By: Jan Marcus Montevirgen
R8 Esports is set to pursue legal action against Filipino head coach Steven “Dale” Vitug for his alleged mismanagement of the team during its playoff campaign in MPL MENA Season 5.
The Saudi Arabian squad was poised to make it to the finale, securing the number one spot in the regular season with an impressive 8-1 record. However, things took an unexpected turn in the playoffs.
R8 Esports secured an outright spot in the upper bracket semifinals but lost to the fourth-seeded Geekay Esports in a sweep. The team was eventually eliminated in the lower bracket semifinals, falling prey to defending champion Falcon Esports, also by sweep.
“We are proud of our performance in our debut MPL MENA season. In Season 5, we set a record for the highest points achieved in the regular season. However, things didn’t go as planned during the playoffs,” said R8 Esports in a statement.
“Despite the hard work of the players and staff, we regret to inform our fans and supporters that Coach Dale did not uphold the same level of commitment during the playoffs.”
Dale, who led Omega Esports to a 5th-6th place finish in M2, was allegedly coaching two teams at the same time, according to R8 Esports.
“Furthermore, it came to our attention that Coach Dale had been announced as a coach for another team. This indicated that he was dividing his time and efforts, coaching for another team while still under contract with us,” it continued.
Dale was supposed to coach the Mongolian squad IHC Esports, which is set to compete in the Mid Season Cup wildcard later this month, but he was eventually removed from the roster.
