As soon as League of Legends content creator Travis Gafford reported yesterday that CLG, one of the staple organizations in the LCS, is about to shut down its esports operations in the near future and lay off several employees this week, some of the CLG players expressed their disappointment in what is expected to come in the next few days. The organization currently invests in CS:GO, VALORANT, Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Super Smash Bros., in addition to League.
“It’s been a really hard fkn day,” female CS:GO player for CLG Red Marissa “madss” Dasta said today. “Just heartbroken.”
Vivienne “BiBiAhn” Quach, one of madss’ teammates, also weighed in. “I’m broken, it hurts,” she said. CLG Red has existed since 2015 and housed several veterans such as Stephanie “missharvey” Harvey, Catherine “CAth” Leroux, and Benita “bENITA” Novshadian.
CLG is controlled by parent company Madison Square Garden, which is looking to either sell the brand or shut it down, according to Gafford’s report. He reported that all staff members, including the organization’s head Gregory Kim, will be let go. The massive round of layoffs hitting CLG will reportedly start this Thursday, April 6.
CLG will reportedly look to sell off all of its esports teams, including the League team and consequently the LCS spot. The organization is set to keep operating the League team for the time being, but a sale to NRG Esports is already in the works, according to Gafford. The Los Angeles-based organization played in the LCS in 2016 and currently has a franchised spot in VALORANT at the VCT Americas League, which is also run by Riot Games.
It’s unclear, at this point, if there are organizations interested in acquiring CLG’s teams in CS:GO, Fortnite, Apex Legends, VALORANT, and Super Smash Bros.
Other CLG players who reacted to the news include League players Niship “Dhokla” Doshi and Juan “Contractz” Garcia, and Super Smash Bros. player James “VoiD” Makekau-Tyson.
More details about CLG’s future are expected to become available on Thursday, April 6, according to head of marketing Danielle Fox.
