Gambit Esports has announced that they have benched mid player, Danil “gpk” Skutin, for refusing to attend the team’s boot camp for the CIS qualifier of the ESL One Los Angeles Major.

Gpk’s spot on Gambit’s active roster will be taken by Rostislav “fn” Lozovoi, who notably played for the team as a stand-in during the StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor Season 1 in March last year.

Gpk first joined Gambit in August 2019, establishing himself as the team’s star mid player and one of the CIS region’s new rising stars.

He notably helped Gambit to a second-place finish in ESL One Hamburg 2019, a third-place finish at the ONE Esports Dota 2 Singapore Invitational, and a fourth-place finish at the WePlay! Bukovel Minor.

“We are sad that one of the best players of the CIS region won’t prove himself in important matches and won’t compete for a spot at the Major,” Gambit said in a statement.

Gambit has not announced any plans to transfer gpk to another team and seem set on keeping him on the sidelines as his contract is valid through 2021.

In light of the player transfer drama that has recently shaken up the CIS scene, Gambit stressed that they “treat contractual obligations respectfully and expect the same from our players.”

Natus Vincere captain Bakyt “Zayac” Emilzhanov notably left his team just four months after being made captain to join Virtus.pro, taking advantage of a legal loophole to make the controversial transfer.

With gpk on the bench, Gambit now have just four days to integrate fn into their lineup as the qualifiers for the Los Angeles Major begin on February 9-12.

Gambit bench gpk for not attending mandatory boot camp