EPT
- Puma has not signed a contract with EG yet.
- EG did approach Puma first, and then Puma and EG agreed that it would be for the best if Puma talked to the coach. EG never contacted the coach after that.
Update: TSL Coach Lee Woon Jae explains his stance
Coach Lee Woon Jae of TSL talked with TeamLiquid, trying to clear up some of the misunderstandings while explaining the situation from his point of view:
"It's not just TSL, but most Starcraft II teams right now run on trust and faith instead of contracts. Because of many similar occurances [to Puma's case], we plan to make contracts mandatory.
Puma was with us for ten months, and where we provided him and his teammates with a good practice environment, food, etc, and developed him as a player. The team didn't take any of the prize money a player earned, all of it went to the player. Unfortunately, Puma wished to join EG so we released him.
To acquire a player, contacting the original team regarding a transfer is a natural courtesy and the way things should be done. That is why I am very angry, and why it is huge topic in Korea right now. The Korean SC II association is preparing some measures, and I believe something similar won't happen again.
EG claims that Puma approached them first regarding joining their team, but this is not true. As I know it, EG's owner contacted Puma first. Not only Puma, but other Korean players."
Puma was with us for ten months, and where we provided him and his teammates with a good practice environment, food, etc, and developed him as a player. The team didn't take any of the prize money a player earned, all of it went to the player. Unfortunately, Puma wished to join EG so we released him.
To acquire a player, contacting the original team regarding a transfer is a natural courtesy and the way things should be done. That is why I am very angry, and why it is huge topic in Korea right now. The Korean SC II association is preparing some measures, and I believe something similar won't happen again.
EG claims that Puma approached them first regarding joining their team, but this is not true. As I know it, EG's owner contacted Puma first. Not only Puma, but other Korean players."
TSL announced today that they will be releasing Puma on their team. The team revealed today that after Puma won NASL, Puma directly received interest from a foreign team, Evil Geniuses.
Manager Lee noted that "It is disappointing that we have to make a decision like this, but it's extremely objectionable [T/N: displeasing, disgusting, etc] that Evil Geniuses would ignore the coaches completely and directly go talk to the player"
TIG confirms that Puma will be joining Evil Geniuses. EG made an offer to Puma after they made it to the round of 4, and after that, Puma had decided that he would accept EG's offer. Puma revealed his intentions to the TSL manager after coming back to Korea. Manager Lee decided to respect the player's wishes in the end. He noted that "It's really disturbing. It feels like the player I raised was just stolen away from me.", adding that "There needs to be a system to stop foreign teams from stealing Korean players like this"
Puma had left the TSL house as of the 20th.
EG has been revealed to pay Puma a certain amount of salary, and to provide Puma with money for foreign tournaments.
http://www.playxp.com/news/read.php?news_id=3209550
http://www.thisisgame.com/board/view.php?id=709880&board=&category=13438&subcategory=&page=1&best=&searchmode=&search=&orderby=&token=
