Twitch star and former Overwatch pro Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel has explained why Call of Duty pros must now act differently at the dawn of franchising, after Dallas Empire sub MuTeX was caught using offensive language on stream.
Activision’s Call of Duty League has welcomed hundreds of millions of dollars of investment, with team slots going for a reported $25 million.
Twelve teams are now locked in and set to compete in the first season of the CDL, beginning January 2020. With the increased investment and the marketing power of Activision behind it, Call of Duty esports will likely experience a spike in interest.
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Three-time world champ, Damon ‘Karma’ Barlow, drew a comparison of the repercussions (or lack thereof) xQc faces while speaking in a similar vein on Twitch, versus those MuTeX faced after uttering derogatory remarks during a live broadcast.
After dealing with the consequences of his actions while under contract within the Overwatch League, Lengyel was quick to respond to Barlow’s Tweet.
When your organisation spends 25 MILLION dollars to get a franchise slot they want to make shareholders happy. Don't try to explain the current state of the culture to billionaire investors. Once you sign and earn their money, you play their game with their rules now.
— xQc (@xQc) November 24, 2019
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“When your organization spends 25 million dollars to get a franchise slot, they want to make shareholders happy,” xQc said. “Don’t try to explain the current state of the culture to billionaire investors. Once you sign and earn their money, you play their game with their rules now.”
As a former Overwatch pro in the OWL, xQc has witnessed first-hand the difference of competing in a franchised league, and the impact that stepping out-of-line can have on your career.
Following a stage 1 loss to Houston Outlaws, the former Dallas Fuel player made offensive comments while livestreaming, directed towards Outlaws player Austin ‘Muma’ Wilmot.
Subsequently, Lengyel was suspended by both the Overwatch League and Dallas Fuel — rendering him unable to compete until the end of Stage 1.
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Less than two months after the Canadian received his suspension, he was banned by the Overwatch League yet again — this time for the use of the ‘TriHard’ emote on the official Blizzard–governed stream. Two days after the incident, Dallas Fuel released Lengyel from their active roster.
The former Overwatch pro issued his point-of-view from a position of experience, given the current interest from investors in the Call of League.
