place, winning out against CLG.EU for the honor.
Of course, their misfortune didn’t stop there. Shortly after, they were subject to organization drama not terribly unlike what LMQ went through during the summer split this year. The team’s owner was subject to an investigation for fraud and they created Gambit Gaming to move away from the M5 name.
The name change didn’t seem to change their momentum—much, at least. For the initial off-season, they dominated in various tournaments and were able to go to Allstars sans Genja. However, internally things weren’t going so well, and shortly after their support player left to head to North America and play for Curse. Forced into the Spring split without their fully unified team, they struggled heavily. They continued to struggle until it became time for season three’s championship where they managed to qualify by the skin of their teeth.
After getting to Worlds, they managed to get past the group stages in spite of their entire performance season three. They won against what would end up being season four’s champions, Samsung Galaxy White (then known as Ozone), and even shaved a game off NaJin Black Sword.
Will Alex Ich return?
© Forbes
Season Four and Present Day
Despite a comeback toward the end of season three, season four quickly became the team’s worst season yet. While they got Edward back from Curse, they simply couldn’t find their footing. The team got further devastated by the loss of Alex Ich—a longtime backbone to the team and their most commanding player. Darien and Diamondprox also found themselves benched in a desperate attempt to rebuild the team, the former never finding himself back onto the team after and ended up replaced.
For both splits, GBG found themselves rarely going positive. They lost game after game and were relegated immediately. Still, a glimmer of their potential showed during the last Super Week of the EU LCS; they won all games but one, putting them back on the map and providing a reminder of the team they used to be.
Moving forward, their interim top lane Kubon is not contracted for season five. At the same time, teasers are being dropped left and right that Alex Ich may be returning—this time as a top lane. Alex Ich tried to find a new team for season five but was unsuccessful in garnering a visa, putting him a tight spot. He also has mentioned a desire to play top lane, a lane he feels he can carry from better and that suits his current playstyle much better. Former teammate and current Gambit support, Edward, gave a brief hint that the possibility was open.
With one of their superstars potentially back and the preseason changes favoriting jungle, the original Moscow Five could be back in spirit. Innovators of season two, season five could provide them with the breath of fresh air needed to make a comeback.
Everyone loves a dark horse. Alex Ich is still a household name with legions of fans and Diamondprox survived his bench warming moment. It’s a long shot, but League of Legends is all about the long shots. After all, no one could predict that Scarra would become CLG’s main coach—who’s to say that Alex Ich couldn’t rebuild his former team and take them to the championships this coming season?
Until then, though, there’s just Reddit and rumors. Lots of rumors.
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