It’s been a week to forget for the former iBUYPOWER team. On Friday, the Daily Dot published new evidence pointing to the team’s involvement in match-fixing in the CEVO League. The team was then widely rumored to have lost a pending sponsorship deal with Evil Geniuses, though the Daily Dot has not been able to independently confirm this.
Now, the team has pulled out of MLG Aspen, the North American event that was being held as part of X Games.
The team cited “travel issues” as the reason for missing the event. But with so many things going on in the background, it seems the decision to drop out of the event is a smart one. While some sources close to the team are saying this is further proof that the Evil Geniuses sponsorship deal is now off the table, others say the team wanted to wait for Valve’s findings surrounding the allegations of match fixing, as that decision could cast a cloud over their tournament.
Another possible reason could be unresolved issues surrounding their fifth player, Spencer “Hiko” Martin, who is still contracted to Cloud9. It isn’t clear at this time if a decision had been made surrounding his contractual obligations, though Cloud9 has been open to moving the player on to a new home provided the proper processes are followed.
Though the match-fixing scandal threatened to overshadow the MLG event, there’s good news for the North American organization in that they have found suitable replacements at short notice. Filling in for the ex-IBP team will likely be the newly acquired Team Liquid, competing at their first tournament since joining the legendary organization best known for its involvement in StarCraft.
Although no official comment has been made regarding the replacements the Daily Dot understands that Team Liquid will confirm their involvement shortly. The news will be welcomed by CS:GO and Team Liquid fans alike, both eager to see how the new relationship will unfold at the biggest live event of 2015 so far.
Image via Max Fleishman
