A joint release on behalf of Cvetelin "CeRq" Dimitrov, his father, and the family's legal representative has been issued, with the player claiming to have no binding agreement with company UltraPlay or the CS:GO team Outlaws.

In a public release, that was forwarded to press outlets by NRG, Tsvetelin "⁠CeRq⁠" Dimitrov's legal representative Emil Pehlivanov claims that the 17-year-old is not legally bound to Outlaws:

"CeRq and his father would like to set the record straight - there exists absolutely no binding agreement between UltraPlay and its team Outlaws, which would prevent CeRq to act, or be treated, as anything other than a free agent. It had been CeRq’s free choice to train and compete with Outlaws in recent past, and it also was his free choice, with the consent and encouragement of his father and legal guardian, to begin seeking other opportunities going forward."

CeRq's legal representative claims that the contract between the player and Outlaws is not binding

Pehlivanov stated that the contract that UltraPlay sent out to media outlets was signed between CeRq and a company called Eastern Technologies, Ltd., which is now defunct. Even if UltraPlay would be the successor to that contract—which was bound to run out at the end of next month—Pehlivanov claims that it violates "a multitude of labor laws relating to the employment of minors" and has also been signed without the consent of a parent, which is against the law. All of that combined has made CeRq's father commence "legal proceedings to have the document judicially declared void".

The statement finishes with a paragraph in which the player's view of the case is given:

"CeRq is also eager to express that these disagreements with UltraPlay in no way diminish the joy and camaraderie he experienced for the past year while training and competing alongside the Outlaws players. These friendships and relationships would be nourishing his spirit forever." "Instead, it is CeRq’s personal sentiment that by targeting him, UltraPlay are seeking to financially exploit an opportunity from NRG to which UltraPlay have no legal or moral right. They dress their motives up in a general straw-man argument about the eSports sector’s need to establish uniform rules, whereas in fact such rules are already in place and operate well, benefiting from the long history of athletic and entertainment contract law - it was UltraPlay who failed to abide by them, like they had many times in the past. UltraPlay target NRG with claims of nonexistent unethical acts, fully knowing the reality that CeRq had departed their team long before he initiated any contact with NRG."

Meanwhile, CeRq has still not been officially announced as an NRG player, but is expected to play for the team in their first ESL Pro League match of the season. They will face off against Splyce, with the double header starting at 03:20 .