North American organisation FaZe Clan have announced that they have withdrawn from the World Esports Association (WESA).

In a press release, FaZe expressed their concern over the lack of transparency of WESA regarding the way it plans to accomplish its mission statement, criticising the hasty launch of the organisation, which, in their opinion, was only "halfway there."

FaZe were one of the eight founding members of WESA, an organisation established by ESL that plans to regulate the competitive Counter-Strike scene.



FaZe leave WESA

The creation of WESA has been met with widespread skepticism from players and fans alike, with many expressing concern that the organisation's end goal is to create an exclusive league, with competing teams acting as franchises.

"We feel that WESA still has lots of challenges to overcome and we feel that right now it's not the best place for us to be," FaZe said in a press release. "Building a league system with a governing body is interesting and maybe even what e-sports needs to take the next step forward. We believe in time and patience, aligning and unifying the entire scene is the key to bring the true vision to life - which from a conceptual point of view is impressive. "That is what we believe is the true key to success for initiatives such as WESA and e-sports in general. A sport where multiple publishers, leagues, organizations and players from all over the world needs to collectively challenge each other, improve and work together. "Whether it’s WESA or others figuring out how to execute this - we’ll be supporting ideas that bring e-sports forward."

FaZe, who criticised the lack of North American representation in WESA (EnVyUs were the only other esport club hailing from this region), confirmed that there was a sign-on fee to join the project but insisted that it was never collected. FaZe also rejected reports that they have to pay a penalty to leave the project.

"WESA would never penalize organizations for having a difference of opinion and they respect our decision," FaZe added. "Finally, WESA and ESL are two different organizations. ESL has been good to us, showed understanding and assured us that even if we aren’t in WESA, we’ll be invited to their leagues and tournaments. "In other words: We are leaving on good terms."

* UPDATE: WESA have released a statement of their own on FaZe's withdrawal:

Creating an association such as WESA from the ground up is an immense undertaking for all involved parties and something that requires enormous commitment of time and effort. While we regret the fact that FaZe has decided to take this step and are disappointed to see them go, we understand and accept their decision to put their current focus elsewhere.

WESA's next important steps surround players and overall more tangible rules and structure. This includes an election of the Players Council, the appointment of players in the Executive Board, the formalization of the Arbitration Court to prevent future wrongdoings between teams and/or towards players, and expanding the number of members of the association. You will be the first to know about any of these updates as soon as they occur.

"Creating an association such as WESA from the ground up is an immense undertaking for all involved parties and something that requires enormous commitment of time and effort. While we regret the fact that FaZe has decided to take this step and are disappointed to see them go, we understand and accept their decision to put their current focus elsewhere.

WESA's next important steps surround players and overall more tangible rules and structure. This includes an election of the Players Council, the appointment of players in the Executive Board, the formalization of the Arbitration Court to prevent future wrongdoings between teams and/or towards players, and expanding the number of members of the association. You will be the first to know about any of these updates as soon as they occur."

The association currently comprises the following seven organisations: