Ever since the end of stage one and the process that led from KingPapey finding its way into CoD World League, we have been on a roller coaster of emotions with the team now known as 100 Thieves. Nadeshot began his venture into organization ownership when he started 100 Thieves and acquired King Papey’s team of Nelson, Royalty, Johnny, and Examples. Since that, we’ve seen the good and bad that comes from an upstart CWL team.
The first match of stage two went in favor off 100T, and it appeared that they may be able to compete. Things quickly went the other way and the team lost match after match. They were a decent Hardpoint team and above average at Search and Destroy. However, Capture the Flag and Uplink have been the nemesis of the team all season long. The team is currently 2-6 and boasts a dismal 34.4 map win percentage. The stage has been a disaster for the team, but not for the record; that was likely to happen, it’s the last week that has made this stage ugly.
Things started last week when Nelson decided to “quit” (more on that in a second) the team and walk away from 100 Thieves. He thought that he was playing with inferior teammates that were not progressing as much as needed. This move brought about a firestorm of criticism from fellow pros and even some of Nelson’s closest friends. It’s a move that is unlikely to work out; leaving a CWL team mid-stage without having a team to move to. It’s not like Nelson was going to be atop the free agent market upon his decision to leave the team.
With the spot now “open” Nade and 100T brought on Aches, one of the top players not on a team, to finish out stage two and play with them at MLG Anaheim. This move was one that has been widely rumored for weeks. Aches and Nade have had an up-and-down relationship, but they both have seemingly worked through things and maintain a professional relationship now. This was met with wild enthusiasm as it looked like 100T had found a way to benefit from the Nelson departure.
Fast forward to Sunday and things have taken another strange, very strange, turn for the worse. Johnny tweeted out an extended tweet that detailed that he had been dropped from the team. It was very in depth, here is the breakdown.
— Nelson was going to be dropped for being hardheaded and not willing to work with the other players. Johnny essentially said he was being immature, and the move had to be made.
— In the second part of the tweet, titled “The Swindle,” he talked about the addition of Aches and what followed. The addition happened and for the next two days, they didn’t scrim at all, which is obviously strange considering that things are still midseason and the team needed to develop some type of chemistry. Examples and Johnny didn’t understand, so they began talking. Royalty filled them in on a conversation he and Nade mentioned, this is where things start getting hideous. Nade had allegedly told Royalty that he and Aches wanted a roster comprised of Royalty, Aches, Remy, and Nelson… yes, Nelson. Royalty also told the other two that Nelson hadn’t been dropped/quit (Johnny said that he was dropped, Nelson said he left), he had actually been put on the bench.
— In the third and final major portion, Johnny talked about the apparent lack of leadership from Nade. Stating that they hadn’t signed contracts (first mistake from the young KingPapey team) and had gone in without any legal assurances from Nade. However, Johnny said, “He (Nadeshot) stated that it would be a few weeks until he had salaries, which we were all fine with for the most part.” He would continue and talk about the conversation he and Nade had regarding this situation. Johnny explained that he had bills to pay and that Nade told him he wouldn’t need a part time job to subsidize his bills. Johnny also said that Nade hadn’t even guaranteed them jerseys for the Anaheim LAN. At the end of that “chapter” Johnny said he was now $600 behind on bills and now without a team.
With the story being half completed so far, it doesn’t look good for Nadeshot or 100 Thieves. This is a PR nightmare for fan favorite, Nadeshot. A lot of fans on Reddit have been critical of all parties involved, but especially on Nade.
Some points that we need clarification from Nade are:
- Did he and Nelson have some sort of under the table agreement? Were they hiding the fact that Examples and Johnny were ultimately going to be dropped for Remy and Aches?
- Did Nade have the money conversations with the players and what was behind the lack of contracts?
- What is the roster? At this point we aren’t real sure of what’s going on.
- Why did Aches not scrim the first two days and is Nade directly handling team comp without talking to the team?
These questions and maybe a few more will likely be answered sometime on Monday. For continued coverage, stick with The Game Haus as the story continues to develop.