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Spanish esports organization Team Heretics will be joining the League of Legends European Championship (LEC) after successfully buying out Misfits Gaming’s spot. The deal will come to fruition in 2023, which means that Misfits Gaming will continue to play in the league till the end of this season. Riot Games, Heretics, and Misfits officially confirmed the development on 27th July. However, just as Team Heretics is gearing up to enter the premier European league, two people who formerly worked with the organization have raised payment issue allegations against the organization. Photographer Maciej Kołek and Valorant pro player Tyler “FoxieGG” Lowton took to social media to express their concerns.
What are the allegations against Team Heretics?
The nature of both the allegations leveled against Team Heretics revolve around unsettled dues. On 27th July, esports photographer Maciej Kołek alleged that Heretics had not paid him for the photographs he took. On Twitter, he wrote, “With @TeamHeretics joining #LEC, maybe they will finally pay me for the photos they stolen from me? :) I really find [it] hard that those people prefer going to court instead of paying what is due.”
Additionally, Kołek revealed that the issue happened in April and is still ongoing and that he may have to sue Heretics to get his money back. “Sad but a good case study for other photogs,” he added.
Meanwhile, former Heretics Valorant player FoxieGG alleged that Heretics did not pay his termination fee when it parted ways with him. According to Liquipedia, FoxieGG was part of Team Heretics’ Valorant team from 23rd December 2021 to 3rd January 2022. On Twitter, he said, “Team Heretics have the money for LEC but couldn't pay me my termination fee, this is crazy.” He added, “All of this can be fixed, if I get my 10k, that is all.”
In a now-deleted thread of comments under the same tweet, Team Heretics Founder and Co-Owner Arnau Vidal replied to FoxieGG and claimed that he breached his termination in multiple ways despite the advice the team gave to his agents.
FoxieGG retorted and alleged that Team Heretics threatened to sue him for making a tier list that had listed Team Heretics at the bottom. When Vidal stated that it did not have anything to do with the tier list, FoxieGG replied, “Want me to show you the lawyer letter? I’ll expose it right now you idiot.”
The tier list was posted by FoxieGG on 5th January on Twitter along with the caption, “My tier list for 2022, this is obviously my opinion and if I left anyone out, I apologise!”
The Valorant pro later attached a screenshot of what seems to be the lawyer letter that he had mentioned. It read, “By means of the above Twitter post, you expressed a derogatory and defamatory opinion about my Client causing considerable damage to the image of the club for the purposes of the esports fan community and specifically Valorant fans.”
With Team Heretics joining the LEC at the start of the 2023 season, it would be vital for the organization to clear the air on these allegations. AFK Gaming has reached out to Team Heretics for comment and will update this article if and when the organization responds.
