PGL has banned Gambit and Virtus Pro, two esports organizations affiliated with the Russian government, from displaying their brands at the upcoming Antwerp CS:GO Major.
The decision to ban Gambit and VP comes one week before the start of the PGL Antwerp Major European Regional Major Ranking (RMR) tournament, which will determine which teams from Europe qualify for the Major. However, Gambit and VP players may be allowed to compete in the Major as long as they agree to play under neutral names, similar to what was done in season 1 of the ESL Pro League.
Gambit is owned by MTS, one of the largest telecom networks in Russia, and one of its shareholders is billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov. VP is managed by Russian state insurance company Sogaz, which has been sanctioned by the European Union (EU) since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Now that PGL and Valve have banned Gambit and VP organizations from participating in the Major, it's up to them to allow or ban their players from competing in the Major with a neutral name. Gambit and VP's CS:GO rosters are allowed to play under the Players and Aliens tags, respectively, in season 15 of the ESL Pro League.
Virtus Pro is one of the 16 teams in the PGL Antwerp Major Europe RMR A, while Gambit is joining Europe RMR B. RMR A will begin on April 17, and RMR B on April 21.
