The Vancouver Titans fallout is likely one of the spicier, if not spiciest, events to happen in the Overwatch League for 2020 thus far. Perhaps a bold claim as the riots in Hong Kong continue which must have caused some concern regarding the matches that were scheduled to occur in China, COVID-19 cancelling everything only for the OWL to be reborn in an online-only format, then reborn yet again in monthly tournaments that are to all begin once more tomorrow under the guise of the Summer Showdown.
Yet the bizarre spectacle that was watching the Vancouver Titans seemingly implode on social media with nary a whisper from any associated members or agencies speaking out about it has perplexed many.
The story of what actually happened is seemingly breaking today, as former Vancouver Titan Chan-Hyung ‘Fissure’ Baek has finally spoken out, giving his version of the story as we know it. The statements that Fissure made on stream are pretty wild, as well; the depth of them has many Overwatch League agencies looking closely at precisely what occurred, as it seems to be illegal.
You can watch the stream, which is entirely in Korean & Hangul, here.
First, these are allegations from the former player Fissure regarding what has happened regards the Vancouver Titans fallout, and he has the apparent freedom to do so as he opted not to sign an NDA, where Fissure stated that other players did so for a sum of a couple of thousand dollars.
Fissure alleges that the Canuck organization simply didn’t have the funds necessary due to the pandemic, and the players were released based on this. Fissure continues his statement on the Twitch stream by stating his contract was canceled and he was kicked out of the organization, even after expressing his desire to learn English to stay with the organization.
He finishes by stating that the Vancouver Titans have refused to pay out the obligatory remainder of the contract towards Fissure.
Other outlets have reported that the strain between the Vancouver Titans agency and the roster began far before COVID-19, however, and alleges that the Vancouver Titans used the pandemic as an excuse to cut the team away due to cultural difficulties that were escalated with horrendous housing being provided for the players.
Connor ‘Avast’ Prince was quick on the uptake, noting that the claims are concerning, and absolutely merit further investigation from the League.
The Fissure situation is something that warrants some investigation or confirmation in my book.
If a player wants to stay on a roster and gets released without being paid out or a clear indication of contract breach then that turns the entire league protection on its head.
— Avast (@Avast_o) June 12, 2020
For many, it seems that the story is shifting once again to agencies taking advantage of players’ youth and inexperience while they hound them with lawyers and ambiguity hand in hand.
Now that Fissure has broken the silence willingly, the Vancouver Titans organization will hopefully come public with what actually happened to the beloved RunAway team. There is a pressure mounting from the fanbase, and clear communication is one of the easiest ways to alleviate this.
