EPTI'm posting this because not everyone has had the time to watch last Thursday's WoC episode, and I think that EG's side of the story deserves to be heard. I realize that some of you aren't the biggest fans of me right now, both because of the PuMa situation and because of the comments about journalism that I made at the end of the WoC episode. But I'd like to ask you all to - please - put your personal feelings and assumptions aside, and be open to considering the facts that I will outline here.
As most of you know by now, last Thursday afternoon KST, reports of EG signing a player away from TSL were first published on several Korean eSports websites, and shortly after, were also posted here on TL. I'd like to take a few paragraphs to shed some light on the situation.
As of now, PuMa has signed with Evil Geniuses, and he will be joining our team. We will be announcing his travel schedule and training location later in a formal press release, because we think that this occasion deserves to be announced on its own terms, in a non-reactionary fashion. Additionally, despite what was originally reported, PuMa didn't sign with EG until very, very recently - days after this became a public issue. We at EG, and PuMa himself, both feel that this situation has been unfairly blown out of proportion.
EG first spoke with PuMa at NASL, prior to the round of 8 matches. TSL has said that we claimed that PuMa approached us first - I don't know where this is coming from, but I want to make it very clear that we approached him. When I introduced myself to him, I did not throw a contract in his face, I did not pressure him, and I did not attempt to use any aggressive recruitment methods. I simply let him know (via a translator) that EG was looking to support a Korean player, and asked him if he had any interest on a general level. He asked me some questions, and I answered them. We also made it very clear to each other that neither of us would be not be able to proceed with this recruitment unless TSL's coach was okay with it. In the weeks following NASL, PuMa and EG continued our discussion. As of last Wednesday, there was very serious mutual interest in having PuMa on EG; serious enough that he brought the issue up to Mr. Lee, the coach of TSL, as EG and PuMa had agreed would happen.
According to PuMa, his conversation with Mr. Lee actually went very well, without hostility or animosity. Mr. Lee himself has stated in one of his recent interviews that their conversation ended on good terms. For this reason, PuMa was very surprised and confused when he found out that Mr. Lee had gone to the Korean press in a negative fashion, and that he had publicly "released" PuMa from TSL. EG was also very confused, as we were waiting for PuMa to speak with Mr. Lee before proceeding with the signing, and we hadn't even heard back from PuMa when the news broke. Neither EG nor PuMa wanted to proceed with the signing, unless it could be done on good terms with TSL. For EG, growing our Korean fan base and developing mutually respectful relationships with Korean teams are both very important long-term goals. We've put so much work and planning time into being able to recruit a top-tier Korean player. Why would we want to invite such controversy and sign our first Korean player under these kinds of public circumstances?
Additionally, I want to be very, very clear: Evil Geniuses does not sign contracted players away from other teams. In fact, quite to the contrary, we have one of the longest resumes of player purchases and transfers of any international gaming team. Just last year alone, we purchased the World of WarCraft player Emerson "Woundman" Condon from Fnatic, and we also purchased the SC2 player Ben "DeMusliM" Baker from mTw. These transactions occurred with transfer fees and signed transfer agreements, as well as mutual press releases from both organizations - feel free to Google the press releases if you like. We have a long history of respecting agreements.
As far as this particular situation is concerned, let me also be clear: PuMa was not contracted by TSL, and he did not receive salary from TSL. I'm not bringing this point up as an attempt to speak negatively about how TSL treats their players - actually, Mr. Lee is known to be one of the most caring and supportive coaches in Korea. Rather, I'm bringing it up because I don't feel that it's been properly relayed to the community. There are a lot of people who still think that we "sniped" a contracted player away from TSL, and that's just not true. I also want to, again, be very clear about the fact that both EG and PuMa felt that PuMa actually leaving TSL for EG would only be an appropriate move to make if PuMa first spoke with Mr. Lee about the situation. This point was discussed and mutually emphasized many times between EG and PuMa. And as such, PuMa first spoke with Mr. Lee before any formal arrangements were made - nothing is clearer proof of this than the fact that, at the time the news broke (and for days after), we hadn't even signed PuMa yet.
EG absolutely doesn't want to make enemies with, or offend, or disrespect, any Korean professional team. I'm well aware that some people in the community view us as the big, bad mega-corporation of eSports; the guys that have no regard for other teams and other cultures. But this just isn't true. We have already built strong relationships with the management of other Korean professional teams. In fact, over the past month alone, we have been in talks with several Korean teams (read: after speaking with management first, not players first) regarding potential recruitment and collaboration. These managers know who they are, and they know that we have approached their teams honorably and respectfully. Now, the obvious question you're all asking after reading this is, "Then, why didn't you do that with Mr. Lee?"
In the case of TSL, the only reason we did not speak with Mr. Lee first is that it was established between EG and PuMa, in our very first conversation, that - if he eventually decided he was interested in joining EG - he felt that the best first step (read: *first* step) to take would be for him to personally bring the issue to his coach. And then, after that initial conversation, EG's management could be put in touch with TSL's management. So, that's the path we took. PuMa brought up the issue with Mr. Lee, and their talk went well. And we were still waiting to speak with PuMa (to be briefed on the conversation, and also to get the next step of the process in motion - namely, EG being put in touch with Mr. Lee), when Mr. Lee went to the press. And then, as you all know, this became a massive public issue, literally, overnight. Mr. Lee went to the press so fast, in fact, that the news broke before we'd even been able to speak with PuMa, let alone arrange a meeting with Mr. Lee. EG actually only found out the details of PuMa and Mr. Lee's conversation (namely, that it was very friendly), well after the news was already published.
Overall, we've put a lot of time and hard work into securing enough budget from our sponsors to properly support a top-tier Korean player. And overall, we think that it's a good thing that international teams like EG are increasing the overall amount of financial support available to Korean players. After all, as a result of this, PuMa will instantly become one of the highest paid SC2 players in Korea, and he will be able to travel to any foreign tournament he wants to. Many of you have criticized us for allegedly being the big, bad corporate machine. But one thing you can't argue with is that we support our players very, very well. And it's very easy, from the outside, to say something like, "Oh yeah, well, it's easy to support players well when you just throw money at them." But that kind of position is short-sighted. We're not just sitting on a pile of money - it didn't just appear out of nowhere. We had to work very, very hard to secure the sponsors that we have, and it's not fair to criticize us for being good at getting sponsors, especially when (unlike other teams) we pass most of our sponsorship money on to our players. For the record, I'd like all of you to know that we put a higher percentage of our gross revenue back into player support than almost any other team in the world. So, for those of you who think I'm typing this from my yacht - I'm not. I'm actually typing this from my one-bedroom apartment.
Going back to the situation at hand, many of you have argued that our approach here was "aggressive" and "objectionable" because we did not consult TSL management first, but rather, went to the player first. But I would like to again point out that PuMa and EG's mutual decision to have PuMa speak with Mr. Lee first was not motivated by a desire to sneak around Mr. Lee, but rather, it was simply agreed to be the best first step (again, read: *first* step) communication-wise. We did not disregard TSL in this situation, nor did we attempt to subvert Mr. Lee - and those accusing us of doing so are wrong. Just because our management did not speak with TSL's as the very first step in this process, does not mean that we ignored, subverted or disregarded TSL.
And obviously, it was never EG's intention, in any manner, to disrespect Mr. Lee or TSL. On behalf of EG, I would like to publicly apologize to Mr. Lee for any personal disrespect this situation has caused him. I have already sent him a personal letter of apology, but I feel that a public apology is necessary as well. In EG's defense, I want to state that, given the facts shared above, I really don't think that EG is guilty of any massive transgression here. I think the situation has been blown out of proportion to a ridiculous extent. However, I absolutely acknowledge that this situation ultimately boils down to the issue of cross-cultural respect. I truly do believe that EG's approach in this situation was appropriate, but I'm not so stubborn and belligerent as to sit here and claim that EG is 0% at fault. At the same time, though, the community's majority reaction was to place TSL as being 0% at fault, and that's not fair or accurate either.
Ultimately, I feel that TSL's public actions in this situation were not appropriate. I think that TSL's reaction, and their decision to go to the press so fast, was very knee-jerk, and I don't feel that it was fair to EG. I understand that it is not easy to lose a good player to another team, really, in any circumstance. But to accuse EG of underhanded business tactics is simply incorrect. PuMa was not signed to a contract with TSL; EG had still intended all along on waiting for PuMa to speak with Mr. Lee first, and then speaking with him directly afterwards; and also, at the time of Mr. Lee's public accusations, EG hadn't even signed PuMa.
I want to state, again (and, I'm sorry for belaboring the point, but I'm going to do it), that EG and PuMa both felt that PuMa speaking with Mr. Lee would be the best *first* step in this process, with the next logical step being EG speaking with Mr. Lee directly. However, Mr. Lee reacted so quickly, and in such public fashion, that EG didn't even have the chance to be properly briefed on the situation (let alone speak with Mr. Lee directly) before this became a massive public issue. If Mr. Lee hadn't gone to the press so quickly, what would've happened over the next 24-48 hours is that PuMa would've arranged a meeting between EG and Mr. Lee, by which we could've worked something out to both sides' satisfaction. I want to very clearly state again that I have already sent a letter to Mr. Lee, not only personally apologizing to him for any personal disrespect caused by this situation, but also stating that EG is willing to retroactively negotiate terms for PuMa joining EG which will satisfy Mr. Lee on a business level. It's obviously not ideal to have negotiations retroactively, but I think that EG is pretty clearly not the party that jumped the gun here. And, to be fair, I think that our willingness to negotiate a settlement with Mr. Lee (which, again, didn't just appear out of nowhere once this went public - negotiating with him was part of the process all along, from our perspective), when PuMa wasn't even contracted, is a pretty ethical, culturally considerate gesture.
I hope that Mr. Lee will be open to accepting my apology, and take me up on my offer to retroactively negotiate a settlement. Additionally, I have been speaking with other Korean team managers about the situation, and will continue to do so, in order to ensure that there is a mutually respectful, cross-cultural rapport between EG and the leaders of Korean StarCraft 2. Lastly, we are obviously thrilled to have PuMa on our team. We are very excited to be able to provide him with amazing support. Here's a statement from him about the situation:
"I am very happy to join EG. Also, Mr. Lee and I have spoken recently, and we are on very good terms. I will keep in touch with him regularly, and I will also continue practicing with my old TSL teammates and other top players. So, I think the fans and the community should not be upset about this. They should be happy about it and be supportive of EG. They are giving me an amazing opportunity, which I am very grateful for."
In conclusion, I hope that all of this has been constructive. I know that not everyone is going to be an EG fan, but I do hope that after reading all of this, everyone will have a more balanced view of our involvement in this situation, as well as how we run our team in general. As always, you're welcome to PM me here on TL, whether your feedback is positive, negative, polite, or rude. I read all of my PM's, and respond to most of them.
Sincerely,
Alex
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tl;dr
1) PuMa has signed with EG, but it didn't occur until very recently - days after the news was originally posted.
2) EG approached PuMa first, and has never claimed otherwise, despite what has been said in the press.
3) Both EG and PuMa agreed that the best approach (communication-wise) was for PuMa to speak with Mr. Lee as a *first step*, and then afterwards EG could become involved with Mr. Lee directly.
4) PuMa was not contracted by TSL, and did not receive a salary.
5) PuMa spoke with Mr. Lee about EG, and their conversation was amicable.
6) To PuMa's surprise and confusion, Mr. Lee made his public comments very shortly thereafter. This happened before PuMa had even had a chance to update EG on his talk with Mr. Lee.
7) EG has already sent a letter to Mr. Lee, apologizing to him for any personal disrespect that this situation has caused him. EG is also publicly apologizing to him for the same reason.
8) EG feels that TSL's public reaction to this situation was knee-jerk and unfair. The fact that PuMa spoke with Mr. Lee as the *first* step in this process does not mean that EG disregarded or ignored TSL. EG and PuMa both agreed that PuMa speaking with Mr. Lee would be the best *first step* for the process. EG expected that the next step in the process would involve speaking with Mr. Lee, but EG did not have a chance to do so, due to the fact that Mr. Lee went to the press so quickly after speaking with PuMa.
9) EG has been speaking with Korean team managers about the situation, and will continue to do so.
10) PuMa is very happy to be on the team, and asks that the community be supportive of both him and EG.
Edit: I didn't want to comment on the Milkis/journalism situation in this particular post, because I think it deserves its own discussion, and would be distracting to the subject matter of this post. This thread should be about EG, PuMa, and TSL. I will be making a separate post regarding Milkis later in the week. For the record, while I stand by the points I made on that subject, I have already apologized to him in private for my accusatory tone and approach to him on the show.
