Jebus moving to NA to join Misfits

Former Gamers2 AD carry Mohammed “Jebus” Tohki has applied for a U

Former Gamers2 AD carry Mohammed “Jebus” Tohki has applied for a U.S. visa in hopes of jump-starting his career in North America. Tohki, who’s been trying out for Gambit Gaming, has grown impatient as the team is divided over the future of its bot lane.

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Tohki will join Challenger side Misfits, which is captained by Alexey “Alex Ich” Ichetovkin and Alberto “Crumbz” Rengifo, as confirmed by the organization. This comes after the recent departure of former marksman Ricthie “Intense” Ngo earlier this week and as the team gears up for the  Challenger Series’ Summer Qualifiers.

Chris Badawi, Misfits’ owner, confirmed the move in a statement to the Daily Dot.

“Jebus is an immense talent, to be sure.  But the true appeal of him to Misfits is his stellar reputation as a team player with an absolutely ridiculously kick-ass and positive attitude. He’s the kind of guy you want speaking at your wedding (or funeral for that matter.) A kind, hard-working, good-natured friend who, for his part, has had trouble finding the perfect environment and support structure in EU—a misfit to the core, there is really only one logical place for him to be.  We are all just waiting for the visa gods (visa Jebus?) to do their thing and I can’t tell you how excited every one of us is to have him join our band of misfits.  
Go Misfits!

The prophet has spoken! Praise Jebus! All hail the Russian mercenary!”

Tohki was initially set to join Gambit towards the end of last summer, but due to personal complications he wasn’t able to get a visa for the 2015 Spring Promotion Tournament in North America. The team ultimately went with then-substitute Kristoffer “P1noy” Pedersen. After Pedersen performed impressively at IEM Cologne 2014, the team wanted to give him a full split to prove his worth.

Gambit has been a hotbed for roster swaps in the bot lane this off-season. Tohki was initially the frontrunner for Pedersen’s spot before the team gave Pedersen, who reportedly wants to play alongside former MeetYourMakers support Lewis “Noxiak” Felix, another shot.

Gambit also extended a tryout invitation to Pierre “Steeelback” Medjaldi, who is pushed out of Fnatic with the return of Martin “Rekkles” Larsson. With Tohki out of the equation, it’s likely Medjaldi will be the frontrunner for the position if Pedersen performs poorly in scrims.

Tohki is something of a journeyman in League of Legends, though he’s best known for his time on Gamers2. The team finished in a disappointing fourth place in the European Challenger Series, falling to Reason Gaming on April 7. Though the team fell short, Tohki is considered as one of the best amateur marksmen in Europe and has often been praised by former Elements support Mitch “Krepo” Voorspoels on social media and on stream.

With Tohki joining the team, he’ll be the team’s second European import alongside Ichetovkin—and he’ll help make the team a top contender for the North American Challenger Series Summer Split if they make it past the qualifiers.

Update May 7 11:15am CT: Gamers 2 CEO Carlos “Ocelote” Rodriguez Santiago claims Tohki is still under contract with his team.

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Update May 7 1:25pm CT: In a statement to the Score Esports, Badawi said he reached out to Rodriguez Santiago and never heard back.

I know Jebus isn’t and hasn’t been getting paid – and a contract for services without payment is essentially slavery – it is unenforceable in every jurisdiction in the world. I’m a former lawyer and not easily intimidated by flaccid, limp and unsubstantiated contractual claims/threats. If a contract is legitimate and its terms honored in good faith by the controlling party I will respect it absolutely – this is unfortunately not the case here. Players deserve better. They deserve to be better treated, respected and valued – unfortunately many owners/management in this scene simply won’t and don’t. Jebus has a heart of gold and a truly good and decent soul. If any one deserves better than the scene currently has to offer, it’s him.

Update May 7 4:2opm CT: Gamers2 has  released its own response to Badawi’s statement.

Photos via Wikimedia and nigro.dk | Remix by Jacob Wolf

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Jacob Wolf
Chief Reporter & Investigative Lead for Dot Esports. A lifelong gamer, Jacob worked at ESPN for four and half years as a staff writer in its esports section. In 2018, the Esports Awards named Jacob its Journalist of the Year.