CIS ranking tournament Clutch Island announces groups and teams

CIS’s second Regional Ranking tournament, Clutch Island, has announced its groups for stage one of the tournament’s closed qualifiers.

WePlay!’s Clutch Island has released the teams participating in the tournament’s first stage of its closed qualifiers that will eventually lead to the main event. Five teams were automatically invited to the tournament’s closed qualifiers and will face off against the winners of Clutch Island’s three open qualifiers. The groups for Clutch Island’s first stage are as follows:

Group A: 

• ESPADA (Invited)
• Nemiga (Invited)
• Moscow Five Academy (Open Qualifier #1)
• HellRaisers (Open Qualifier #2)

Group B:

• forZe (Invited)
• Gambit Youngsters (Invited)
• Syman Gaming (Invited)
• CR4ZY (Open Qualifier #3)

PRO100 bombs out, CSGO’s CR4ZY has solid Clutch Island opportunity

One notable absence from the Clutch Island’s first group qualifiers is PRO100, who finished in third place in both the second and third open qualifiers. PRO100’s slip allowed CR4ZY a spot in Clutch Island’s closed qualifier and an interesting opportunity for fans of CIS CSGO to see the remade team in action.

CR4ZY’s roster was sold to c0ntact Gaming in January, but the organization has since built a solid core around Oleksandr “Psycho” Zlobin and company. The team’s hidden strength comes from Ivan “Johnta” Shevtsov in the team’s coaching role. Johnta is a veteran in the head coach slot, having coached notable teams like FlipSid3 Tactics, HellRaisers, and Winstrike Team over the past few years. Fans should look to see how CR4ZY performs against the stronger competition found in Clutch Island’s group stage after having breezed through the open qualifiers.

There is currently a vacuum at the top of the CIS CSGO scene, with teams like Virtus.pro and Natus Vincere stumbling recently. With that shift, there’s room for CR4ZY’s rebuilt roster, along with other strong contenders such as ESPADA, Nemiga, and forZe to solidify top positions in the CIS region.

The top two teams from each group will advance to Clutch Island’s second stage, where the four winning teams will face off against one another for the three spots in the actual Clutch Island Regional Ranking tournament. Stage one of the tournament’s closed qualifier kicks off on June 16.