In a shocking twist, star EMEA roster MaTaFe, Unlucky, and KIND4 have been left without an organization’s support the day before ALGS Pro League is due to start.
According to a post from MaTaFe on Jan. 19, Vexed Gaming appears to be completely ceasing operations. This announcement comes two hours after Vexed Gaming management Steve “JTB” James and Dan “Skiin” O’Hara revealed that they would no longer be working with the organization. In a letter to Vexed published on X (formerly Twitter), the duo alluded to greater issues behind the scenes. Particularly, they apologized for “the failures of the broader company leadership that have contributed to this unfortunate outcome.”
“In hindsight, it is evident that mistakes were made long before the recession that have left us scrambling to keep the lights on for the past year,” the letter continues, noting those internal problems came “at much cost to our own health, personal lives and mental well being.”
James and O’Hara have long been integral to the success of Vexed Gaming, acting as the face of the organization and propelling their competitive teams to success. With MaTaFe’s announcement that the Apex team will be looking for a new organization to represent, it is likely that James and O’Hara’s departure was the final nail in the coffin for a struggling company.
Since launching in 2015, the U.K. organization has fielded rosters in Apex Legends, VALORANT, Counter-Strike, Rainbow 6, and Halo, with their Apex roster being their only currently active team. Although it has participated in a variety of titles, it was often unclear as to whether these rosters would last longer than one season.
The decision to close its doors on esports would certainly not be an easy one, especially after Vexed saw its Apex roster come so close to the success they were striving to achieve. With only one day until the ALGS begins Split One, Matej “MaTaFe” Fekonja, Andre “unlucky” Türk, and Pedro “KIND4” Maldonado Vega will be scrambling to find new backing and financial support.
Vexed Gaming has yet to make a statement on its decision at time of publishing.
The ALGS Pro League starts on Jan. 20 and will be broadcast on all official Play Apex Esports streaming channels.
