My 2019 and Bad Experience with Illusion

Hello, I am CherryBerryMango.



I am afraid I have got some bad news I would like to share regarding the team that I was in for approximately four and a half months.



Last year, after having a discussion with a friend of mine who was helping me with sponsorship issues, I had decided to go with a team that prioritized support for tournaments and offered a short contract period. The reason behind this is because the Tekken World Tour 2019 was ongoing, and I had some family issues that I had to care for. Fortunately, there was a team offering a short-term sponsorship, so I signed a contract with them.



In the beginning, everything was running smoothly. At the time of the contract, I already had booked tickets for 'Rev Major 2019' in the Philippines. The team felt that paying the money back afterward is more convenient. Therefore, the team and I had agreed that the team reimburses the expenses that I used to purchase the tickets for all tournaments including Rev Major.



I did receive the expense for this tournament, which was $450 so this helped me pay for future tournament expenses and gave me peace of mind to travel for tournaments without any doubts as to reimbursement.



During that time, I was collecting money mainly from streaming. However, due to various reasons, I was not able to concentrate enough on streaming so this sponsorship was a big relief.



The situation got worse as time passed. I required a quick reimbursement for the expenses, but the team delayed the payment, saying that they will pay back for all tournaments together. This was understandable seeing as I was attending multiple tournaments within a short period. However, even after the EVO Japan 2020, which was the final tournament that I was contracted to be sponsored for, I was still waiting for the money.



I could not bear with this situation since there was no reimbursement even after the contract ended. Therefore, I told the team that I am going to publicize this incident if they do not pay the money back.

The team replied, mentioning that they are also not receiving money from their sponsors, and currently pursuing a lawsuit. They offered me two options; to wait until sponsors invest the money, or to receive $500 each week for two weeks, from the CEO's private money. Indeed, I chose the latter option.



However, a few days later they suddenly talked about splitting the prize money. I did not get into the top 4 of any TWT 2019 tournaments and I paid out of my own pocket for the OSL Tournament that I won, so I told them no share of the prize money from this particular tournament was owed to them and nothing from TWT 2019.



I explained this to the team. Some time later, they suddenly contacted me with their official Twitter account. It was about the replacement of CEO (a.k.a old CEO), whom I was in contact with, as he caused many problems to the team itself.



This was very unexpected, but this was not a huge problem for me if I got the money back, so I asked the new CEO about the money that I was entitled to get paid. He said that he will pay the money, but he wanted me to tweet about the old CEO as all of this is caused by him.



I hadn't even met the old CEO before, so after having some discussion about this with people who support me, I replied to the new CEO that I am going to decide what do to after I get the reimbursement.



During the course of this situation, the new CEO caused a huge problem on Twitter, with his blunt language. Content creators of the team publicized this because the new CEO went too far, worsening the public opinion about the team. With these set of incidents, I still did not receive the $2,912 I am owed.



I was mentally damaged by this. Also, as I had to speak to these people late at night due to the time difference. With this and insane anger due to the situation, I was not able to sleep well. Fortunately, I was able to recover my mentality, but the situation is not any better.



I trusted them, given the fact that I have written the contract, but betrayal is the only thing I received. While talking to the old CEO, and with the help of people who support me, I was able to get help from a lawyer from the U.S, but this does not make me feel better.



I will write further announcements if there is any change in the situation. I hope nobody else falls into these kind of situations.



TWT 2020 has been announced. It is very difficult to plan for the future without any sponsor, and not being able to wrap things up. I will try hard to move forward, as I am aware of many people who always cheer for me.



2019 was a very hard year for me for many reasons and 2020 has started off poorly with this situation. I really want to bounce back from this and be in a position where I can travel freely and enjoy Tekken with my friends around the world.



I apologize if this has caused any inconvenience. Thank you very much for reading. I will try harder.



CBM 'CherryBerryMango'

Reply · Report Post