SK Pieces will no longer compete in WoW Race to World First events

World of Warcraft guild SK Pieces will no longer be competing in Race to World First events, the team announced via Twitter earlier today.  

“With a heavy heart, we announce our departure from the RWF,” the guild said in its announcement post. “We loved the many years we had in the sun and are extremely gracious for the opportunity.”

Pieces, who had competed in WoW events since 2010, were acquired by the SK Gaming organization earlier this year ahead of the Sepulcher of the First Ones Race to World First event. The signing marked another partnership between a top WoW guild and a legacy esports organization and followed in the footsteps of Team Liquid acquiring the roster of North America’s best WoW team, Limit, who previously competed under the banner of the Complexity Gaming organization. 

Pieces finished fourth overall in this year’s Sepulcher of the First Ones race before finishing in the top three in the world during the first two Race to World First events of the Shadowlands expansion, Castle Nathria and the Sanctum of Domination. In 2019, Pieces earned a World First title during the Crucible of Storms RWF event. They stand as one of just four guilds to claim a World First race victory since 2017.

Pieces’ sudden disbandment was attributed to an increasingly competitive landscape, according to the guild’s founder Luml.

“When it comes to the amount of hours everyone from top to bottom has to put in, it’s just no longer sustainable without sacrificing everything [in real life],” Luml said in a Twitlonger post today.

When WoW’s next Race to World First event begins shortly after the launch of the upcoming Dragonflight expansion, Pieces, a one-time giant of the European raiding scene, will be absent.