Sources have reported that Riot Games has removed the G2 Esports VALORANT team from its franchise league for next year after recent controversy.

Known VALORANT reporter George Geddes from Dot Esports tweeted out that the organization is out of contention for any partnership league next year, not just for the North American region that G2 was supposed to play on. On a follow-up tweet, Geddes said that “Riot originally decided on partnering with G2 but did a complete u-turn,” and that “plenty of [team] owners were confused by what was going on.”

French CS:GO league reporter neL also chipped in and gave more context aside from G2 being out of NA and EU franchising. According to them, G2 Esports had already locked a spot on the NA franchise league but was retracted after Riot's emergency meeting. Reportedly, Leviatan will be taking this vacated spot.

There were mixed responses to this decision, with many saying that the VALORANT team shouldn't have to suffer the consequences of their CEO's actions, and others saying that this is justified.

Last weekend, G2 Esports CEO Carlos “ocelote” Rodriguez tweeted out a video showing him in a party with known misogynist Andrew Tate. Tate is infamous for his harmful content on TikTok prior to the social media platform banning him. YouTube and Meta (Facebook, Instagram) soon followed suit and has prohibited his content on their platforms. He is currently being investigated for sex trafficking and has fled the UK after accusations of sexual assault.

Rodriguez did not exhibit any regret at his behavior on a follow-up tweet that read “nobody will ever be able to police my friendships. I draw my line here. I party with whoever the f*ck I want.”

The video and Rodriguez' unapologetic behavior garnered negative feedback from esports personalities. “There’s no way you didn’t predict this reaction. You posted a video partying with a known misogynist who calls women property. It’s misguided at best and engagement bait most likely. This is f*cking low man, party with who you want but expect people to judge you for it.” LEC caster Aaron “Medic” Chamberlain wrote. “You could be such a good example of someone who aspired to create something and reached their goals. Now… yeah. I don’t know what to say.”

Korizon Esports co-founder and journalist Ashley Kang also responded, saying “People will not be able to police another person’s friendship. However, people WILL be able to feel disappointed by that person’s choice of friendship, the initiative to double down on publicizing it. People will be able to judge you and consequently G2 for it,” before linking an article of Tate's recorded misogyny.

G2 Esports has since suspended the CEO for his actions and posted the following announcement:

“Hey G2ARMY,

Last night we failed you. The actions of our CEO spoke a language in stark contrast with the values and the culture G2 lives by and strives for. And for that we apologize.

Since our creation, we have worked hard to build a safe and inclusive environment to enjoy Esports. These are just small steps in the right direction we need to take as a company. We’ll continue to do our best each and every day to improve ourselves and the industry at large.

After internal discussion, Carlos and our Supervisory Board have mutually agreed that he will take weeks of leave as CEO and suspend his earnings during that time.

Thank you to the G2ARMY and the Esports community for holding us accountable.

G2 Esports”

Rodriguez has posted a series of tweets as an apology.

“Many G2 fans were let down this weekend which created confusion about what I stand for. It has always been my consistent target to stand for absolute equality of opportunity regardless of who you are or where you come from, which is what gaming is all about. Make no mistake, my life was full of learnings and I had my fair share of situation I got into in the past. I failed to read this room right, feel terrible about the discussions it created and will stand up and accept the consequences in full.”

He also quote-tweeted the announcement of his suspension with the caption “G2 is above Carlos and always has been. I will do anything to protect this company and my colleagues in it as it is my unconditional duty to them.”

Remarks were made at how this was a “PR speech” and were “empty words written by someone else” by the followers of the organization.

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