EPT
Alliance have made their official statement announcing NaNiwa's release from the team.
Alliance Manager KellyMilkies
We would like to officially announce today that we’re parting ways with Johan “NaNiwa” Lucchesi after over a year of service in our Alliance family.
Johan was more than just a player for us. He was a champion, an excellent training partner, and kept the foreign hope flame burning. Most importantly, he was a friend.
I remember when I first started managing him last year and during one of our talks he expressed an earnest desire to not only be the best foreign StaCraft II player, but the best in the world. That conversation stuck with me and today I am proud to call him not only one of the best foreign players that have ever competed, but truly one of the best that has ever played the game.
A few weeks ago shortly after withdrawing from ASUS ROG due to an illness, Johan came to me asking if he could take a break from StarCraft II for 4-6 months. During the last couple months, he was having a hard time finding motivation for the game and mentioned that he did not want to go to IEM. After some discussions we came to a mutual agreement that IEM World Championship in Katowice would be his last stage of his career for now as I felt he owed it to himself to compete after playing so hard at IEM New York. I urged him to take the next few days leading up to the event to practice in hopes he would rekindle his flame for the game since IEM is such a prestigious event. Sadly things didn’t go as any of us hoped, but we still gave it a shot.
Johan is without a doubt an extremely dedicated, hardworking, and talented player and I certainly believe he still has a lot left in him as a professional. But with his decision to take a break for at least six months to pursue another game, it will no longer be possible for Alliance to keep him on our StarCraft II squad. However, if he were to decide to return to competitive StarCraft II again, we would love to sit down and discuss another future together.
We at Alliance are extremely grateful for his contributions to our team and organization. He will always be part of our [A] family. Johan, we’ll definitely miss cheering for you and we wish you nothing but the best in your new adventures.
Sincerely,
Kelly Ong Xiao Wei
Player and Account Manager for Alliance
@kellymilkies
Johan was more than just a player for us. He was a champion, an excellent training partner, and kept the foreign hope flame burning. Most importantly, he was a friend.
I remember when I first started managing him last year and during one of our talks he expressed an earnest desire to not only be the best foreign StaCraft II player, but the best in the world. That conversation stuck with me and today I am proud to call him not only one of the best foreign players that have ever competed, but truly one of the best that has ever played the game.
A few weeks ago shortly after withdrawing from ASUS ROG due to an illness, Johan came to me asking if he could take a break from StarCraft II for 4-6 months. During the last couple months, he was having a hard time finding motivation for the game and mentioned that he did not want to go to IEM. After some discussions we came to a mutual agreement that IEM World Championship in Katowice would be his last stage of his career for now as I felt he owed it to himself to compete after playing so hard at IEM New York. I urged him to take the next few days leading up to the event to practice in hopes he would rekindle his flame for the game since IEM is such a prestigious event. Sadly things didn’t go as any of us hoped, but we still gave it a shot.
Johan is without a doubt an extremely dedicated, hardworking, and talented player and I certainly believe he still has a lot left in him as a professional. But with his decision to take a break for at least six months to pursue another game, it will no longer be possible for Alliance to keep him on our StarCraft II squad. However, if he were to decide to return to competitive StarCraft II again, we would love to sit down and discuss another future together.
We at Alliance are extremely grateful for his contributions to our team and organization. He will always be part of our [A] family. Johan, we’ll definitely miss cheering for you and we wish you nothing but the best in your new adventures.
Sincerely,
Kelly Ong Xiao Wei
Player and Account Manager for Alliance
@kellymilkies
Statements from Alliance Players
Loda:
When me and Johan just joined Alliance, I didn’t really know the guy and I did not know what to expect. But after being on the same team with him for over a year, I have grown to respect him immensely and I have really got to see that he is a true competitor and he takes his game very seriously. In person he has never been anything but extremely respectful and friendly and I have come to realize that I will miss cheering for this boy.
SortOf:
Over the last year or two I’ve gotten to know Johan quite well. The community sees a lot of negative stuff around him which I think is sad. From my perspective there are a lot of good things about Johan and he’s one of the pro gamers I have the most respect for. Nothing is black and white and I wish him all the best in whatever he chooses to do from here.
Kelly:
3 facts about NaNiwa:
- He’s dad is a doctor
- He likes eating chocolate
- He is a great flight partner to theory craft games with and actually has pretty good jokes.
When me and Johan just joined Alliance, I didn’t really know the guy and I did not know what to expect. But after being on the same team with him for over a year, I have grown to respect him immensely and I have really got to see that he is a true competitor and he takes his game very seriously. In person he has never been anything but extremely respectful and friendly and I have come to realize that I will miss cheering for this boy.
SortOf:
Over the last year or two I’ve gotten to know Johan quite well. The community sees a lot of negative stuff around him which I think is sad. From my perspective there are a lot of good things about Johan and he’s one of the pro gamers I have the most respect for. Nothing is black and white and I wish him all the best in whatever he chooses to do from here.
Kelly:
3 facts about NaNiwa:
- He’s dad is a doctor
- He likes eating chocolate
- He is a great flight partner to theory craft games with and actually has pretty good jokes.
