A number of CLG employees and esports players have reacted to the reports about the organization laying off a large number of staff and potentially closing doors.
LCS content creator Travis Gafford claimed on April 3 that Los Angeles-based organization CLG will lay off most of its staff members, with parent company Madison Square Garden Entertainment looking to either sell the brand or shut it down.
Gafford said that “all staff members”, including Head of CLG Greg Kim, will be let go as part of this massive round of layoffs. The only exception is CLG’s League of Legends division, though it is likely that the LCS franchise slot will be sold to another organization, potentially NRG.
The Esports Advocate confirmed that layoffs are happening at CLG, though it wasn’t able to verify “the scale and scope of the situation” at the organization.
CLG Head of Marketing Danielle Fox was one of the first CLG employees to react to the reports, asking the community to “give us some space right now.”
“We’ll talk about it on Thursday,” she added.
We’ll talk about it on Thursday. Just give us some space right now.
— FUG Danielle Fox (@anddaniellesaid) April 4, 2023
‘PunsAndBuns’, who works in marketing and social for CLG, posted the famous clip of former Manchester United manager José Mourinho saying, “If I speak, I am in big trouble.”
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She then added: “I’ve seen esports exist with no money, I’ve seen esports exist with tons of money. As long as there are people who love playing games and people who love running tournaments, esports will never die.”
Nemo Zhou, a content creator for CLG, said: “Well, this sucks.”
CLG’s esports players react
In addition to their League of Legends division, CLG operates teams in CS:GO, Valorant, Fortnite, Apex Legends and Super Smash Bros.
CS:GO player Marissa ‘madss’ Dasta wrote on Twitter: “It’s been a really hard f***ing day. Just hearbroken.” Her teammate Vivienne ‘BiBiAhn’ Quach said: “I’m broken. It hurts.”
Super Smash Bros. player James ‘VoiD’ Makekau-Tyson also posted on Twitter, saying: “[I’ve] been on a flight for the last six hours, but there’s just no way, man…”
Been on a flight for the last 6 hours, but there’s just no way man…
— Void (@gsmVoiD) April 4, 2023
Two of CLG’s LCS players also reacted to the news on Twitter. Top laner Niship ‘Dhokla’ Doshi simply posted a sad emoji, while jungler Juan ‘Contractz’ Garcia wrote: “Where is the closest McDonald’s?”