A professional eSports player was kicked out of his team, but did not understand why. Then the team captain suggested that an emotional reaction from the player was to blame.
What is this situation? Currently, the Six Invitational 2025 is taking place, which is the annual world championship in Ubisoft’s tactical shooter Rainbow Six: Siege. It is the most significant and important tournament of the game, offering the largest prize pool.
The best players and teams are all pursuing a common goal: to win the Six Invitational. One of these players is the Australian Jake “Virtue” Grannan (30), who participated in the world championship with Team Secret. Virtue already won the Six Invitational in 2023 with G2 Esports, but with Team Secret, the 30-year-old faltered this year in the group stage.
Shortly after the disappointing exit, Virtue announced on X.com (formerly Twitter) that he and his teammate Dawid “Gruby” Marciniak were leaving the team. He himself was surprised and did not see this decision coming.
In the comments of the post, John “Zypher84” Yao, the CEO of Team Secret, chimed in and hinted at what was behind the eSports player’s dismissal – and received heavy criticism for it.
Team captain hints that an emotional reaction led to the dismissal
What did the team captain comment? Yao posted on X.com a group photo of the team taken after a loss during the tournament. In the picture, Virtue is sitting with his back to the camera, turned away from his teammates. The CEO wrote: “I am very surprised as well.”
Many X users, including Virtue himself, interpret the comment to imply that the situation captured in the photo led to the eSports player’s dismissal.
However, Virtue stated that he did not turn away from his teammates because he was a bad teammate, but because he was fighting back tears. “I was almost crying, could not look at anyone. What the hell…?”, replied the Australian.
At that moment, the players from Team Secret thought that the recent loss sealed their exit from the important tournament. An emotional moment, as no ambitious athlete would be happy with such a situation. Virtue wrote: “God forbid you cry when you think you’re out of the competition, and you don’t want people to see you cry, so you lay your head on the desk.”
The community now has the impression that Virtue was kicked out of the team because he cried and showed emotions when the tournament exit loomed – which brought severe criticism to the team captain.
Team captain under criticism after Twitter comment
What does the community say about it: The CEO of Team Secret is receiving a lot of criticism for the comment. On one hand, it is criticized that apparently Virtue’s emotional reaction led to the dismissal. Moreover, it does not sit well that the CEO even allowed himself to make a comment. To some, it appears as if he is mocking a player who his company just fired, leaving him without income. Many find that extremely unprofessional.
- Interro (eSports caster): “This is the CEO of Team Secret suggesting publicly that Virtue was thrown out of the team because he cried after a tough loss at the biggest event of the year. Your players should be supported and not ridiculed when times get tough. A CEO should know better.” – via X
- Dezachu (eSports caster): “The decision itself is bad enough, but to mock someone on social media whom you just fired and leave him without income…? An absolutely reprehensible behavior from the ‘boss’ of a company.” – via X
- FoxA (ex-professional): “Roster changes are roster changes, but it doesn’t look good to kick a player you just let go when he’s down. Taking a picture out of context and trying to portray yourself as a bad teammate is simply incredibly tasteless from the manager of an organization.” – via X
- Milosh (eSports host): “Jake is one of the most talented, hardest working, and passionate people I’ve ever met. That the Secret CEO threw his (now former) player under the bus because he was sad and emotional after a loss represents the lowest point ever.” – via X
These were just a few of the comments from prominent personalities known in the eSports scene of Rainbow Six: Siege. There are many more comments that sharply criticize the CEO’s behavior.
During last year’s Six Invitational, the story of two brothers was supposed to be the biggest talking point. The twins fought their way to the finals of the world championship – but with different teams: Two brothers face off in the final of a world championship – The loser breaks down in tears
