MAD Lions Apologise As 'Co-Owner' Blasts Players For Losing At Worlds
Following their exit from the 2021 League of Legends World Championships, MAD Lions have been forced to apologise over comments from their 'Co-Owner'.
Europe's top-seed and last-standing representatives at Worlds were cleanly swept out of the competition on October 24, at the hands of the reigning champions, DAMWON KIA.
With a swift 3-0 loss in the quarter-finals, MAD Lions packed their bags as the LEC's chance at regaining the world title was diminished and questions began to surface as to whether it was time for a reshuffling of the pride.
However, one of MAD Lions have now had to apologise, as one of their 'content providers' posed as their co-owner and openly slammed three individuals of the roster that won the Spring Split.
Click to enlargeLuis Miguel "Revenant" Amor Velarde, who claims to be a Team Owner at MAD Lions, was extensively critical of Bot laner Matyáš "Carzzy" Orság following their Worlds' exit. Valarde praised the duo of Javier "Elyoya" Prades Batalla and Norman "Kaiser" Kaiser before laying siege onto Carzzy, İrfan "Armut" Tükek, and Marek "Humanoid" Brázda.
I feel sorry seeing Elyola like that, he has to carry them on his back alongside Kaiser," Velarde Tweeted. "I keep thinking that Carzzy doesn’t have the level, but he gives the team things that they consider important."
He further added that Flakked should have been deployed in Carzzy's place.
The onslaught didn't stop on social media, either. Dot Esports journalist Pablo "Bloop" Suárez provided a translation of Velarde speaking on stream, in which he continued to criticise Carzzy.
"I think Carzzy has no level right now. The thing is that everyone complained because apparently, I can’t say that because I’m a MAD Lions owner, I can’t say that… Well, I can say that and whatever I want."
Following his comments, Carzzy opted to take the moral high ground, first quoting the tweet with "lol", before releasing another tweet that solidified his mentality. "It doesn’t matter what someone who doesn’t have a single clue about the game says, I am not going to feel down, because someone such as [Velarde] said something like this. Just stay happy. Don’t let other people get you down," he said.
MAD Lions have since apologised for the actions of Velarde, claiming that he is not "part of the ownership group". MAD Lions are an organisation owned by OverActive Media, who also oversee the operations of Toronto Ultra in the CDL and Toronto Defiant in the OWL.
In a statement released on Twitter, the organisation said, "We’re incredibly proud of our team’s performance at Worlds 2021 and throughout the entire season. We support all of our players, including Carzzy, who was a big part of our success.
"The disparaging conversation started earlier on social by Revenant, one of our content providers, is misleading. He is not part of the ownership group or management and does not speak for MAD Lions or OverActive Media. We count on our partners to work collaboratively with us and share our disappointment around Revenant’s comments with our fans."
MAD Lions may still look to add some reinforcements in the off-season, with some of LEC's top organisations also undergoing rebuilding jobs following the region's worst Worlds venture in years.
