Translation for KnOxXx's statement

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After a 7-year career as a TF2 semi-pro and Overwatch professional player, I inform you, dear community and followers, that KnOxXx is hanging his mouse up.

I move on to the other side of the screen after many exciting years full of rich international experiences. Experiences that gave me the opportunity to fully grasp esport's potential and the feelings of joy and fraternity it brings in a competitive environment. You know what I'm talking about! I simply regret that my career as a player ended with the failure of a French investor, namely Eagle Gaming, which ruined the hope of a talented and motivated team.

A week ago, the manager, Xavier Calvi, resigned from his position, leaving everyone in a tough spot... The organisation has left the players without a contract and facing great financial difficulties: we haven't been payed in 3 or 4 months and have never gotten any CPs (Cash Prizes).

The Eagle Gaming failure is all the more tragic because it bore the hopes for high level French esport. It was this project and its launch on the team's social and TV networks that brought me back from the US.
Today, I will tell you my story because it puts into light the failure of dishonest managers who toyed with us, maybe hoping for more personal gain, definitely without an ounce of respect towards their players whom they've promised great careers to.

A tale of poor management...
I signed my fixed-term contract with the Eagle Gaming organisation halfway through November 2017 as a professional player. It was written that as soon as I came back to France, I had to sign my contrat to formalize joining the team.
Despite asking Eagle multiple times, I have never received my contract.
I have since learned that Eagle was never able to offer fixed-term professional esport player contracts. This is why we couldn't contractually receive cash prizes and know now that they were used to pay our salaries!
The first late payments started in December, and have been a recurrent issue ever since.
I was so focused on the team's preparation for the first season of Contenders that I would only ask our managers about it, and they'd always dodge the question and tell us to be more patient... We trusted them!
With the late payments accumulating, they became more agressive and patronising, guilting us into thinking that just being paid was good enough... Interesting way of treating professional players!

We were warned in July that Eagle was having big financial setbacks because some investors weren't keeping their end of the deal, or were simply backing out altogether.

Towards the end of August, I was informed that Eagle would soon be no more and all the players would be fired after the Contenders finals. Panic and chaos within the team ensued... Shout out to the players who, through these terrible conditions, showed bravery and strength to stay focused on the game and take the OWC title.

In early October, without hearing from the investors or being fired, despite not being paid for months, I decided to hire an attorney. As captain of my team, I invited all the players to join me. We are 9 today in a case against Eagle and, due to them being MIA, we have been forced to break our contracts to pursue our professional careers.

From this miserable adventure, I have come to the conclusion that given the quality of the players, their good will and work ethic, the organisation should've never had financial difficulties to pay their teams and develop itself further.
Since the start, there was an instrumentalization of the players and contempt for their careers and personal growth.
Esport will not be able to thrive in France so long as there is no serious legal framework that forbids such false promises.

I will never forget all these esport adventures, I have experienced truly unforgettable moments through the first victories with Rogue or with the French team. I was able to travel the world, discover cultures, traditions and have met amazing people. I'd like to thank the community, the players, the Youtubers, the casters... And most importantly Blizzard, which has made my childhood dream a reality.

I got another idea of esport and its future. Before becoming a pro player, I was working IT in a school group.
Now is the time for me to make my come back, and I have many projects in mind, the creation of an esport school and managing an Overwatch Academy team, among others... Because with all the experience I've earned throughout my career, I want to give back to the young serious players.

I will keep you informed on what's to come next.

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