UK eSports organisation Choke Gaming and former manager Vince Clarke have reached an agreement in principle, following their dispute.
Vince was sacked by Choke’s owners eSports Interactive just over a week ago, who said they let him go due to a ‘conflict of interest’ after he took on another role with PC memory maker Crucial.
Vince initially said that he still owned Choke Gaming, but would form his own team if he lost the brand.
Under the terms of the agreement, Vince will remain a 25% shareholder of eSports Interactive but will no longer manage Choke Gaming.
He told eSports News UK he has reached an ‘amicable’ agreement with eSports Interactive and will now be pursuing a different direction in eSports. This means eSports Interactive will own and manage the Choke brand moving forwards.
Vince also said the deal will not involve any money changing hands, though he may be open to selling his share of eSports Interactive.
Following this latest development, interim manager Tom Villiers has now been appointed manager of Choke Gaming on a full-time basis.
Vince told eSports News UK: “I enjoyed my time thoroughly with Choke Gaming, a name which is close to my heart. I played for Choke Gaming 10+ years ago and have won LAN events not only as a player but now as a manager.
“The other shareholders didn’t share my vision and ultimately we had a disagreement. However we’ve come to terms and I will remain a shareholder of Esports Interactive and will watch in great detail how Choke Gaming does from here on out.
“It was my first venture in org management and although I made a few mistakes along the way, no one can deny the great success Choke Gaming shared in its chosen games. I was very honoured to have such talented players amongst the teams, some of whom I’ve watched go on to progress even further in their eSports career.
“I will miss being part of a gaming org but will be concentrating on my role with Micron (Crucial Ballistix). I’m not saying I’ll never be part of a gaming org again, I just need a well earned break from it all.”
eSports Interactive co-owner Jon Bakewell commented: “I’m hoping this means we can carry on from this absolute craziness and move forward.”
The new Choke Gaming League of Legends team roster is expected to be announced imminently – potentially this evening.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
