CS:GO Major champion Hobbit enters free agency

Abay “⁠Hobbit⁠” Khasenov has stepped down from the CIS CS:GO team Winstrike, the organization announced today.

The 26-year-old spent the last nine months with Winstrike and averaged a 1.09 average rating during this period, according to HLTV’s statistics. He was statistically the second-best player on Winstrike, only behind Aleksey “⁠El1an⁠” Gusev.

This roster change will take away 20 percent of Winstrike’s Regional Major Ranking (RMR) points (2,750) toward the ESL One Rio Major in November. Winstrike will now have 2,200 RMR points, which leaves them in ninth place with a chance to still qualify for the Rio Major depending on their results at the last RMR event.

“Today I’ve made a tough choice to leave Winstrike and head onward as a free agent,” Hobbit said. “The team and the organization have really been there for me all this time and I do appreciate it and always will. But now we have to part ways.”

Winstrike were the fourth team in Hobbit’s career. He started playing professionally in August 2016 with Tengri, but was quickly poached by Gambit in October 2016. With Gambit, Hobbit experienced the best days of his career. He was one of the core players of the Gambit lineup that won the PGL Kraków Major in July 2017.

Gambit, however, failed to keep up those good results after their captain Zeus left to play for Natus Vincere right after they won the Major. Hobbit stayed with the organization until October 2018 and joined HellRaisers for a short four-month stint. He stayed away from the competitive scene until Winstrike picked him in October 2019.

Hobbit’s chances of signing with a top CS:GO team in the world are slim, but some squads may pursue the Major champion during the current player break, which will go on for 30 days.