ReIGN forfeits its crown and disbands
It feels as if we hear new teams announced every week these days, each hoping to one day earn the respect associated with organizations like Empire, Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses. What has not been so common since StarCraft 2's release, however, is to see a team disband.
Today, February 16th, 2012, Team ReIGN announced their dissolution.
Yesterday afternoon Team Reign and IGN decided to part ways, which unfortunately means Reign will now also be disbanding. Having only existed for a short time, we have not grown enough as an organization to currently be able to provide for our players in the manner we promised without the support of a large sponsor like IGN.
Supported by IGN, team ReIGN showed promise with their roster of early-2011 powerhouses such as SLush and KiWiKaKi. Their Korean pick-ups, Artist and Inori, originally from fOu (now FXO) were relatively unknown before demonstrating extreme talent during their time with ReIGN despite a lack of tournament wins. Artist, though he recently all-killed Team Vile in addition to winning a variety of smaller tournaments including fourteen individal Playhem dailies, had an unfortuate penchant for losing games in the public eye against players like Destiny, IdrA and White-Ra.
SLush and KiWiKaKi, the Quebecois representatives, primarily made names for themselves at MLG events in 2011. KiWiKaKi took second in Dallas and shortly thereafter another second place finish in IPL Season 1. Likewise, SLush had a number of strong runs in 2011 including a fifth place at Columbus. KiWiKaKi and SLush were among the first to join ReIGN as VT Gaming closed down and Root Gaming was absorbed by Complexity last summer.
Though many variables may suggest this was planned -- Artist returning to Korea, and Spades departing -- the disbandment is just as unexpected for us as it may be for our fans. We had a great number of plans to grow the organization, and we definitely weren't short on hope for the next tournament season, especially with both Artist and Axslav qualifying for the MLG Winter Championship. Sadly, it seems that wasn't enough to stand up to reality.
Known for their media show ReIGN Boot Camp, their latest and now final episode "New Beginnings" showed their team captain Spades leaving on controversial terms. ReIGN management maintained that Spades was ostensibly visiting family but had no intention of returning.
Although the team's management had already intended to cut Spades from the team to make room for potential new players, Spades expressed his displeasure and left on his own. In a YouTube video, Spades explained that the ReIGN team house had failed to meet his expectations in terms of practice and dedication while also taking time to reflect upon his life and goals for his future.
Whether Spades' departure contributed to the downfall of Team ReIGN may never be certain, but there is now a more pressing concern regarding the fate of the team's former roster now afloat in free agency. Axslav, who only recently joined the team after parting with Evil Geniuses, must now begin anew his search for a home. While there is still a small chance that a benefactor might assume Reign's payroll, if precedent proves to be any indication, today is likely the last we will see of this roster.
Source: Team Liquid
