For over the last 5 years you’ve been more or less a family and a home to me. Like any family or home there were good times and bad, but overall I loved my time on the team and looking back on it I wouldn’t change anything, not even having to live with Greg haha. It is with a heavy heart that I am no longer a part of EG.

If this is the end of my time with EG, it is only fitting to start at the beginning. Leaving Liquid for EG was one of, if not the biggest team change in all of Starcraft history. I remember years later when Doublelift left CLG to join TSM, people were comparing it to when I switched and it made me laugh fondly. The reason why I switched was because I had no doubt that EG would take care of me better than any other team. That doesn’t just mean financially. EG many times went far beyond the call of what was the norm for teams to make sure I could compete and be comfortable.

Playing on EG was a unique experience. There was always an open line of communication and generally speaking it felt like I was a part of something and wasn’t just another player on another team. I remember visiting and living in the EG house in PHX and SF. Like any family house it wasn’t perfect but there were fun times like BBQ’s, sports, movie outings, family dinners, fights, pranks, and anything else you grew up with. My favorite and most memorable time living with other members of EG was with the Dota 2 team in PHX. They were trying to qualify for The International 3 and it was very stressful. I remember walking on egg shells and constantly keeping up with their results as I practiced. I was sad when they didn’t qualify especially since I spent so much time getting to know them and hanging out. I still have love for all the players that were once on that team, Jeyo, Sexybambo, Demon, Fear, and Bdiz. Gradually as you know, Starcraft became less and less popular until it wasn’t the top Esport anymore. With that naturally came the rise of other games and the EG brand as well. Although I started as one of the star players, I became just another member as time went on. I remember EG growing into a bigger family and being a top tier organization in LoL, SC2, Fighting Games, Dota2, COD, Halo, and more.

I fell more into my role as a normal family member and not as much as the favorite son. I still felt very well supported and comfortable in my position. I knew that as long as I continued to serve EG loyally and faithfully, I would always have a place on the team. The years rolled on and eventually EG sold to Twitch in 2014. In doing so it seemed like there was a very bright future ahead of us. Everyone was very optimistic about moving ahead and there were celebrations. However, over time the relationship between player and team seemed to deteriorate. That open line of communication that is important in all relationships started slipping away. I no longer heard from or felt involved in EG and was being told that things could not be ‘discussed’ or ‘disclosed’. Players left and our teams slowly shrunk, and even as a whole we seemed to fall from the prominent position of being a top tier organization. Although everyone felt the team falling apart was worrisome, and some people left, some stayed. After so many years in EG, I felt invested in the team, especially remembering what the team use to be and what it could be in the future, and so I chose to stick it out. I wanted to see it through to the end of my Starcraft career, even though I had other opportunities. I felt like if I left I was throwing away something I worked hard to help build over the years, along with other people. For the last 2 years, I’ve watched my family and friends compete from afar. I got a bit choked up when EG won The International, especially knowing how much it meant to Alex, who could be seen as the father figure of EG. I loved watching our fighting game player’s win and their enthusiasm and celebrations in their pop offs, something I thought was dearly missed in Starcraft.

Looking back on EG over the years, although management and I had our disagreements, there were by far more good times than bad. Even as I move forward with my career after EG, I will always look fondly on the memories. Honestly I think it might have been the best time of my life. Unfortunately, this only makes it more disappointing to think about what just happened. I feel like it is a shame that people such as my teammates and I, who have shown loyalty and served faithfully over the years, have been tossed aside at the end while a select few have been handed ownership of the team we all worked so hard to build. What hurts even more is that the rest of us were not involved with what was going on or even given a voice in the process. We either found out ourselves through rumors or were told after decisions had already been made. For me EG always had the image of an organization that was fair to their players, took care of them, and had a mutually respectful and caring relationship between player and team owner. And it makes me sad to say that in a crucial point of EG’s transition, this was not the case. I don’t want to speak for my teammates but I feel like our loyalty and patience have been taken for granted, and I would be lying if I said that I felt that we had been treated fairly here at the end. I don’t mean to be disrespectful but that is the honest truth of how I feel.

I wish I could say this type of player experience was out of the ordinary in Esports, but the truth is that it really isn’t that uncommon. One of the reasons I always felt people liked and admired EG, and why EG was originally bought by Twitch, was because they treated players with respect, looked after them, and there was transparency within the organization. But that type of relationship and rapport from a team to a player can be rare. I have been someone over the years who is very outspoken about many different problems within our scene, and I pride myself on the fact that I always fight for what I feel is right, not only for players but for Esports as a whole, regardless of whether what I’m fighting for benefits me personally. What is most disappointing about what’s happening is that it’s happening from one group of players to another. Over the years a lot of pro gamers have grown used to some team owners taking advantage of them and you would think that with player owned organizations things would be different. But here we have a case of some players becoming owners and choosing not to involve their former teammates in that ownership. This is actually tragically ironic if you think about it, and for me it’s also the most heart-breaking part about all this. As a longtime advocate for players, I am obviously happy that a group of players now own EG — but are player owned organizations really any better for players overall if once certain players become owners, they treat their players the same way some traditional team owners always have?

While I am not happy how things have happened at the end, I want to say I am still grateful and thankful to all my brothers and sisters who played alongside with me over the years, and to the staff who made this family whole and took care of us tirelessly. Those of you who have positions with Twitch, I hope you are happy now at your new posts and are well taken care of. Even to PPD and the new owners, while I disagree with the way things have been handled, I still wish you guys the best of luck going forward, and will continue to cheer for all of you. I will always remember the good times I had with EG and I am grateful for the effect EG has had on my life. Without EG I would have never had the opportunities in Starcraft and now Overwatch that I am extremely thankful to have had. I look forward to the future for EG and myself and hope for the best for all of us.

Thank you and love you all,

Chris ‘HuK’ Loranger

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