Continuing our interview with

Yerkebulan “Qesha Qrishbayeff“ Kurishbayev, part 2 dives into the rebuild of the team after the

Danylo

"Zeus"

Teslenko and

Mykhailo

"kane"

Blagin departure, and the success the team enjoys today.









Q: How has the addition of your new head coach Andrey ‘Andi’ Prokhorov impacted the team so far and how do you find his leadership/tactical skills fitting into Gambit’s playstyle?





A: Andi is a godsend for us. His vision and his delivery is exactly the thing we needed all the time. He hasn’t had time to fully show his performance but we’re pretty comfortable with our future with him.





Q: AVANGAR, who are largely made up of Kazak players seems to be doing well recently – and there’s been more interest in Kazakhstan in general since Gambit won the Major. How do you feel about this new interest in your country and players and where do you see them having a place in the MDL moving forward? What’s it like helping bring up the scene from your home country?





A: AVANGAR’s success is overwhelming for us! We’re really happy for them. Kazakh CS community is not that big and we know all pro players personally. But not AVANGAR. It means they’re young and came out recently. Huge factor of their success is that they’re bootcamping in Ukraine as we do. Because internet issues in Kazakhstan, players struggle to compete with EU teams. That’s why talented players have to move to other countries in order to show up.





Q: Fitch first played with the team during DH Masters Malmö – but seems to have fit into Gambit quickly. Did Hobbit's experience of playing with fitch on Tengri previously help him make such a positive impact?





A: Even during the Zeus era, we knew we needed a player like fitch. Of course losing a captain like Zeus affected us a lot, but fitch is doing well so far. Hobbit obviously helped fitch a lot on his first steps in Gambit. Adaptation period went really well.





Q. There were a lot of narratives about how Zeus leaving the team to go back to Na’Vi, and taking Kane with him, was going to hurt the team. Yet it seems Gambit have proven those people wrong. Do you feel it was unfair how the community treated Gambit and how quick some were to discredit your success?





A: To be honest, that pressure was all the time during that roster with Zeus. We’ve had a big fan base since Zeus joined the team and everybody started equalizing our success with him. But no journalist or analyst said that Hobbit made a huge impact on the team's wins. After Zeus left, we were quite confident that we could keep on winning many tournaments. However, we’re not happy with the results so far. That’s why IEM Oakland is the biggest chance for us.





Q: Some people were surprised to see Gambit win the Major this year, and a lot of expectations are on the team with the upcoming ELEAGUE Major. Do you find the added pressure to be a negative side effect or something that motivates the team?





A: Winning the Major was a surprise for us as well. But we’re ready to prove every hater wrong. We don’t feel that much pressure by now, we’re focused on tournaments before the Major.









Q: Hobbit has been nominated for the rookie of the year in the Esports Industry Awards. A lot would agree that he deserves the award. What did the nomination mean for the team, and Hobbit as a player?





A: That nomination was big news for us. AdreN told us he was surprised to get the Major MVP award and Hobbit deserved that as well. Unfortunately, Hobbit is not able to participate in the event itself, but it’s really important for him and Hobbit to win that award. That’s why our CEO is traveling to London this month to receive a prize.

Cover Photo Courtesy of ​RedBull