WCSI was contacted by Gus (AZK.WitchDoc) Ledesma in August, bluntly asking, "Who is the best player in Australia? mOOnGLaDe? I wanna fly him over to the PPSL in Manila."
At this stage, the information on the event was very scarce. If you can find all of the vague aliases the AZK guys use to post on Team Liquid, you'll find a lot of poorly written and scarcely publicised posts by them, advertising the venue and throwing around claims that Tastosis would be casting and WhiteRa/MC/JulyZerg/MarineKing, etc would be in attendance. The date of the event was also changing every few days.
I made several attempts to resume discussions with Gus, however each time I tried to iron out specific details, he would either stop responding, or start name dropping to try and impress me. Just as I grew tired of trying to do business with Gus, a new AZK face got in touch with me.
+ Show Spoiler [Skype Conversation] +
[9/1/2011 3:08:02 PM]Derek Reball: This is what I just discussed with Cocoy:
* I'll publish & host a qualifying event via SC2SEA to establish the eligible Australian participants (1-2 players)
* Most likely an open event limited to 64 Australian participants.
* Group stages of 8 will be played out to determine the top 16 players.
* The top 16 players will compete in a double elimination bracket to determine the winner(s).
* These player(s) will receive paid flights (and accommodation?) to the PPSL event in Manila.
* Flight costs average between $400 & $600 per person, with the cheapest options listed below:
Depart Sydney:
Fri, Nov 4, 2011
$443
Depart Manila:
Wed, Nov 9, 2011
$356
TOTAL: $799 per person
[9/1/2011 3:08:21 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): saw it
[9/1/2011 3:09:33 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): oh and btw
[9/1/2011 3:10:18 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): ST_july, ST_bomber, MarineKingPrime, CheckPrime, and fenix
[9/1/2011 3:11:37 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): will compete PPSL qualifiers
* I'll publish & host a qualifying event via SC2SEA to establish the eligible Australian participants (1-2 players)
* Most likely an open event limited to 64 Australian participants.
* Group stages of 8 will be played out to determine the top 16 players.
* The top 16 players will compete in a double elimination bracket to determine the winner(s).
* These player(s) will receive paid flights (and accommodation?) to the PPSL event in Manila.
* Flight costs average between $400 & $600 per person, with the cheapest options listed below:
Depart Sydney:
Fri, Nov 4, 2011
$443
Depart Manila:
Wed, Nov 9, 2011
$356
TOTAL: $799 per person
[9/1/2011 3:08:21 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): saw it
[9/1/2011 3:09:33 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): oh and btw
[9/1/2011 3:10:18 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): ST_july, ST_bomber, MarineKingPrime, CheckPrime, and fenix
[9/1/2011 3:11:37 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): will compete PPSL qualifiers
After a long Skype call with Mariano (AZK.Smoke) Villafuerte, we came to an agreement that instead of me just arbitrarily selecting the Australian candidate, I would run an extensive qualifier over the course of several weeks - to help them promote the event, their team and their sponsors, whilst fairly and accurately determining who should fly to the PPSL. During this conversation, Mariano (under Gus advisement) suggested that we should send two players instead, since I was going to all this effort.
+ Show Spoiler [Team House Bragging] +
[9/1/2011 3:10:09 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): im in the AZK team house with AZKsmoke (coy)
On the 24th of August, I drafted a two-page contract and sent it back to Mariano, whereby I agreed to host an Australian qualifier using the projected schedule below. As you can see, this was just the PPSL - there was no mention of this being an IGN event at this stage.
+ Show Spoiler [Show Projected Schedule] +
![[image loading]](http://sea-play.com/pics/dox/Q3_Q4_Event_Schedule.png)
Unfortunately, despite me hounding them (literally) daily, they were unresponsive/hesitant to sign and return the contract. After over a month with no announcements whatsoever, they finally got back to me on September 28th. They said that the event was now branded as the "IPL4 Pacific Qualifier" and that I needed to update the contract before they signed it. The next day, I re-wrote the contract and highlighted the amended schedule (since the previous dates had been and gone), leaving me with less than a week to promote, advertise and commence the event.
You might recall in IGN.Alex's post that he had no idea there would be other commentators in Manila besides Tastosis. Gus told me he was flying CheekyDuck over to Manila on September 01... but somehow failed to let IGN know.
+ Show Spoiler [CheekyDuck conversation] +
[9/1/2011 6:08:01 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): im looking for a caster
[9/1/2011 6:08:25 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): to cast with jesi cheekyduck
[9/1/2011 6:08:33 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): maybe you can trow someone my way
[9/1/2011 6:08:25 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): to cast with jesi cheekyduck
[9/1/2011 6:08:33 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): maybe you can trow someone my way
On September 30th, Mariano returned the contract to me - signed - agreeing that they would cover the flight & accommodation costs of two (2) Australian players whom would be selected via my qualifying event. There is no mention of IGN paying for these costs. There is no mention of IGN anywhere in the contract. It specifically states that a relationship exists between me (Consultant) and Team AZK (Client).
+ Show Spoiler [Name Dropping] +
[9/1/2011 6:10:25 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): if we get more than enough funding, i wil fly u over to manila
[9/1/2011 6:10:43 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): as tastosis is casting the PPSL Main Event Nov 7-8
[9/1/2011 6:10:43 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): as tastosis is casting the PPSL Main Event Nov 7-8
So I went ahead and announced the qualifiers - a series of groups to determine the top 16, who would advance to a double elimination bracket. The top 2 finalists in this bracket would receive the paid flights and accommodation from Team AZK to the PPSL / IPL4 Pacific Qualifiers in Manila.
+ Show Spoiler [More Name Dropping] +
[9/1/2011 6:13:46 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): i'll hook you up with some of my contatcs as well in the NA and EU communities
[9/1/2011 6:13:53 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): big companies that can sponsor
[9/1/2011 6:13:56 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): like IGN
[9/1/2011 6:13:53 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): big companies that can sponsor
[9/1/2011 6:13:56 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): like IGN
I scheduled, promoted, streamed and commentated the entire event over the course of a month (thanks to WCG Australia and Blizzcon falling right in the middle of the event) - and not once did any Team AZK representative get in touch with me about contacting the finalists after it was all done and dusted. In fact, all they asked for was replays. Every day Gus was hounding me for replays to be passed on to the IGN guys so that they could cast the games on their stream. I guess, the reason I'm bringing this up is because it appeared to me that his focus was on obtaining more promotional material for himself and his event, rather than flying the finalists over to Manila.
+ Show Spoiler [Even More Name Dropping] +
[10/10/2011 11:45:39 AM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): thanks
[10/10/2011 11:45:46 AM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): the FXO lads here
[10/10/2011 11:45:50 AM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): awesome players
[10/10/2011 11:45:46 AM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): the FXO lads here
[10/10/2011 11:45:50 AM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): awesome players
Half way through the Australian qualifiers, I received some abrupt, blunt messages from someone who identified himself as Sonny (AZK.Avoider) Go. He was extremely angry about the Liquipedia page that Blahz0r made for me (out of the kindness of his own heart, seriously, someone shower that guy in love and respect <3) because he felt that I was taking the spotlight away from Team AZK and misleading people into thinking that this was my tournament. I clarified that the very first sentence on the page explained that it was an Australian qualifier for the Pacific event hosted by AZK, but he asked me to take the page down, so that they could replace it with their own. He explained that Gus was furious, and eventually the Australian Qualifier was integrated with the parent IPL4 page, as you see it now.
Fast forward to the IPL4 Australia Grand Final.
Within 5 minutes of the qualifiers completing, I passed on the contact info of Rossi (#1) and TargA (#2) to Gus, but there was no reply. I went away for a 2-day Halloween party, and while I was out of town, I received numerous text messages from people like YoonYJ and mOOnGLaDe, with the following information:
- TargA declined his invitation to the Pacific Qualifiers due to university exams.
- YoonYJ is next in line for the seat.
- Instead of approaching YoonYJ, Gus offered mOOnGLaDe a qualifying spot and paid flights/accommodation, on the condition that he is required to join Team AZK. (GLaDe declined)
- If your mind hasn't started connecting the dots yet, just consider their alleged acquisition of viOlet and now NEXSickness. Also ex-WeMadeFOX players Moon and Soccer being tagged as AZK players. Yeah.
So after I return from my Halloween party, Gus and I had this conversation:
+ Show Spoiler [We're only sending Rossi] +
[10/30/2011 10:46:27 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): Hi
[10/30/2011 10:46:32 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): we agreed on Top 1 and 2
[10/30/2011 10:46:34 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): to be sent
[10/30/2011 10:46:35 PM] Derek Reball: Yeah?
[10/30/2011 10:46:37 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): to represent AU
[10/30/2011 10:46:49 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): but since Targa declined (read his email) yesterday
[10/30/2011 10:46:55 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): looks like it will only be rossi coming
[10/30/2011 10:47:01 PM] Derek Reball: What? Why?
[10/30/2011 10:47:04 PM] Derek Reball: Just send Yoon instead
[10/30/2011 10:47:05 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): top 1 and 2
[10/30/2011 10:47:12 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): og
[10/30/2011 10:47:13 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): oh
[10/30/2011 10:47:18 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): YoonYJ ?
[10/30/2011 10:47:19 PM] Derek Reball: Yes
[10/30/2011 10:47:21 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): hmmnn
[10/30/2011 10:47:25 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): let me discuss with my teram
[10/30/2011 10:47:27 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): team
[10/30/2011 10:47:29 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): i'll get back to you
[10/30/2011 10:47:30 PM] Derek Reball: He's the next eligible person to go
[10/30/2011 10:46:32 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): we agreed on Top 1 and 2
[10/30/2011 10:46:34 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): to be sent
[10/30/2011 10:46:35 PM] Derek Reball: Yeah?
[10/30/2011 10:46:37 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): to represent AU
[10/30/2011 10:46:49 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): but since Targa declined (read his email) yesterday
[10/30/2011 10:46:55 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): looks like it will only be rossi coming
[10/30/2011 10:47:01 PM] Derek Reball: What? Why?
[10/30/2011 10:47:04 PM] Derek Reball: Just send Yoon instead
[10/30/2011 10:47:05 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): top 1 and 2
[10/30/2011 10:47:12 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): og
[10/30/2011 10:47:13 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): oh
[10/30/2011 10:47:18 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): YoonYJ ?
[10/30/2011 10:47:19 PM] Derek Reball: Yes
[10/30/2011 10:47:21 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): hmmnn
[10/30/2011 10:47:25 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): let me discuss with my teram
[10/30/2011 10:47:27 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): team
[10/30/2011 10:47:29 PM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): i'll get back to you
[10/30/2011 10:47:30 PM] Derek Reball: He's the next eligible person to go
He never replied after that.
On Wednesday (6 days ago) I got in touch with Gus again.
+ Show Spoiler [YoonYJ is going] +
[11/2/2011 10:05:32 AM] Derek Reball: heya
[11/2/2011 10:05:36 AM] Derek Reball: what's the latest?
[11/2/2011 10:06:00 AM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): i already spoke to YoonYJ
[11/2/2011 10:06:12 AM] Derek Reball: yeah?
[11/2/2011 10:06:45 AM] Derek Reball: And?
[11/2/2011 10:08:01 AM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): he is going
[11/2/2011 10:05:36 AM] Derek Reball: what's the latest?
[11/2/2011 10:06:00 AM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): i already spoke to YoonYJ
[11/2/2011 10:06:12 AM] Derek Reball: yeah?
[11/2/2011 10:06:45 AM] Derek Reball: And?
[11/2/2011 10:08:01 AM] gusledesma (AZKwitchdoc): he is going
So I guess if you're looking for the cliff notes here, this is the gist of it:
- Gus Ledesma cannot be trusted to agree to a signed contract, and is perfectly comfortable with screwing people over to promote his own "team".
- The Team AZK representing responsible for running this event appear to be extremely inexperienced, shady and unprofessional.
- This has nothing to do with IGN. Please don't point your pitchforks at them. They've been delightful and pleasant throughout this entire trainwreck.
- If you're wondering why there are so many AZK players in the Pacific Qualifier, it's because Team AZK hosted a series of "qualifying" events which weren't publicised outside of their own forums.
- I don't think anyone actually knows what the prize money is. Some AZK guys were arguing with me yesterday in SC2SEA chat, saying that the prize money is $7,000-$9,000 USD. But at that very same moment, Allyn was quizzing the crowd live on stream, announcing that the prize is $2,000 USD. So I dunno.
- YoonYJ wasn't the only person screwed over by Gus.
- Gus appears to have also stolen money from S2 Games for a HoN tournament that never happened.
- It's actually tragic that the "production quality" of my one-man-show was better than that of the Pacific Qualifiers.
- AZK Management were nowhere to be found when things weren't running. TorcH stepped in to save the day. (Have I mentioned how much I love that guy? I wish he'd respond to all the creepy love messages I send him.)
- Gus taunted YoonYJ in SC2SEA chat, saying "Good luck with that" when Yoon said he was going public. (See Chat Log)
- If you'd like to get in touch with AZK, you can do so via their Team Facebook Page or Gus Ledesma's Fan Page.
- According to Gus' facebook page he will be the "Organizer of another Major event come Q2 2012"
I really feel that AZK has pushed the SEA region back so far in terms of global exposure. We had a very unique opportunity here to partner with IGN and showcase what we had to offer. But now, this just makes us look like an enormous joke.
When I first entered this "partnership" with AZK, dozens of people sent me messages and warnings that they were an unprofessional and shady group of people, but I stuck to it in a naive, hopeful attempt to build a relationship towards a better future for SEA eSports.
Unfortunately it was not to be.
EDIT: Clarified the part about Gus trying to convince GLaDe to attend.
EDIT2: Also received this PM from someone who would rather remain anonymous.
+ Show Spoiler [Gus] +
I met Gus during an AZK inhouse tournament.
I am sorry that you had the misfortune of doing business with him.
I can confirm that he fights dirty. I have seen him watching matchups between his clanmate and some other guy and he would tell his clanmate what the other guy is doing just so Gus can win. He cheats. It's a fact and I'm sorry that a lot of people got dragged into this.
Gus is just way over in his head and more concerned about putting himself out there rather than promoting e-sports. It's all about him and it blew in his face.
I'm just sorry we didn't warn enough people. I didn't think his arrogance could have led to such disaster.
I am sorry that you had the misfortune of doing business with him.
I can confirm that he fights dirty. I have seen him watching matchups between his clanmate and some other guy and he would tell his clanmate what the other guy is doing just so Gus can win. He cheats. It's a fact and I'm sorry that a lot of people got dragged into this.
Gus is just way over in his head and more concerned about putting himself out there rather than promoting e-sports. It's all about him and it blew in his face.
I'm just sorry we didn't warn enough people. I didn't think his arrogance could have led to such disaster.
EDIT3: So after looking at the brackets after the group stages had been played out, I noticed they were using a pretty standard format. Seed #1 from Group A plays Seed #2 from Group H. Seed #1 from Group B plays Seed #2 from Group G. Seed #1 from Group C plays Seed #2 from Group F. And so forth. But then I refreshed and the brackets had been changed.
+ Show Spoiler [Original Brackets] +
![[image loading]](http://sea-play.com/pics/dox/brackets1.png)
+ Show Spoiler [Adjusted Brackets] +
![[image loading]](http://sea-play.com/pics/dox/brackets2.png)
EDIT4: I'm told by someone at the event that the brackets were re-generated for some reason by pulling names out of a hat. Mystery solved!
EDIT5: Gus "WitchDoc" Ledesma has addressed the community:
First and foremost, the PPSL would like to formally apologise to everyone (IGN, our sponsors, the players, organisers, special guests and the viewers) who were involved with the IPL4 Pacific Qualifiers. The PPSL takes full responsibility for the way everything has unfolded, and would like to make it clear that it was no one else's fault but ours.
Read more here: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=283925
EDIT6: TorcH and TheGunRun spoke on !@#$ Slasher this morning - detailing more and more of the event downfalls - a transcript can be seen in the OP of this thread: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=283641
EDIT7: David Ting from IGN spoke about the event, thanks to pdd for the summary. See here: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewpost.php?post_id=12213691
EDIT8: TheGunRun has posted, mentioning that Gus owes the hotel $12,000 and is nowhere to be found.
Amanda post paid for the tickets with the agency, if Gus doens't pay her the agency can run after her and put her in jail.
Clive's hotel debt is 37,000 Pesos ($900~) & Amanda's agency debt is 516,000 Pesos. ($12,000~)
Gus is not appearing nor answering.
Clive's hotel debt is 37,000 Pesos ($900~) & Amanda's agency debt is 516,000 Pesos. ($12,000~)
Gus is not appearing nor answering.
Source: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=283641¤tpage=26#512
EDIT9: OopsOopsBaby has documented a complete list of outstanding issues & testimonials here: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewpost.php?post_id=12214380
EDIT10: I'm a bit late on the uptake here, but be sure to read this post by John - the lead Stream Engineer for the PPSL: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewpost.php?post_id=12212297
EDIT11: This statement just appeared on Reddit, from IGN head David Ting:
IPL still owes Gus and Team AZK 50% of our sponsorship dollars. I will not release the funds until the ills have been cured or repurpose our funds to pay for part of the damage that has been caused. It is unbelievable what has just occurred here.
EDIT12: Okay just an update, this is really quite serious. I know it was announced several hours ago that Gus was on his way to the hotel to sort things out, but the travel expenses are still outstanding.
This is a message from Amanda who is possibly facing jail if this is not resolved imminently:
I issued a total of php 715,000 worth of tickets. 200,000 has been paid, so the outstanding debt is close to php 516,000. Told gunrun already and like im really hoping people in the community can help as being jailed is a possibility for me. I am connected to a travel agency that is why.
This needs to be RESOLVED before someone goes to jail.
good to see more information coming to light about this
