RCD Espanyol officially disbanded its Rocket League roster earlier today, stating it will focus its efforts into other esports, but that has led to some issues with the team’s former players.
A former digital manager for the organization called on Psyonix yesterday to remove the roster of players from the European promotion playoffs for the Rocket League Rival Series, which took place earlier today, while a professional player called out the org for being “shoddy.”
The former RCD roster’s contracts with the organization ran out on March 31, according to professional player for Endpoint Nelson “Virtuoso” Lasko. This means that the four players and coach may have been in talks with the organization about a potential extension through the promotion playoffs or beyond, which eventually fell through sometime over the last week.
Prior to the official announcement from RCD Espanyol, the organization’s former Digital Manager Laureà Folch asked Psyonix to remove the former-RCD roster from the promotion playoffs yesterday.
“Can you imagine a team, of any discipline, from any sector, playing all season under some colours, representing a Team and playing the promotion phase representing another Team and with other colours? Never!” Folch said. “Under no circumstances should [gamers] that have represented the RCD Espanyol de Barcelona in the [RLRS] play the promotional tournament for the RLCS tomorrow.”
Folch cites the need to keep “principles and ethics” in mind when letting rosters who have left a team during an event continue to compete, which is a common practice within esports that runs both ways. In Dota 2 for example, if a team that is not sponsored makes it into a big tournament, it is more likely that a sponsor will step in and sign the roster to take part in said event.
Virtuoso shed light on the current state of the team and RCD as a player who plays in the same region and knows several of the players.
He mentioned that the players did not sign with another team, and the main point of contention between the org and its old players is that the team would be playing on the main broadcast as Espanyol.
“RCD’s contracts have ended 12 days ago, they are not signed with any org,” Virtuoso said. “On the broadcast they will still play with espanyol which is why this is an issue with RCD. I hope they can just let them play though under a different name.”
That issue was rectified prior to the actual competition after the team took the name Stonkers and changed their branding.
Virtuoso also mentions that RCD is a “very dodgy org” that signed player Damian “Tox” Schaefer to a contract while he was 16 with getting one of his guardians to co-sign with him, which made the document void.
Psyonix did not make a move to stop Marc “Stake” Bosch and his team from competing, as the newly minted Stonkers roster finished in third place in the promotion bracket.
