After a week-long Twitter controversy, ocelote and G2 Esports officially part ways.
It has been almost a week since G2 Esports CEO Carlos “ocelote” Rodríguez Santiago lit social media on fire with a video he shared on Twitter involving the controversial figure Andrew Tate. After the backlash, G2 and the Supervisory Board had decided the suspend ocelote for eight weeks and hold back pay for the period.
Of course, it wasn’t a good look for a CEO that just signed a female League team and committed to inclusivity in the esports scene, but this wasn’t what broke the camel’s back. Carlos chose one of the worst times to start a controversy as we were just days away from Riot announcing the teams they were partnering up for the new franchised Valorant leagues. 30 teams were to be selected for three leagues, and G2 was believed to be a lock for the Americas League.
Unfortunately for Carlos, G2 as an organization and for its employees, Riot is trying to have a hard stance on social issues, especially ones involving misogyny and sexual harassment, after their legal issues, which led to G2 losing their spot in the Valorant league, as reported by George Geddes.
This created a lot of backlash from the community, not just because G2 has a big following and a fan group, but because they were in talks with the American org XSET to pick up their roster once they got their partnership spot. With G2 losing the league spot, XSET players now found themselves without a team, and some players have been sharing their frustration online.
The community sentiment was that this could have the chance to affect the previous eight-week suspension, maybe lengthening the duration. Carlos also has been vocal in the past, saying “He would rather quit the org, if he ever got in trouble, rather than drag G2 down with him.” And true to his word, G2 just announced on its Twitter that Carlos decided to step down from his role as CEO. G2 also communicated to fans that they are committed to diversity and inclusivity and do not support misogyny.
— G2 Esports (@G2esports) September 23, 2022
Carlos bids farewell to G2
Carlos revealed that he’d be leaving G2 in a video he posted on his Twitter. Carlos founded G2 Esports (then called Gamers2) and has been with the organization for 8-years. In the video, Carlos looks back on his time at G2, stating that.
“I will be stepping down from my CEO position. WHich I know might be a shocker for some of you. This is a very hard ending to what has been an otherwise very meaningful and joyful experience”. Carlos went on to add that “I take full responsibility for everything that went on in the last few days”
As Carlos says in his video. G2 is his post-playing project, and something he “bootstrapped with his own money”
Thank you 🚀 pic.twitter.com/2kL25RutfQ
— 😌 CarlosR ocelote ❤️ (@CarlosR) September 23, 2022
From Gamers2 to G2
G2 Esports was founded by Carlos “ocelote” Rodríguez Santiago as a League of Legends squad and then moved into multiple different games. The organization changed its name to G2 Esports in October 2015. Multiple teams compete successfully in game titles such as League of Legends, Valorant, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Hearthstone, Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege, and iRacing.
Rainbow Six Siege team for G2 competes in the European League (EUL), the highest level of competitive Rainbow Six Siege in Europe; they won the Six Major 2018 and more. Their CS:GO team is top-tier, but most of their success is from before 2020. The crown jewel of G2, however, is with another Riot Games title. G2’s League of Legends team is the best Western team, going as far as winning the Mid-Season Invitational in 2019.
