Olivia R. October 25, 2020
Cloud9 has terminated the contracts of four members of its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster due to multiple breaches of contract.
Johnny "JT" Theodosiou, Ian "Motm" Hardy, Aran "Sonic" Groesbeek, and coach Tiaan "T.c" Coertzen are all free agents after violating some rules the organization set in place due to the ongoing global health crisis.
Dust2.us and Rush B Media reported earlier this weekend that these CSGO players breached their contracts multiple times by inviting guests to the team's residence. Cloud9 wrote warnings the first time these players invited over such guests. The second occurence resulted in contract terminations. The Cloud9 team house has to be very careful with their social interactions in order to keep players and staff healthy and safe.
"The details that really matter is this was the second offense of unauthorized guests coming into Cloud9 property after being told that this is not all acceptable. The reason it is not acceptable is that you are putting our staff at risk," Cloud9 CEO Jack Etienne explained.
Cloud9's CSGO Twitter account retweeted the four players' tweets announcing their free agency. This has made the contract terminations official.
Cloud9 CSGO roster contracts terminated ahead of rebuild
Fellow teammate Joshua "oSee" Ohm was not terminated. Since he doesn't live at Cloud9's team house, the organization didn't hold him responsible for the contract breach. It's unclear what the specific details are of the multiple contract breaches, including if all the members of the team house were aware of the guests.
To remain in the United States, the three South African CSGO players will need to find another organization. Their P1-visas will expire in 30 days, which will force them to return home.
Meanwhile, it's unclear what will happen to oSee. Cloud9 has been working to form an entirely new CSGO roster, and oSee had previously elected to remain with his teammates from South Africa.