UK Overwatch pro player Owen ‘prov1de’ Warner has been kicked from Overwatch League team London Spitfire following an internal investigation.
Provide was shown sending explicit messages to a 16-year-old in a series of screenshots and tweets.
Twitter user @Emmaismental shared several screenshots of the pair interacting back in early 2019.
In the UK, the age of consent is 16, but there are laws to protect anyone up to 18 years old from ‘sexting’. It is an offence to send indecent images to minors (those aged under 18), even if they say they consent to it.
From one of Emma’s screenshots, it implies Prov1de had sent indecent images to them.
Emma added more context in this Twitter thread and said: “Yeah 16 and 20 is okay for a relationship in some situations, but I was a kid diagnosed with ADHD going to a special needs school for kids with autism.
“I feel terrible for fucking with [Spitfire’s] already tough season ahead of them, and I truly wish they weren’t impacted by this. But I am so fucking happy to see that disgusting piece of shit get punished.”
London Spitfire said in a statement: “We were recently made aware of a code of conduct violation involving one of our contracted players, Owen ‘Prov1de’ Warner. We have mutually parted ways with Prov1de, effective immediately, following the results of an internal investigation.
“We are actively seeking out a replacement support player to complete our roster and we will share an update on this process with our fans as soon as we can.
“Thank you for your patience as we looked into the matter and for holding us accountable.”
Prov1de joined Spitfire in late 2021 as one of several signings in Spitfire’s Overwatch roster for 2022, following a disappointing season for the UK franchise team.
There was some negative reaction to Prov1de’s signing back in November.
He was previously kicked from LA Valiant over screengrabs that showed him using racial slurs, but was cleared to play again earlier in 2021. Upon joining Spitfire, he said he had “changed for the better, not only as a player but as a professional and as a person”.
Prov1de has not yet commented publicly on the situation.
Spitfire do not have long to find a replacement, as the 2022 Overwatch League starts soon. The Spitfire will face San Francisco Shock on Friday May 6th 2022 and the Vancouver Titans on Sunday May 8th.
There’s more info on the Overwatch League 2022 opening week fixtures here.
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.
