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G2 Esports officially announced the stepping down of Carlos “ocelote” Rodriguez as the CEO of the company on 24th September. The organization added that it has been a tough weekend for everyone involved. Earlier in the week, G2 Esports released a statement apologizing to the community and its fans for the actions of its CEO and announced that both the company and Carlos had mutually agreed that he will take eight weeks of leave as CEO and suspend his earnings during that time.
Carlos announces his resignation from G2 Esports CEO post
Carlos Rodriguez posted a 3-minute video on Twitter talking about his decision to step down as the CEO of G2 Esports, an organization that he founded in 2014. What started as Gamers2 evolved into the giant of the esports world today. Addressing people, Carlos Rodriguez said, “My time in G2 has come to an end which means that I will be stepping down from my CEO position. Trust me, this has been a hard ending to what has been otherwise a very deeply meaningful and joyful experience.”
Carlos stated that he is grateful to have met so many people along the journey and acknowledged the hard work of his colleagues. He also took full responsibility for what transpired last week and added, “Trust me when I say I feel f**** destroyed about it.”
Thanking all the investors, sponsors, publishers, and fans, Carlos Rodriguez said, “I am very emotional about this but I will not cry. Not today. This is my farewell video so I will not f***** cry now, okay? I hope you guys remember me for the good things. I hope that is my legacy and just know that I am very grateful for all of you.”
Following Carlos’ post, G2 Esports released its statement on social media. It stated, “Today we received, and accepted, Carlos' announcement to step down as CEO of G2 Esports. As a global esports organization serving the world's most diverse fan base, we take responsibility for our fans, employees, team members, and partners across the world.”
The organization also added that it does not support any form of misogyny and that it would continue to prioritize fostering inclusivity in the gaming community. G2 Esports also announced that it was fully committed to continuing the legacy of G2.
Immediately after the announcement, some people in the esports industry pondered if it was the right move and brought up the phenomenon of “cancel culture”. However, many people chimed in and stated that this was not an instance of cancel culture and that it was the right move since Carlos’ actions hurt the brand of G2 and cost the organization money.
A clip of Carlos Rodriguez partying with the controversial content creator and personality Andrew Tate went viral on social media and created a domino effect with many in the community criticizing G2 Esports’ former CEO. Initially, following the backlash, Carlos stated on Twitter that he would “party with whoever the f** I want.”
This sequence of events also led to G2 Esports losing out on the Riot Games’ Valorant franchising slot for 2023 and directly affected the plans of XSET, the Valorant team from North America. Notably, G2 Esports was in talks to acquire XSET and field the roster as a whole in the Americas league for Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) 2023.
G2 has not yet revealed information regarding who will replace Carlos as the CEO next. Fans will also have to wait and see how this move affects the many rosters that G2 Esports fields across various esports titles.
Notably, the G2 Esports’ League of Legends team is all set to participate in Worlds 2022 in October in the Group Stage of the tournament.
