Photo: LoL Esports
We no longer really know on which foot to dance with the Ocelote affair. The boss of G2 himself admitted that he had made a big error of assessment, first posting a photo of an evening with the Tate brothers, two very controversial figures of influence, then secondly relying on very average communication to defend themselves. It's not good to be caught with someone who is openly sexist and misogynistic. In view of the saucepans dragged by Andrew Tate, Carlos would surely have done better to make himself very small rather than to make crates of them...
To put out the fire, the structure, with the complicity of the main interested party who is still the CEO, has decided to put Ocelote on the sidelines for 8 weeks, where he will not receive any income. Many found the "penalty" quite light and called for a boycott of G2 Esports. It's hard to assess the importance of this shitstorm for Riot Games, but the company has decided to cancel the structure for its competitive Valorant circuit. While this one is being franchised, it's a huge punishment that will have serious consequences !
G2, deprived of place in the circuit VCT NA
Many journalists (neL, Wooloo, Georges Geddeds...) raised the issue and they all agreed: G2 should have integrated Riot Games' competitive Valorant partnership in the North American region. His file would have been selected to be among the 10 elected, alongside organizations such as NRG, Cloud9 or Sentinels. As a reminder, the structures selected are guaranteed to stay in the league for a minimum of 4 years and will receive flagship exposure, which obviously comes with big income. These number in the millions.
But following the big drama of Ocelote, Riot Games would have decided to backtrack by removing the precious sesame from the Samurai to give the slot back to Leviathan . The sanction might seem symbolic, but in reality it is a big blow for the organization. Valorant is in full development and G2 will miss the train. This is all the more tragic since until now the team has been playing in the European region. We can imagine that the process of putting together an NA file was long and energy-intensive. But for a boozy evening that ended badly, all that work went up in smoke. If some rejoice on the networks, several G2 employees have shared their distress... Because of their CEO, many opportunities will close.
Too harsh a punishment?
The question deserves to be asked, but the answer is obviously very subjective. For many, Ocelote's behavior was unforgivable and a reaction from Riot Games was expected. However, this decision punishes players and many employees, who have no responsibility in this story … But we imagine that Riot wanted to set an example . This video game giant boasts of offering a very inclusive environment for minorities. From this perspective, Andrew Tate is a person to be blacklisted who is at the antipodes of the values defended.
Once this blow is digested, G2 Esports will have to take its time to think about the future. What to do with Ocelote when he comes back from suspension and especially what to do in Valorant? The team can always integrate a VRL (Valorant Regional League) to try to be then promoted to the VCT. But such a path will inevitably be strewn with pitfalls... The Samurai, with their status, are more accustomed to eating with gold cutlery.