IN LIGHT of the recent events where Blacklist International lost a plethora of key members from the players and coaching staff, to Aurora's MLBB team, Tier One Entertainment's CEO Tryke Gutierrez published a video which stirred some controversy.
Initially, he revealed that he felt overly emotional when he discovered that his players and coaches were set on leaving the Codebreakers.
"Siguro galit ako, naiinis ako. Hindi ako nasa magandang headspace during the time na nangyayari pa lahat. I just chose to kept quiet because I wanted to process everything first."
Tryke felt burdened because he had his aspirations for the team. With only six months left in their contract, he hoped that one final push will happen.
"...Habang iniisip ko na, 'Ok meron pa akong six month contract left with the players that we have, with the coaching staff that we have, meron akong one last run na pwedeng gawin with this group."
He further elaborated: "Sa akin lang hanggang under contract sila, I have one last season to give it all, to see what this group can do and I was really planning towards that mindset. Syempre anim na buwan pa naman e."
But that didn't materialize as the likes of Johnmar "OhMyV33nus" Villaluna, Danerie James "Wise" Del Rosario, Renejay "Renejay" Barcarse and the rest of the departees have other things in mind.
After learning about their decision, Tryke then questioned himself.
"Ano nagkulang ba kami? Hindi ba namin naibigay yung tamang player? Yung tamang suporta?"
But slowly, he accepted the situation saying: "Ang daming pumasok sa isip ko pero for me sana may isang run lang sana....pero wala e."
"Hindi mo naman kontrolado yung mga plano ng mga taong nasa paligid mo. Syempre may sarili silang pangarap, may sarili silang desisyon, may sarili silang consideration and when I started accepting that, doon na ako pumunta sa point na sige, i-solve na lang natin. Kung yan yung gusto nila, respetuhin natin. Kausapin natin yung organizations na gusto nilang lipatan," he reflected.
His video brought out a lot of criticisms from the community, and it even made fans question The V33Wise tandem's loyalty.
Is V33Wise ungrateful?
Tryke briefly revealed in the video that during the prolonged absence of the Royal Duo in competing in the MPL Philippines, both still received their salary.
Due to his statement, fans then attacked the V33Wise tandem, criticizing why they get paid despite their absence in the scene.
In a livestream session which lasted for six hours, OhMyV33nus explained in detail the terms on their contract.
"Una nasa kontrata namin na required na pasahurin kami. Kumbaga sabihin natin hindi nila kami pasahurin kasi rest kami, e di breach of contract na. Kung breach of contract na, ibig sabihin wala na kami sa Blacklist," she reiterated.
And that doesn't just involve V33Wise as each member from Blacklist will also get their compensation even if they're on a break.
"Not just kami ni Wise (payment of salary), but lahat ng nasa Blacklist," said V33.
As she went on with the discussions, V33 then explained why Blacklist still pays them even though they're no longer heavily involved in their pro player duties. In turns out that the V33Wise tandem has more to offer than just winning championship trophies as they're also the team's marketing anchor due to their immense popularity.
"Bakit nga ba pinapasahod kami kahit rest kami, kasi gusto nila kaming i-keep sa Blacklist. Ano ba yung ibinibigay namin sa Blacklist? Madami."
Tier One gets 30-60% of V33Wise's sponsorship deals
Now due to their influence, brands would approach Tier One Entertainment and the org would receive a huge cut from deals as stated by V33.
"Kumbaga yung pinapasahod nila sa amin monthly, we give a lot more monetary sa kanila monthly kaysa sa ibinibigay nilang sahod....Kahit hindi kami naglalaro, marami na silang nakukuhang pera sa amin," said the Queen.
As to how much Tier One would receive from these deals? Here's what V33 mentioned.
"Marami kaming brand deals ni Wise na malaki ang cut ni Tier One...More than 30% ang cut ng Tier One sa mga brand deals namin. Umaabot pa ng 60% yan."
Imagine a deal worth Php500,000 and given the 60% cut from Tier One, this means that Php300,000 goes to the org, while the rest is given to the Royal Duo.
In the end, V33nus explained that she is forever grateful with the org.
"Super thankful ako sa Tier One. Ilang beses ko nang sinasabi yun sa mga previous interview namin, way back Season 7 pa. Super grateful kami as in. Kung natatandaan niyo, noong hindi pa kami nagcha-champion sa Blacklist, super thankful kami sa Blacklist kasi sila yung bukod tanging team na gustong kumuha sa amin sa duo," she emphasized.
Tryke thoroughly explains his side of the story
Tryke's initial video drew some backlash from the community, which seem to hint a sense of betrayal from his former players and coaching staff.
Due to the reactions, he published another video to clarify some loose ends.
"I guess first of all, I want to apologize if I came off na parang I'm angry at the players. I guess I want to start off with that. Pero just to be clear on the matter, I shared the whole linear process of how I felt with the situation. Hindi naman ibig sabihin na nainis ka, nagalit ka, is ibig sabihin nun is sa players ka nagalit," said the Blacklist and Tier One CEO.
"Lahat ng sinulat namin doon it was all about, 'We're grateful, it's all about we're thankful, I even posted myself na if they need to grow outside of the organization, I'm happy for them. I clearly said that."
And going back to his first video, he highlighted why his emotions took the best of him during that period.
"Bakit nagsabi ako na emotional ako? Kasi it's been a long time since pinost ko yung last post ko and I wanted to make sure that when I talk or explain our side of the story, may context kung bakit matagal akong hindi nag-post," he started.
"It's because I was processing everything, and a part of me being human, syempre may kasamang emosyon. Hindi naman tayo robot."
I've made my peace
"Hindi ako nagalit dahil umalis sila. For the record maraming taong umalis sa Tier One and hindi ako galit sa lahat ng umalis, at all."
Then in digging deep into the matter, Tryke questioned on why he wasn't made aware of the overall circumstance.
"The way it was kasi end of season, akala mo normal lang lahat and then came people na kumausap sa mga players mo, and then biglang nag-iba yung desisyon nila, and then biglang ok buyout na lang, kasi ayaw nila, and that hurts...it's not betrayal, it's the lack of transparency," he reflected.
Tryke opines: "Hindi ko na-feel na trinaydor ako, ang na-feel ko is sana sinabihan ako. Hindi ng mga players ko, kundi yung mga taong kumausap sa kanila."
But there's nothing that he can do as the deal was already made. Tryke acknowledged the need to move on.
"Napatawad ko sila doon at natanggap ko na iyon at naintindihan ko rin sa esports na madalas na nangyayari yun....Siguro there's a part of me na, 'There is a better way to have done it.' I made peace with it, I'm ok with it, wala na kaming issue doon."
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