Are the Russian Crusaders back?

             IEM rolled around last weekend and the draw looked like a 'noobfest'. Meaning, we had no idea what to expect from any of the teams. One team in particular that was labelled the 'tragedy' team was Gambit Gaming. 
              Gambit lost 60 percent of it's original M5 roster and saddened the hearts of many fans. Everybody knows of the legend that is Moscow 5; the Korean destroyers, the Russian crusaders have been popular names for them in season 2 where their unique style and innovative play was a breakthrough for the competitive scene. In fact , they continued dominating through season 3 where they beat both CJ teams at IEM Katowice.
               Coming into the tournament only Edward and Diamond remained from it's original roster. This is actually quite interesting when you think about it. Jungle and Support are considered to be almost 'secondary' roles as far as carrying is considered. Think of the best players in the world- Faker, Uzi, Deft, Froggen are the first names that come to mind. Midlaners and AD carries : the 'damage'
               We know all about Diamond's innovative playstyles and champions and Eddy's plays. But let's take a close look at the solo laners and see how Gambit will match up in Season 5.


Cabochard, The Beast. 

                     

                    Throughout the tournament the person that impressed me the most was Cabochard. The former NIP member which lost 3-0 to Unicorns of Love seems to have recovered miraculously. His performance in the promotion series was lackluster at best , seeming to be lost in the meta and unaware of what to do. Amongst the gambit members he seemed quite comfortable playing FOTM champs like Azir and Gnar to perfection. In addition his synergy with Diamond seemed well rehearsed. 

                     This leads to an interesting topic the orignal Moscow 5 roster- Darien , Diamond , Alex Ich , Edward and Genja were ALL Russian  ( barring edward who is technically aremenian) and spoke Russian fluently. This team communication must have been an incredible asset for Ganks, Teamfights and communication in general. In season 4, where Gambit's downfall began as their main roster had the addition of Niq and Kubon. Kubon didn't speak russian and changed the way Gambit had to communicate. Changing the complete language in which you have to speak can change the way you play drastically. 
                   With the addition of Cabochard that makes a gambit a russian speaking team! that's why they are so good! ... right? Well, no. Cabochard is French. Which makes it an anomaly how gambit is even able to keep up with the international class teams. Which begs the next question . An even scarier question- are Dignitas and CLG international class teams? 
                   Regardless of the relative strength of Gambit , one thing is clear - the relative strength of Cabochard. Zion is struggling to be amongst the top 3 NA for toplaners alongside Balls ,Quas and Dyrus. As for Gamsu, he was lauded in Korea as well as teams that scrimmed him as a solid addition to the Dignitas outfit. My point is .. Cabochard crushed them and his skill should be incontrovertible. 




Pinoy (Krislund), The.. The... Inconsistent?

                  This is the player in Gambit with the least competitive experience. He's only ever seen competitive play in the relegation matches that Gambit had to face. That being said, he performed miraculously ... sometimes. The other times , he fell flat on his face. His rash and 'I'm going ham' play is probably the most stark difference between the old M5. Genja was called the master of positioning. His character movement and way of calculating position " distance in flashes" was considered a breakthrough. Pinoy, couldn't give less of rats ass about positioning, and that's putting it lightly. When he played Graves, he seemed to know the limits of his burst and what the outcome would be when flashing in. However, his Corki just didn't shine AT ALL. He randomly went in and died or Valyried at different angles. His play just wasn't there

To conclude,

 Gambit's new outfit is hardly a modicum of it's former self but few teams in the world are a modicum of Moscow 5. Their legendary solo laner's replacements play as if they have nothing to lose and their playstyle seems like a breath of fresh air. However, the teams they played against may have not been in great shape. So, their true test now will be IEM katowice and of course the LCS