Nikita “d3ffo” Sudakov is no longer part of Gank Gaming, the player has announced on Twitter.
RUSSIA – Nikita “d3ffo” Sudakov has announced that he is no longer a member of Gank Gaming, the Chinese team he had been bound to for the last four months, and is ready to find a new home to play for.
In what was considered a major move in early 2023, the 2021 Masters Berlin champion joined Gank Gaming in March along with fellow CIS player Alexander “diseased” Zakharov for FGC Invitational Act II.
d3ffo’s presence in Gank Gaming led them to earn a spot in the main event of the aforementioned tournament and the VALORANT Champions CN Qualifier’s preliminary stage after securing the second place in the third week of Act II Qualifier. Throughout the qualifier, d3ffo remained GK’s top performer, securing a 1.21 VLR rating and averaging 255.5 ACS over 323 rounds.
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However, as Gank Gaming progressed to the main event, d3ffo faced a setback when his China visa got turned down in Hong Kong, necessitating him to reapply from Russia and subsequently missing the rest of the tournament. This led to an early exit for GK from the main event of FGC Invitational Act II following losses to Totoro Gaming and Dragon Ranger Gaming with a stand-in.
In the preliminary stages of the Champions CN Qualifier, d3ffo was forced to play with high ping from Russia, which significantly affected his performance. The team was unable to advance to the LAN main event after suffering losses to Royal Never Give Up, Night Wings Gaming, and Four Angry Men.
Reflecting on his journey, d3ffo stated, “[The] experience was filled with some highs and lows but I feel more hungry than ever to be back at the level that I know I can dominate and contribute lots to a top team,”
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Cover photo courtesy of Lance Skundrich/Riot Games
