Stephano is definitely a player that has bought into the rockstar mentality that some eSports stars are starting to adapt. With a devil may care attitude and a swagger that is unrivaled in the industry, Stephano constantly makes comments on his Twitter that either A) offend people, or B) make his sponsors really really angry. This time however, he's taken the trolling a little too far, saying that he had sex with a minor to a friend, Dignitas' Bling. Apparently, he was unaware that BlinG was streaming at the time, but the community was unforgiving, emailing EG and their sponsors almost immediately. There's some talk that this was not really what Stephano meant, as English is not his first language, but still – one would think he would be more careful.
His team, Evil Geniuses, has had enough for now, suspending Stephano without pay for the month of October. In doing so, Stephano misses the ASUS ROG GD Inviational and Dreamhack.
However, Stephano is not one to take the time off – he's htting the road, heading to the mecca for StarCraft II players, Seoul Korea. He announced via his Twitter this morning that his tickets have been bought, and as of this writing, he is on his way to Seoul. At this time its not clear if he has a Code S seed waiting for him in the GSL, or if he is just going over to train for the upcoming WCS World Championships in the nearby China.
Other players may have taken this time off to reflect and step away form the game, but this proves that Stephano is truly a champion, despite his attitude. Maybe the loss of pay will teach him a lesson?
Update: Here's the full press release from EG on the matter:
Evil Geniuses’ Ilyes “Stephano” Satouri has been suspended without pay for the remainder of October following his recent inappropriate comments. Please read the full press release for more information.
To EG Fans, eSports Enthusiasts, and Concerned Members of the Gaming Community,
Today, Evil Geniuses announces that French Zerg player Ilyes “Stephano” Satouri has been suspended without pay for the remainder of October, following his recent inappropriate comments. He will be ineligible to participate in all online and offline competitions during the month of October, including the upcoming GD Invitational and DreamHack Bucharest tournaments for which he was previously signed up. We sincerely apologize to the respective organizers of these tournaments for any inconvenience the last-minute cancellations may cause.
That apology, however, obviously comes as secondary to a much more significant and direly-needed apology for Stephano’s inexcusable comments themselves. An apology in his own words can be found at the bottom of this post, but additionally, everyone at Evil Geniuses – including management, players, and staff – would like to sincerely apologize for these comments. They do not reflect our company’s sense of morality, behavior and propriety, and they will not be tolerated.
The full extent of the ramifications for Stephano’s comments is yet to be determined. The decision to suspend him, without pay, for the rest of October is final, but the situation is still being reviewed internally at EG, and we do not consider the matter closed as of yet.
We’d like to thank everyone in the gaming community for your patience, and we once again apologize for this incident. For those interested in reading it, Ilyes’ personal apology follows immediately below this note.
Sincerely,
Evil Geniuses
And the apology from Stephano:
Ilyes “Stephano” Satouri’s Apology: “I want to very sincerely apologize to all of my fans, my teammates and management at EG, all of EG’s sponsors, and the rest of the community for my comments last week. They were insensitive, inappropriate, way over the line, and are deserving of the serious ramifications I have received from my team. I accept responsibility for my mistake, and I will be more careful in the future.”
Dustin Steiner is GameZone's eSports Editor! Follow him on Twitter @GZSteiner and check out Video Gaming Hard Corps, where he is a local tournament organizer for the S. FL. Fighting Game Community.
