Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag, the founder and CEO of 100 Thieves, said he regrets not communicating roster decisions to the public during the organization’s rookie season in the NA LCS, and that he’s solely at fault in a YouTube video.
In regards to the trade of jungler William “Meteos” Hartman to FlyQuest in July, as well as the benching of ADC Cody Sun at Worlds this month, Nadeshot said he “fell short” in leading his organization. Both instances were examples of poor choices in communication, Nadeshot explained, and that he regrets not being more transparent with the League community.
Discussing the Meteos trade, Nadeshot said he certainly could have done a better job handling it. Nadeshot, who said he stands by the staff who felt Meteos needed to be traded, claimed that his organization’s production team were prepared to release new episodes of Heist, its documentary series, that would’ve clarified some details. The videos were delayed by Nadeshot, though, who thought it would be better to move forward.
Many of the same themes from the Meteos trade could be applied to the Cody Sun benching, Nadeshot said. Cody Sun wanted to continue to help the team but 100 Thieves staff felt starting Richard “Rikara” Samuel Oh was a better choice at the time.
Nadeshot, who became a star competitor and entertainer in the Call of Duty scene, said his lack of experience in League hurt his decision-making.
“Everything originates from communication,” Nadeshot said. “From the top down, down up, it’s all about communication, especially with the League of Legends community. That’s something I didn’t understand coming into this year.
“I’m from a background in Call of Duty esports, where roster changes are generally accepted and they happen fairly often. And there’s not much analyzation or depth in those decisions, and that is very and abundantly clear not the case with League of Legends.”
To some fans, 100 Thieves had a successful season in the NA LCS after becoming a franchising partner in December, with the team reaching the split finals in the spring and again making the playoffs in the Summer Split. While the team failed to make it past the group stage at Worlds, their performance during the entire season seemed to be a pleasant surprise to many.
The organization, however, was lambasted in a Reddit thread titled “100 Thieves Disappreciation Thread,” which nearly reached 14,000 upvotes. The post, which has since been deleted by the original poster, focused on 100 Thieves’ communication, or lack thereof.
Nadeshot said he will go on any show to explain his decisions in an attempt to be more open with the League community moving forward.
