Another pro gamer bites the dust

At least, in terms of staying with his current team, Evil Geniuses. This one doesn't involve the “toxic” gamers in League of Legends, but a Starcraft 2 pro player called Idra, real name Greg Fields. The reason behind his firing? He insulted fans and made as if he couldn't care less about them supporting him or his team.

While Idra seems to have a history of not being the most sportsman like of Starcraft 2 players, (according to his Liquipedia page) it wasn't until he called out fans of him and his team for following the sport because of “pandering” rather than tournaments and competition wins, that the trouble really started. When this was highlighted as a prime example of Idra's behaviour by a forum member, Idra responded, “nope you're all a bunch of f***s, it just so happens i (sic) get paid to treat you like it. It's f***ing awesome.”

Irda hasn't tweeted since a few days before the announcement

Understandably, this apathy towards his fan base and the fans of Evil Geniuses, wasn't something that went down well with the team's management, who fired him shortly after. The announcement reads: “To state the obvious, this was a very difficult decision for us. Over the past several years, we as an organization have grown close to Greg, and we have developed a deep appreciation and respect for him as a person. We consider him a member of our family, and parting ways with him leaves us all with a very heavy feeling in our stomachs.”

They also addressed past behaviour, by suggesting that everyone has a place on a team and within the world of esports, which is understandable; sports have heels just as they have babyfaces. However, they said there was a difference with trash talking in game or about other players and insulting the fans.

“To us, there’s a very big difference between a player being disrespectful to an opponent in a ladder match, and a player being disrespectful to the entire community of people who, via their own enthusiasm and passion for the entertainment product he creates, actually make his profession possible.”

KitGuru Says: It's completely understandable why EG have done this. The days of unprofessional “pro” gaming groups are at an end. You can't be a dick to everyone and expect to be part of a corporate sponsored team any more. It just doesn't work. The asshole pro-gamer is a dying breed.

[Thanks PCGamesN]

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