Since Zeus left T1 and moved to Hanwha Life Esports, this player as well as the management agency – The Play – has received a lot of criticism. Especially after Joe Marsh's Q&A was posted on FMKOREA, the number of criticisms aimed at the two sides increased a lot when Joe thought that The Play was “dishonest” in negotiations.
Recently, The Play CEO Kang Beom-jun spoke out about this issue. He said: “In November last year, after filing an electronic sports committee, we waited for the confirmation answer and corrected the false information.
“However, the unfounded speculation about the Zeus player continued. Although very difficult, we decided to make an interview. At the same time, this CEO revealed that both Zeus and his family wanted to “unjustly solve”.
First, he mentioned the contract fee between Zeus and The Play is not available. This means that The Play does not receive money when Zeus signs a contract with any team. This contradicts the criticism of CEO T1 – Joe Marsh that The Play “lured” Zeus to abandon T1 to sign a contract with Hanwha Life Esports.
Next, Mr. Kang mentioned the issue of Joe Marsh accusing The Play “dishonesty” in negotiating re -signed with Zeus. The Play CEO responded that at the time of the contract expiration (November 19), Zeus became a free player, so it was necessary to carefully consider the proposals and have appropriate strategies. Since then, it is impossible to evaluate the waiting for consideration to make the best option is “unprecedented”.
Even, The Play always keeps in touch with T1 during the time Zeus is free agent, the problem only in the fact that the two sides did not reach the right agreement for each other. “We decided that it would be difficult to appreciate the value of Zeus on the market based on the proposal of T1 in the initial negotiation period. Therefore, we want to let the market determine the value of Zeus, and use it as a basis to assess the proposal of T1's proposal is really suitable or not.”
The Play CEO continues to repeat the story details on the afternoon of November 19, saying that Hanwha Life Esports has set a mandatory negotiation period right from the time Zeus became Free Agent was 15 pm. Synonymous, if Zeus does not respond after 15 hours, HLE will search for another option and Zeus will return to negotiate with T1 in a more unfavorable situation. The story later like the previously published information, T1 wanted to meet Zeus directly, the two sides continued to negotiate via phone. Zeus himself also extends the time limit for answering with HLE for another 30 minutes but the negotiations are still unsuccessful because it is impossible to agree on the contract term and everything ends.
Finally, The Play also sent a message to T1, opening with the sentence: “Sincerely apologize”. However, according to Inven, this is not an official apology, but a message sent to the request of the Zeus family to “close the story in a good way”. CEO Kang Beom-Jun is ready to share the negotiation process if receiving the consent from T1.
At the same time, Zeus and The Play are still waiting for feedback from the Electronic Sports Commission to correct the information related to the 'illegal entice player' (TAMPERING), affecting Zeus during the past time, like the request from this player and family.
