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There’s no good way to receive the news that you’ve been fired, but Felix “xQc” Lengyel’s situation might take the cake. The streamer found out that his team, the Gladiators Legion, dropped out of Overwatch Contenders next year while streaming yesterday.
XQc found the Legion’s official announcement during a stream. “We will be parting ways with our players and staff, and thank them for their contributions for the last two years,” the announcement reads.
XQc was dumbstruck by the news. “Did I actually get fired?” he said. “I hadn’t been told. I could have prepared for this in one way or another, dude.”
He was more surprised than hurt by the news, though. “I don’t wanna blame them, though,” xQc said. “Maybe they didn’t know it themselves, you know, and took a late night decision.”
The streamer surprisingly defended the Legion’s decision and accused Blizzard of not promoting the Contenders series, also known as the tier-two scene.
“Why is it shitty of them?” xQc said. “Guys, Blizzard isn’t marketing it. I don’t actually know Blizzard, but Blizzard isn’t marketing tier two in any way, shape, or form. They make no attempt at making things exciting for tier two.”
XQc feels that Blizzard’s neglect of the tier-two scene is moving it closer to “homelessness, poverty, despair, and depression,” leaving the Overwatch League as “the only option.”
Gladiators Legion are hardly the first Academy team to decide not to participate in Contenders 2020. The San Francisco Shock, New York Excelsior, and Florida Mayhem all dropped their Contenders teams, too.
XQc was signed by Gladiators Legion earlier this year. He briefly played for the Dallas Fuel during the Overwatch League’s inaugural season and has represented Team Canada in all editions of the Overwatch World Cup since 2017.
