Justin Moskowitz · @Clutch_Justin
12th Sep 2016 from TwitLonger
Colorado Clutch Overwatch Team Disbanding
This is Justin Moskowitz, co-owner of the Colorado Clutch. Our team regretfully disbanded on Sunday, Sep 11th. We were able to assemble an incredible group of players who stayed with us to compete in the big leagues for a good amount of time, despite the fact that we are a less well-known org than some of our competitors. We developed a family culture and I’ve shared many unforgettable moments with each of the players who represented us. A private conversation of one of our players which was released incidentally today, expressed some of his frustrations with other players on our team regarding how the team disbanded. The language used left a lot to the imagination, so I’ll clear the air by providing a thorough explanation of how we got here.
We acquired capital to take our players out to Agents Rising back in May, the first North American LAN Tournament, where they were one of four invited teams. This was a huge opportunity to make a splash with a team we believed in. We placed 4th and made a big impact. We continued to practice for the next two months but were only able to play limited hours due to players requiring jobs to cover daily expenses. We sought financial sponsorship but being such a new org with limited social stats and no major wins, it was an uphill climb. To be frank, I think all of us underestimated the real struggle that full-time grassroots esports entails.
With E-League coming soon and our players wanting to fully dedicate their time to the game, we proposed a boot camp which we hoped would lead to a team house after the team qualified for E-League and gained sponsors. Backed only by our LAN center, we were unable to commit to a salary, but offered to cover food, gas and basic lodging. Our players were excited to have the opportunity to focus all their time on the game without worrying about working a job and were as optimistic as I was that sponsorships would come through. We set-up an office training facility to allow our players to shift gears into work mode and they moved in with their own computers.
E-League Atlanta qualifiers came along and our team played some of the most incredible games I’ve witnessed against Team Liquid, but ended up losing in the end. After E-League qualifiers finished, there weren’t any other majors to look forward to, and everyone began wondering “what’s next?”
I switched my focus from seeking sponsors to securing investment, speaking with individuals locally and around the eSports scene. I found an individual who was willing to seriously evaluate the opportunity with us for a minimal starting investment which would have been sufficient to meet many of our players’ requests. I was excited to pursue it, but the process could take several weeks and wasn’t a sure thing. In the end, we were too late. Several of our players were already being approached by organizations on a daily basis and exploring their opportunities. I was told by our players that some of these opportunities were only available to them if they were out of their contracts, and that other organizations were typically not willing to pay a buy-out. So I was put in a tough situation, having spent thousands on the team over the past 6 months, yet being asked to release contracts so they could pursue outside opportunities which would in effect kill the team I’d worked to build. Did I want to stand between them living out their eSports dreams with a strong offer? I considered just letting them go but wanted to see if we could at least recoup some of what we’d spent through a contract buy-out. I spoke with several of the players last night and asked them to support my request to receive some sort of buyout and they agreed to help.
I asked a player if we could discuss a contract buyout option with a manager in the morning and he agreed to set-up a meeting. Our players were worried they would miss out on this big opportunity if I took too long to release the contracts or pushed too hard for a buyout and decided to speak with my business partner that evening to get his thoughts. He sympathized with their desire to take advantage of the opportunity so strongly that he made the call to release the contracts on the spot, last night. While I don’t appreciate that this was done without a conversation, he did have the authority to make the call and I can understand why he felt it was necessary to act quickly.
One of our players, Lui, wasn’t in the loop on any of the team’s conversations, and felt betrayed by other members on the team for making such a big decision without him. The Clutch computer Lui was using at the office was picked up and taken to our LAN center along with the other players’ personal computers. Sometimes it can be hard to stay transparent about such big changes like this, but a bit more transparency could have smoothed out some of these strong emotions.
I want to thank everyone who has supported the Colorado Clutch over the past 6 months and I wish our players the very best in their future endeavors. My next major goal is to find a new home for each of our players who are now available as free agents. Please reach out if I can be of assistance with connecting you. I hope to have the opportunity to keep the fans happy and will work on a relaunch of the Clutch eSports organization in the future with more serious capital backing us.
Best regards,
Justin