HellRaisers target Hobbit as bondik replacement

HellRaisers are lining up a move for Gambit backup player Abay "⁠HObbit⁠" Khassenov as Vladyslav "⁠bondik⁠" Nechyporchuk is on his way out of the team, HLTV.org and VPesports.com have learned.

bondik has already been informed that his time with HellRaisers has come to an end, and played no part in the team's practice matches earlier on Wednesday, in which HObbit was fielded as a stand-in.

The Kazakh talent's future has been subject to conjecture for the last two months after it was announced that Gambit were open to offers for the player.

The 24-year-old joined Gambit in October 2016, initially on loan from Tengri, and helped the CIS team to scale greater heights. He was named the 11th best player of the world in 2017 after a dream year that culminated with Gambit winning PGL Major Krakow.

HellRaisers currently lie in seventh place in the ESL Pro League, with six games remaining. The team's next offline appearance is scheduled for the end of the month as they will attend the $150,000 SuperNova CS:GO Malta, where Gambit will also be in action.

If confirmed, this move will leave HellRaisers with:

Kyrylo "⁠ANGE1⁠" Karasiow
Bence "⁠DeadFox⁠" Böröcz
Özgür "⁠woxic⁠" Eker
Issa "⁠ISSAA⁠" Murad
Abay "⁠HObbit⁠" Khassenov

Ivan "⁠Johnta⁠" Shevtsov (coach)

UPDATE: In a Twitter post, bondik confirmed that he has been released by HellRaisers and is currently a free agent.