A player within the UK eSports scene has commented on the latest UK League of Legends drama, between Last Remedy management and coach Tundra.
The player sent us this and wishes to remain anonymous so as not to burn bridges. Here’s their opinion in full:
Brief summary:
- LR puts together a top 2(?) UK roster
- Toaster brings on Tundra as a coach
- Tundra seemingly pushes out other coaches
- Tundra demands the players get a higher % of LAN winnings
- LR refused, Tundra suggests to management that they sell their spot to another org
- Tundra asks ESL guy who owns the spot, he says the players (which is incorrect)
- Tundra and Grant have a conversation about selling the team/roster
- Grant keels over and says he’ll sell but he wants to remain involved in the team
Unless I’m entirely missing the point then isn’t everyone just being super over dramatic? Why are people questioning lack of sponsorship/income, if the org says they’ll pay for LANs then what else is expected? There won’t be salaries in UK scene any time soon. The whole coaching thing is irrelevant, a UK team doesn’t need three coaches and if the players want Tundra, then so be it. All that matters in this whole drama is whatever this means:
https://i.gyazo.com/aff712dd1e5b42a9515a125ff48a0bc1.png
https://i.gyazo.com/bc01d9d7dde14b37baf874b71fda51b3.png
https://i.gyazo.com/19ae43c52276f2254778425554d9f5ff.png
If the team just wants a UK team to play ESL/i-Series with, and LR says they will pay for LAN support, then this whole scenario is pointless? LR can (based on their word) fund what the players need?
Tundra has also denied that he demanded 10% more of the LAN winnings, so to reiterate, if the only argument is funding and LR CAN fund LANs then what is all this even about? They are only currently tied to LR because LR does in fact own the ESL spot, not the players, so if anything, the players and Tundra should be cooperative with LR management to ensure they themselves can continue in the tournament using that spot.
“If the team just wants a UK team to play ESL/i-Series with, and LR says they will pay for LAN support, then this whole scenario is pointless?”
It’s in the best interest of everyone if the players win the ESL split, get the CS qualifiers spot and then if management can’t afford additional funding, they can then sell the spot to an org that can afford it. Otherwise, best case scenario for the players is Grant sells the spot (which he doesn’t have to do) to another org (probably isn’t worth a huge amount at the moment, especially when the players are not contracted and can leave freely) and the players continue playing with an org that has better funding and infrastructure.
Worst case scenario, Grant doesn’t sell the spot, removes the players and due to the roster lock, they can’t all just join one of the other teams in the Prem.
It’s just a shitstorm started by nothing. There isn’t actually any drama based on what has been released. All it is is Tundra allegedly pushing for ‘more’ for whatever reason, although if he claims the 10% extra ‘demand’ thing to be false, then I’d love to know what the source of Tundra and Grants chat log was, or why anyone had felt the need to look for another org. Furthermore, no players or staff have the right to force a deal on an org AFTER a roster lock. If they were unsure about LR before the roster lock then they should have committed to another org.
The chat logs don’t really add much to the drama except make Grant look bad. He claims he’s great at negotiating deals, “Let me do what i do best…negotiate with people, negotiate with teams”, and then while negotiating with Tundra he gets overly emotional, insults the players (by saying they’ve gotten nowhere: https://i.gyazo.com/cff29d9511fe0cfb63fc10043db6dd6e.png ) and the whole way through he seems incredibly naive, saying that he brought the team together and he’s given these players the opportunity to be in challenger. No, you haven’t. These players will have came together because they respect each other – predominantly Toaster, not because they respect a two-month-old org with a bunch of promises.
“ESL and Insomnia are already providing great tournaments to play in, and all we’re doing is making ourselves look like idiots.”
Ultimately, Grant needs to just man up and take control of his org. He needs to focus on building himself a brand before running straight for the end prize of CS/LCS – that’s a moronic short term goal. Offer LAN funding, accommodation and travel, build a name in the UK scene so players trust that you’ll give them this funding and they will reward you with high placing finishes at UK events.
From there, it will be easier to get sponsors and grow. Also get a logo that wasn’t made in Photoshop in five minutes, when I think of ‘Remedy’ I think something more medicinal, like that damn green summoner icon (https://i.gyazo.com/dfa6bf1d040fdb5f3df7b3f1463b8058.png) not a shield, and why is the central focal point of your logo the ‘5’? Brand yourself to cover a wider range of games.
If you’re calling yourself LR5 because there’s five players on a LoL team then how does that translate into Hearthstone, Fifa or Overwatch? Sponsors won’t want a team who only specialises in one game as it limits potential exposure. You have a business management degree for goodness sake.
If Tundra wants to defend himself better he should give a reason EXACTLY why he started threatening Grant with a change of orgs. If there was a genuine problem with funding, such as LR definitely not being able to pay for LAN support and proof of this, then Tundra will ultimately have just been defending his players. Nothing wrong with that.
If he was just pressing Grant for more when he didn’t really have any right to, then he should learn from it and apologise to Grant for squeezing him. What makes Tundra look bad is he immediately jumps to twitter to start complaining about people ‘taking the word of randoms’ and saying ‘most people dislike me in the scene that they’ll automatically side with the org and belittle me’.
“Stop making it out like the UK scene is some market that has huge potential, it’s just a stepping stone to greater things.”
Tundra, you’re belittling yourself. Don’t immediately jump on the defensive, it makes it look like you’ve done something wrong. If you come out and say you were just doing what was best for the players and then the players step out and agree, then people will have a much more difficult time criticising you.
Stop making it out like the UK scene is some market that has huge potential, it’s just a stepping stone to greater things. For players, it’s a place to get noticed and get a feel for playing competitively, before looking forward to playing in Europe. For organisations, it’s a great entry opportunity to slowly build up a brand and gain experience in esports before expanding to Europe.
ESL and Insomnia are already providing great tournaments to play in, and all we’re doing is making ourselves look like idiots.
