This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.
Earlier today CompLexity officially announced the release of Neil 'Pr0lly' Hammad from their team. The news came shortly after the departure of their jungler and captain Tyler 'Lautemortis' Nicholls. Complexity, who withdrew from the League of Legends World Cyber Games tournament after the recent turn of events, is now no longer favored to return to the LCS. onGamers spoke to the team's founder and CEO who provided the following statement:
We realize the recent turbulence in our roster is going to make our dream of LCS more difficult but everyone is focused and up for this challenge. We're going to reload this roster and work overtime to make sure we don't let our loyal fans down. There is always adversity in life and in eSports. In 10 years of gaming we've managed to overcome it quite often and will do our very best to do so once again
We're grateful to Neil for his time in our organization. We wish him the very best in the future. At the current time, and with the departure of Lautemortis, our squad felt it was in our best interests to reorganize for relegations and 2014. We'll be making an announcement once the new coL.LoL is finalized. Thanks very much to our fans for their patience and support.
Following a public tweet made prior to the official announcement, onGamers reached out to Hammad who answered several questions about his recent dismissal.
onGamers: You recently surprised the League of Legends community by tweeting that you are a free agent now. Is it safe to say that your time with compLexity has come to an end?
Hammad: Yes, I am currently a free agent. After their decision, I spent a few days waiting and hoping that nerves would calm down so a less intense solution could be decided upon.
Was it your decision to leave or were you told that you were off the team?
I was told to leave. About a week before their decision, I had messaged Chuuper that I was unhappy with the way the team was acting towards practicing, and I felt very uncomfortable at the prospects of living with them again. I never got a response.
How did you take the news when they informed you of their decision?
I was pretty shocked but not very angry. I felt very misunderstood. It was given to me without much clarification and without any discussion or compromise.
Any ideas as to why they decided to remove you?
From the timing of it, they removed me because we had a big argument the day before. Although that night ended with a few ranked 5’s games filled with camaraderie, I guess this stuck with them. Ninjaken wasn’t involved in this decision, and I understood the removal to be caused mostly by impulsive emotions.
We’re getting close to promotion time. With the recent departure of Lautemortis and now your departure from the team, what do you think the chances are for your former team to make it into the LCS?
I think they have a very low chance. Not because they won’t find a skillful mid to fit the team, but mostly because Quantic will now be defaulted to Velocity. I communicated the most during matches due to my mid-lane position, and I suspect Curse or Coast are currently sharpening their eyesight towards this new roster.
What are your plans going forward? Will you look to join another Challenger team or take another route?
I might try to stream more since I”ll have more time out of scrims. I’m not actively looking to replace anybody or create a brand new team. Having said that, I plan to continue my practice regiment as if I were still on a team. During this new practice time, if I perform on a high level and deserve to be on a team then it’ll happen. Otherwise I’ll just be chillin on the rift! btw I still hate you Travis.
Thanks for your time, Pr0lly.
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